MIG Welder - Gas bottle set-up?

[T.E.D. Jordan]

I've never had anything to do with the purchase or maintenance of any of the welders I've used. But now I've my own up & running I new a crash course in whats required.

I have a Lincoln Electric 220A, It has a rubber hose without a regualtor/tap on the bottle end - theres nothing there at the minute so...

How do I go about getting a reasonable sized bottle (what sizes are there?)
Do I have to apply for a liecense?
Is the gas I need Argon/Co2 as it'll be mild steel only?
What size regulator/guage do I require?
I'll be using the welder maybe one day a week for an hour or so at a time.

For reference here is the welder (when recommending bottle sizes etc)

Jordan

 

[grim_d]

Find somewhere nearby that sells gas, a good start is here, http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/wiki/Gas_Suppliers, other members near you may pitch in. For your usage try and find a rent free supplier.

Cylinder sizes and pressures can differ but some of the more common sizes are 9l, 10l, 20l and 50l. Filled anywhere from 137bar to 220+bar. 20l bottles are the biggest I would recommend for home or light workshop use.

To work out gas amount/welding time, it's (cylinder size "litres") x (pressure "bar") / (flow rate "litres per minute"), so a 10l bottle at 137bar would be 1370litres and 137minutes welding time at an assumed 10lpm, where as a 50l at 220bar would be 11000litres and 1100minutes welding time at 10lpm. I hope I've got that right!

You don't need a licence and you will be looking for argon mix or straight co2, the latter being cheaper but produces taller welds, there is gas comparisons in the tutorials section. http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/welding-gas.htm

For argon mix you need an argon regulator and a co2 regulator for co2, they have different connections so make your gas choice before you buy your regulator, weldequip sells both types, they will both be rated to 300bar, more than enough for most cylinders. At minimum I'd say a dual gauge so you can monitor flow rate, or a separate flow meter if you want more precise control.

Hope this helps.