Thinking ahead

[WelshAdam]

Been sorting out my garage ready for when I get my mig welder and have noticed that it is ever so slightly damp in there, and my arc rods are slightly damp. When I get my mig what is the best way to stop the mig wire corroding?? I suppose taking it out of the machine and storing it indoors (which is where my arc rods are now) is probably best but do you then end up with a few metres of scrap wire every time I remove it and refit it or is it possible to roll it back out of the gun and onto the spool??

Sorry for the novice questions

 

[rtbcomp]

You could do that, and then keep the spool somewhere warm & dry. Lots of people keep welding rods in the airing cupboard.

A better approach if possible would be to try to keep the garage dry, as this would have other benefits too.

 

[WelshAdam]

Cheers. My arc rods are now in the airing cupboard as they hardly get used anyway. Keeping the garage dry does not seem to be an option. It sits in the shade all morning and then when the sun hits it in the afternoon it causes condensation which leads to things getting damp. Would throwing a big bag of silica gel or similar in the welder do the trick or would the wire still rust??

 

[wheresmejumper]

reel the wire from the gun back onto the coil.only wasteage is the half inch or so needed to hook around the reel to stop it unwinding

 

[WelshAdam]

Thanks wheresmejumper. Was not sure whether this was possible or not.

 

[Robotstar5]

reel the wire from the gun back onto the coil.only wasteage is the half inch or so needed to hook around the reel to stop it unwinding

Just remember to hold on to the end as it comes out of the feed rolls or the reel will unwind itself - cue much cursing

 

[Cobbler]

As above, wind it back, but you will have to cut the end off to allow it to pass back through the tip. On my Clarke there is enough room to tie a carrier bag around the reel to protect it from the worst of the condensation

 

[WelshAdam]

Thanks all

 

[voipio]

If the garage is getting damp when the sun comes out, this is worth investigating, to see where the water is coming from. Are there damp patches in the roof, or are the walls letting moisture through - they probably will be if they're made from brick and single-skinned. Is the floor damp? Or is it more a case of the contents of the garage getting very cold so that, when warmer weather coming along, the extra moisture in the air leads to condensation on the cold surfaces of the items in the garage.

I pretty much sealed up the air gaps in the garage and then put a dehumidifier in there. If there's been a spell of very cold weather and warm weather is forecast, I will run a 3kW heater for an hour or two to try and get the big lumps of metal warmed up a bit so that condensation is less likely to occur. Nothing seems to get rusty (unless tools are put away wet!!) so the tool budget can go on new tools rather than replacing rusty ones. The dehumidifier also tends to pull dust out of the air.