Tig Stainless Argon or Stainsheild light.

[Rick]

I'm just about to setup this years account, do i go for BOC which costs nearly double just to try there Stainshield light.

Or do i go for Pure argon from airproducts.

Boc is £95 a year
AP is £80.
Box is £80 to refill
AP is £54.

All i've used is BOC Pure argon in the past.

Many thanks for your help.

 

[malcolm]

Stick with pure argon - Stainshield is a MIG gas containing a little CO2 which will burn your tungsten.

 

[Rick]

Stick with pure argon - Stainshield is a MIG gas containing a little CO2 which will burn your tungston.

I thought there was a Tig version, thanks for that.

Cheaper and better

 

[malcolm]

You are right - there is another BOC TIG gas in the Stainshield range. From http://www.boc-gases.com/products_and_services/by_product/welding_gases/index.asp

Stainshield contains.........Or the following two gases, for austenitic stainless steels:

• Argon – for its ability to create the welding arc that allows spray transfer to be achieved, increasing the amount of weld metal deposited
• Hydrogen – to scavenge oxygen, give faster welding and a bright finish

The Stainshield range allows smooth, clean and defect free welds in all grades of stainless steel and other materials.
Stainshield mixtures are used for MIG and TIG welding and are suitable on the following materials:

• Stainless steels and austenitic stainless steel.
• Nickel alloys.

 

[Rick]

You are right - there is another BOC TIG gas in the Stainshield range. From http://www.boc-gases.com/products_and_services/by_product/welding_gases/index.asp

Hmmm now i'm unsure on what to go for again.

Has any1 tried the other?

 

[Paul.]

What type of work are you going to be doing, unless its something really special you'll be hard pushed to justify the cost of stainshield, pure argon will do just about anything found in general sheet metal / fab shops, and can be used on ally too.

 

[Rick]

What type of work are you going to be doing, unless its something really special you'll be hard pushed to justify the cost of stainshield, pure argon will do just about anything found in general sheet metal / fab shops, and can be used on ally too.

I only ever weld stainless, so i thought it might be worth the extra cash, i mean the gas is only a fraction of the cost of materials used.

Nothing 2 specific mainly exhaust manifolds etc. Don't have to be asthetic really but prefered.

 

[hotrodder]

Argon/hydrogen does make a difference, as to whether it's worth the extra ££££...

If all i did was stainless and/or nickel alloys i'd give it a go- easy enough to change the account around later BUT you're screwed if you need to TIG weld pretty much anything else unless you keep a pureshield around too

Edit: what i mean is i haven't used it enough to know if the extra cost is justified for a fairly small business/big hobby

 

[Rick]

Argon/hydrogen does make a difference, as to whether it's worth the extra ££££...

If all i did was stainless and/or nickel alloys i'd give it a go- easy enough to change the account around later BUT you're screwed if you need to TIG weld pretty much anything else unless you keep a pureshield around too

Edit: what i mean is i haven't used it enough to know if the extra cost is justified for a fairly small business/big hobby

I'm with you thanks for the reply.

What was the difference in the quality of the weld's. If i setup a boc account and already have 1 bottle would they know if i wasn't filling the same 1 up all the time? Or wouldn't they be able to monitor it if you get what i mean

 

[hotrodder]

The small addition of hydrogen increases the arc heat, you can go a bit faster and welds are cleaner/brighter as the shield is improved with respect to oxidiation. I've not used it extensively, just enough to notice an improvement.

BOC will know what exactly what you have. I've never had any grief changing things around when exchanging cylinders- sometimes i exchange a full size argon for a size y (mobility reasons) and they just adjust the rental/gas prices to suit. Can't imagine that it be any harder to change from pureshield to stainshieldTIG and back again (if you decided it wasn't worth it).

However while i don't think you'd have an issue using stainshield as a purge too it'd increase costs more significantly

Oh, and you'll need a new regulator as the hydrogen content means the cylinder thread will be a lefty so more £££ again

 

[dstealth]

My place uses Stainshield TIG for mild/stainless. The welder there thinks it gives a better weld than pure Argon does. But we always have a bottle of pure for aluminium.

 

[Wozzaaah]

If i setup a boc account and already have 1 bottle would they know if i wasn't filling the same 1 up all the time? Or wouldn't they be able to monitor it if you get what i mean

Rick, they don't fill your empty one up for you, you take the empty in and they exchange it for a full one. Do you have a cylinder already? If so then you're geared up for the 'two bottle shuffle'

 

[Hitch]

Ive never used anything but Argon for TIG. As Paul said, it will cover just about anything you come across.

 

[Paul.]

The advantages of stainshield are only likely to be seen if production welding, or welding long seams, it runs a bit hotter and cleaner than pureshield argon, so productivity can be increased with faster welds,
for small jobs one offs etc, its not worth buying, you'll still need to clean up after welding, better to spend the cash on some cleaning / polishing kit and pickling paste.

 

[Rick]

Rick, they don't fill your empty one up for you, you take the empty in and they exchange it for a full one. Do you have a cylinder already? If so then you're geared up for the 'two bottle shuffle'

Yes that's what i was trying to say, i actually have 2 boc bottles already. But would they notice if I returned a pure argon when i'd just filled up a stainshield a week or so before.

 

[hotrodder]

Yes that's what i was trying to say, i actually have 2 boc bottles already. But would they notice if I returned a pure argon when i'd just filled up a stainshield a week or so before.

The 'two bottle shuffle' only works if both are for the same flavour gas. Your account is for pureshield so that's all you'll get without changing it. Cylinders are a different colour anyway AND the stainshieldTIG is a left hand thread valve because of the hydrogen

 

[Rick]

The 'two bottle shuffle' only works if both are for the same flavour gas. Your account is for pureshield so that's all you'll get without changing it. Cylinders are a different colour anyway AND the stainshieldTIG is a left hand thread valve because of the hydrogen

Still could be benefitial knowing that i can get 2 lot's of pure argon.

 

[hotrodder]

For sure! Don't have to worry about running out part way through a job, and only one lot of rental