welding aluminium with cheap gasless mig ?

[rob12770]

I realise this is a total noob question and i think i already know the answer but... is there wire available to weld aluminium with a cheap gasless 100A mig welder ?

i googled it but lots of conflicting views.. just thought id ask here, save time.
cheers rob

 

[Hood]

Not as far as I know and even if there was then 100Amps is not going to do you much for welding Alu correctly.

 

[Wozzaaah]

You do already know the answer.
I’m not saying it “couldn’t” be done but it’s highly unlikely you’ll manage anything that looks remotely weld-like.

 

[lexi]

With 210 amps available on my Portamig, I have it wound well up to get ally firing, so 100 amps? I doubt it.
With a cheap Mig, the feed system may struggle anyway. You need a decent feed and motor for ally.

 

[rob12770]

oh well. just a thought
cheers guys

 

[gaz_moose]

With 210 amps available on my Portamig, I have it wound well up to get ally firing, so 100 amps? I doubt it.
With a cheap Mig, the feed system may struggle anyway. You need a decent feed and motor for ally.

what do you have to do to get a portamig to weld ally? I had it in my head they couldn't do it as you cant swap the polarity.

 

[Hood]

Ideally for hassle free alu welding you want a push/pull gun or a Spool gun.
The TecArc spool guns are good in the respect that they have their own in-line control box so no need to fit a PCB inside the welder. They are not cheap though so unless intending to do a lot of Alu welding then the easiest method is just get a teflon liner for your torch and preferably some soft wire rollers for the feed.

You need pure Argon and will need to be in spray transfer so really anything less than 3mm is not doable and even 3mm is not the best, 4mm upwards is fine.

 

[rob12770]

thanks for the info hood but in just startibg out.. wouls a bog standard Arc welder say 100 amp weld alu ?

 

[Tom Orrow L]

thanks for the info hood but in just startibg out.. wouls a bog standard Arc welder say 100 amp weld alu ?

Arc Aluminium is quite possibly the most disgusting process I've ever used. You want a machine with high OCV to run a Ali stick rod and even then I wouldn't want to touch it again.

 

[Hood]

I agree with Tom. I have tried it a few times, it is messy, you have to go fast as hell and the results are ugly and poor.
I would say about the only use for it is in an emergency to give you a few days grace until you can get the part welded correctly.

 

[rob12770]

ok.. thats clear.. just sorting out a few quesions. thanks again

 

[Ian James]

Ideally for hassle free alu welding you want a push/pull gun or a Spool gun.
The TecArc spool guns are good in the respect that they have their own in-line control box so no need to fit a PCB inside the welder. They are not cheap though so unless intending to do a lot of Alu welding then the easiest method is just get a teflon liner for your torch and preferably some soft wire rollers for the feed.

You need pure Argon and will need to be in spray transfer so really anything less than 3mm is not doable and even 3mm is not the best, 4mm upwards is fine.

Like this

 

[Hood]

Like this View attachment 129882

Yes, that's the smaller version of the one I have, not that I use it now. Have one like that but without the control box for use with the R-Tech as it has built in spool gun functionality. I mainly use the Push/Pull on the EWM Phoenix though nowadays.

The straight neck however was something I didn't like so I made an adapter and fitted the swan neck from my bigger spool gun, the straight neck is just too awkward to get into places and can be a pain for overhead or other positional welding.

 

[Ian James]

I have not tryed that on the RTec yet I have never done a great deal with it only making things for my self it was used on the little sip autoplus 130 and the Clark 160 EN I know what you mean about the straight end that's the sgs 240

 

[KemppiFrog]

Umm, despite the comments, I migged up a 3mm ally tank for a client with my old Kemmpi Kempomat. No special liner for the Euro torch, and no problems with the feed. Def not do it again...

 

[Hood]

Umm, despite the comments, I migged up a 3mm ally tank for a client with my old Kemmpi Kempomat. No special liner for the Euro torch, and no problems with the feed. Def not do it again...

3mm can be done, have done so many timesm myself but you have to go like the clappers and it is not the best looking weld. Of course you can do it easier in dip transfer mode but personally I have found the welds are susceptible to fatigue.

 

[Woody.v8]

I did this 20 years ago with a Clarke 190T mig flatout
3mm ,Not the neatest of jobs but it did the job.