Which Gas To Use?

[redwine300]

Hi Everyone,
New to the forum and looking for some advise please, Hope someone can help. I have been practising with my Clarke 135te on 20 swg plate using 0.6 wire with CO2. Have laid some reasonable weld but have found it difficult to achieve consistent results. Ran out of gas and the only bottle i had left available was 86% Argon/14%CO2. The difference was dramatic to say the least. Much more of a heavy buzz sound and a lot of brown discolouration. Am I heading in the right dirrection?
Thanks in advance redwine300

 

[shenion]

Yes, Argon/CO2 will be cleaner. Looks like you need to increase the gas flow. The regs need to be wide open for clean welds.

Straight CO2 will work fine on 1.2-3mm steel. Thin metal it is difficult as it has a wide penetration and blows though easily. Thicker stuff, it is hard to get a decent wire speed and current. CO2 requires a stable wire feed. The Clarke's are good enough.

I'd keep the Ar/CO2 for thin stuff and keep the CO2 cans for general use. The CO2 cans last a lot longer and are more economical. If you were to use the Ar/CO2 cans, it gets expensive.

Straight CO2 has a smaller wire speed range, so it is harder to adjust for the best speed as the arc is just a hiss. Ar/CO2 mixes are much easier to adjust by sight/sound as it has a nice buzz.

 

[weldingscotty803]

cant you get a pub co2 bottle?

 

[redwine300]

Thanks Shenion, Very informative reply, Web Site a great help also.