vegaskurt

I am kind of a newb to MIG welding with gas and finally got my hobart 140 today. I got a 5lb bottle of co2 and a small bottle of argon. Question is, what kind of regulator or splitter or ?? should I use to do a 25/75 mix going into the welder?

Cebby

Mine's all in the same tank, mixed by the company I buy the gas from.

vegaskurt

I would of gotten the a tank of mixed but I am planning on doing some 100% co2 welding at times. Would the output of a regulator on each bottle going to some form of Y coupler to the welder work?

I'd rather not ghetto rig this.

RLJ3RD

A smaller bottle of Argon? You won't be doing much welding at one time then. I think my mix bottle is like 55lb's and it doesn't seem to last long enough. If your stuck with the small bottles you have I would I would get the larger bottle 75/25% Argon/Co2 and the smaller bottle Co2.

Just curious what are you gonna weld with pure Co2?

They do make electronic mixers to combine gases but I think it might be cheaper to get two seperate bottles. I doubt combining bottles like you state with a "Y" adapter will get you the right mixture.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Take those bottles back to the retard that sold them to you and get your money back. Then go to another welding supply store where they have competent employees and get a 25/75 to 10/90 mix bottle and a normal MIG regulator. I have an 84 cubic bottle on my Lincoln Pro 135 and it gives me about 4 hours of weld time...give or take. I have less than $500 in my whole setup brand new, accessories and all and I own the bottle.

I'm sure you can split them like you've done and for some reason, but I don't know why you'd want to...more trouble than it needs to be.

Keep us posted.

vegaskurt

I'm going off what I have read cause I have not tried it yet. But supposedly you can get more penetration using 100% co2. At least thats what miller says. I figure when I go to weld my receiver stock it would be helpfull.

http://www.millerwelds.com/education...tips/MIG_tips/


Guess I will see if I can swap out my small argon bottle for a larger bottle of mix. Unless anyone else has an idea.

vegaskurt

Thanks for the advice wabbit, they only sold me the argon bottle today. I already had the co2 bottle. I carry it in the truck for air tools and such. I'll head back there in the morning.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

AH...that makes more sense about the CO2 bottle...kinda like a power tank.

Welding gas goes in a hurry...like I said, I have a 84 cubic mix bottle and it lasts about 4 hours, but it fits on my little cart nicely. When I get a bigger welder, I'll get a bigger bottle.

From the link you posted:
4. Use the proper shielding gas. CO2 is good for penetrating welds on steel, but may be too hot for thin metal. Use 75% Argon/25% CO2 for thinner steels. Use only Argon for aluminum. You can use a triple-mix for stainless steels (Helium + Argon + CO2). (Refer to Diagram 2. Penetration Patterns for Steel)

Generally, you'll be welding 1/4" plate and under (thin metal) if you are welding on a rig, so the mix would be your best "general" purpose gas IMO.

Good luck.

vegaskurt

Had a good morning, I took the 20cf bottle back and $20 later I walked out with a 55cf bottle of argon/co2.

BruceTS

Very good choice, you'll like welding with 75/25 much better than pure c02, much cleaner welds.....