All about welders and welding

[Sam-Q]

yes I used one and I found it couldn't do a single one of those things it was reported to do. I was however able to use copper as solder without flux on steel like it was lead/tin solder going on fresh copper. When trying to get help out of the guy all he could come up with is "but it should work", what a dick.

[hao.]

What do you guys think about the Magmate 180P units the BOC sell? Any good? I did a bit of research and found mixed results, though most of the reviews leaned towards it being a good welder.

[4agejet]

Cooler piping, stainless, will require a TIG. Completely different welding style from a MIG/ARC. Depending on the person, some find it easier, some find it harder.

[Sam-Q]

I think if you know what your doing you could do some decent stainless cooler piping with arc/mmc, I would give it a go.

[meadan]

I reckon using an arc/mma welder would be slightly difficult for thin pipes, but certainly do-able.
MIG would shit it in, even with ally.

You wont do any spot welding unless you buy a spot welder though, completely different process.

[swcustoms]

just throwing this out there , it would be worth going out to your local tafe and sitting a few courses even prevo boiler making .

its relitively cheap they will explain so much to you and it will make mig welding seemingly simple .

they will make you run a series of fillet welds and teach you how to properly prepair and weld your material . well worth the money and time in my opinion

[swcustoms]

not true , i do all my intercooler piping with a mig welder . stainless to steel . i dont run welds i do a series of high powerd low feed tacks to get perfect penitration without leaving too much excess material . it takes a bit longer but looks like tig welded pipe and doesnt leak if you do it right .


and if your fitting pipe work without pressure testing your a bit silly

[Sam-Q]

alright I am back on the forums

you might find this funny I used some exhaust tubing (1.6mm mild) and welded it with an arc out in the street in the gutter, like literally, funny as but yes your definately right about being a bit difficult. However I completely disagree with you with the mig comment, I think mig welding thin aluminium would be very hard but I have only had limited experience.



with intercooler piping I can't see having slight leakage as having any effect at all. I am sure many would loose more through the hose clamped areas.

[meadan]

haha thats awesome. I tacked a mates compete exhaust together on his front lawn with a little arc welder too, getting reasonable tacks while using no clamps is a fun process on grass.

MIG welding thin aluminium is fine, but it really depends how your machine is setup. If you have a proper liner, and tips and everything is working on the day, it can be sweet. As swcustoms said, its more like doing a whole bunch of hot tacks than doing stitches.

That being said, I still have a TIG and dont really feel the need to buy a MIG at all.

[Sam-Q]

ah I stand corrected then, from what I understand aluminium is very intollerant to poor or even mediocre feeding. Also I can see why you would find it hard to justify a conversion on mig with the cost of the drive wheels, liner, tip and different gas that's all needed.