One welding gas for all welds?

[atpalmer]

Can I use Argon or an argon/Co2 mix and still be able to mig weld Aluminum, Stainless, and Plain steel?

It obviously would not be optimal but is there a decent compromise mix?

I'm using a lincoln 220V Mig180.

Hobby welding so I don't have a budget for multiple bottles.

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

75% Argon/ 25% CO2 is a good "all around" gas.

 

[bradweingartner]

It's a tough compromise. Depending on what you weld, straight argon is probably your best bet. You can weld Mild and Stainless with 100% Argon, but good luck welding Aluminum with 75/25.

 

[BigMike782]

For mig welding Argon/CO2 75/25 is for short arc transfer for steel,straight Argon for aluminum,Helium based tri-mix for stainless.......there's no free lunch.
Straight Argon will give shallow penetrating ropey welds on steel.

 

[dagoat_1]

I have the same setup as you and HAD to purchase an argon bottle for aluminum. As stated above you need both.

 

[dagoat_1]

btw...I made quick connects on my bottles which makes it easier to switch but changing to spool gun is still a pain in the ***.

 

[nismomans13]

well whatever you do don't listen to catskinner because if you try to weld aluminum or stainless with 75/25 you're going to get very aggravated. This is MIG welding not TIG welding.

When you TIG weld you can use pure argon for almost everything, and even then you need to mix and match gases a bit but thats a different subject.

75/25 for mild steel
100% argon for aluminum
tri mix (90 helium - 7.5 argon and 2.5% CO2.) for stainless

I don't know how much experience you have in welding, but judging by this question its not much. Take some time to learn the proper way to do things, pick up a book on welding, take a class, go to a welding forum. Good luck.

 

[bdkruger1]

^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^

 

[MoonRise]

MIG? One gas for all metals?

Short answer, NOPE.

Longer answer: As already mentioned, Nope.

C25 is a 'good' gas for short-circuit transfer mode GMAW of steel. As it is a lower-energy transfer mode, that pretty much limits the maximum workpiece thickness to 'thin' stuff (relatively). For slightly better penetration while still using shortcircuit transfer GMAW, you can use plain CO2 as the shielding gas with solid wire, but you may need a different regulator (and will need at least a different gas fitting/adapter as CO2 cylinders have a different fitting than mixed-gas cylinders). Plain CO2 may give a little more spatter than C25 and will make working on 'thin' (auto sheetmetal thin) steel a bit more difficult than C25 as well.

For GMAW on aluminum, you use plain argon or sometimes an argon-helium mix.

For GMAW on stainless steel, in shortcircuit transfer mode that would usually use tri-mix (helium, argon, and a little bit of CO2) or maybe some 98-2 Ar-O2 (if you can get it in the 'smaller' cylinders from your LWS).

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/improving-your-skills/mig/

and especially

http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/mig_handbook.pdf

One gas to weld them all? Sure, plain argon for welding (almost) any metal using GTAW aka TIG.

 

[Jack Olsen]

I'd suggest using someone else's MIG setup for aluminum before you invest in a spool and a tank of argon. Compared to TIG, it's pretty limited.