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100% argon or 75/25 question

16K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  soutthpaw  
#1 ·
Kinda in a hurry and rushed for time so if this has been asked before sorry for the repost.

Need to get done painting outside railings before the cold weather sets in.

But I wanted to know which is recommended for tig welding steel? 100% Argon or 75/25 Argon/CO2 mix?
 
#3 ·
DUH!!!!

Guess you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
 
#5 ·
I know this post is probably going to get flamed however I've been doing a little bit of MIG work with a 100% Argon bottle (which the thief left when he stole my TIG setup). I ran out of 75/25 mix so I hooked up the 100% Argon and welded up some mild steel and although it was not ideal the welds came out decent and have held just fine. I welded a center plate to the inside of a wheel rim on my friends Rhino mower deck. It takes a beating but welded fine and is holding up fine. I know guys say never use 100% Argon on mild steel but I guess I've just been lucky.

Michael
 
#6 ·
If you have a big enough machine, you might get enough penetration with pure argon to make a descent weld. However, I tried it with my 200 amp mig and the bead was very shallow and just didnt have the juice to make a good weld. 98/2 argon/oxygen works very well with my 350 amp mig though.
 
#7 ·
I have found that for very thing MIG sheet metal welding (car doors ect) that pure Argon does wonders to keep the heat out and the sparks down.

As for TIG welding with Co2 or mix, don't do it.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I know this is an old post, but depends on the metal. I see a lot of results using 100% over 75/25 when Tigging. I've tested Carbon rod 75/25 on carbon, Carbon Rod 100% on carbon, Stainless rod 75/25 on stainless, and Stainless rod 100% on stainless. 100 argon seemed to work better on both imo
 
#9 ·
See earlier posts in this thread. You have 3 choices for TIG. That is argon, helium or a mix of the 2.
You cannot use CO2 or oxygen blends for TIG

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