bought a snap on 150 amp but not to sure what gas to use?so what gas do you use? i heard argon na co2 mix is good on mild steel?

 

BOC Argoshield Light for me.

Top notch

 

Yea, the common mix are Argoshield by BOC or Cougar5 by Air Products

 

CO2

 

95 co 5 argon

 

i go to a fire extinguisher place and get a massive bottle for Ł45 inc the bottle of co2

lasts years!

my welds come out mint too

 

Same here

And use a good quality wire eg B.O.C or other, NOT machine Mart or Sunday market specials.

From the Pub I guess??

 

Cougar

 

I was talking to a mate last night (professional welder) who told me pub gas was only about 30% CO˛, and the rest nitrogen. I guess nitrogen is fairly inert, but it doesn't sound clever to me.
He said a carbon dioxide/argon mix with a little bit of oxygen was best for mig welding, and also advised to avoid machine mart by a reasonable distance

 

i use co2 and my welds are fine

 

im fairley sure the gas we use at work is a mix of argon, oxygen and co2 i think, we get if from engineering and welding supplies aka engweld. comes in various sizes just go in and ask for a bottle of mig weld. comes in a bright blue bottle already mixed!

 

andy130, do you have a regulator and flowmeter with your Mig? If you want to use pub gas it's a totally different fixture vs the fixture you would get on proper Mig gas.

And if it's a hobby you don't to be spending Ł20 a month on a gas contract. Keygas in Wrexham do Ł1.50/month rental + VAT for a 10 litre of properly compressed gas - that's only Ł20 a year it's costing you to sit there not being used rather than Ł200 a year.

Oh and your Snap-on Mig is probably set up for disposables, again a totally different connection.

One last thing: Snap-on make good tools, but the Migs they sell are a cheap horrid brand re-badged. Or at least this was the state of affairs last time I bothered checking.

 

ArgoSheild for me.

 

i have the same welder snapon had it 10years lays a lovely weld never let me down once i use co2

 

just co2

 

ha ha i use machine mart wire & co2,there is nothing wrong with my welding

 

Krystal 12 is what I use.
tabetha

 

Yep, well got a bottle from our air pistol which we are using at the mo but have a pub 5 doors down to flagged down Mr Fizzy one day and got a bottle for peanuts.

Welds aren't too bad but could be better with an argon mix of sort... so fricking expensive for people who dont weld everyday.

 

Boc argoshield light will shield 1mm to 5mm steel just fine any thicker and i use boc argoshield universal
I use a boc 180amp welder and boc wire

 

argoshield universal.. is what i use.

thanks steven

 

We use Machine Mart wire and CO2 and our welding is fine


Brian

 

cheers guys

 

argon sheild on both the migs i got

 

i find i can lay a much fatter weld with no blow through of the metal at all with argoshield but when i use co2 i still get a decent weld but metal tends to blow through easier, still get good penetration tho

 

we use argoshield at work, but at home i use one of the many C02 fire extingushers that my old man gets that are out of test for conventional use. 2 seals for the regulator and a tie wrap. even to get new gas this way would only cost a couple of quid a refill.