Put them to work, I LIKE IT!
TIG welder onboard - pulled the trigger
- Thread starter Simi 60
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Put them to work, I LIKE IT!
Just to clarify my post as it was confusing even to me... The MIG puts out 280 amps at 40 volts (open circuit), thus 11,200 watts. A 60 amp circuit on 240 can handle a max of 14,000 watts. Breakers typically trip at around 80% of their rated capacity (at least that's what the electricians tell me), so I am good for 11,520 watts.
Welding steel requires an amperage roughly the same as the thickness. for 1/8" steel, you need up to 125 amps, although this would typically be a maximum and not the minimum, this is for stick, where I might use 85-90 amps with 6010 and 120 with 7018 rod. MIG uses wire feed for amperage, the manual will give settings for what can you put you in the ballpark.
My Hobart Ironman 240 can weld UP TO 1/4" aluminum, but can weld 1/2" steel in a single pass, to give you some idea.
Welding aluminum requires MORE amperage than steel, which is why I suggested getting the largest spool gun you can. I have a 200 amp spool gun. The Hobart Handler 210MVP can be ordered with a 150 amp spool gun, as can a Miller, ESAB, or Lincoln Electric.
A 150 amp spool will be somewhat limiting, as it might get you by with 1/8", but what happens when you have a 1/4" fitting that needs repair?
I would consider what you will be doing 90% of the time and budget around that, farm it out for the remaining 10%. So make sure you size your unit to the average thickness of the material you will be working with....
For some of the folks here who do this regularly, please let me know if any of this sounds incorrect...
And by the way, many of here likely can produce BEAUTIFUL welds with MIG! It is one of the more PAINLESS processes and should be MUCH EASIER than TIG to pick up...
Make sure you check the duty cycle of the machine as well, some of the more "budget" brands will typically have a LOW duty cycle, such as 20%. Which means that every 2 minute spent welding is countered with 8 minutes of cooling...
This is getting as bad as an anchor thread. I'm all geared up to go shopping but now I don't know what to buy. Maybe I'll just start with getting a 220v outlet installed in the shop. Or maybe I can run a really long extension cord to the 220v dryer outlet in the laundry room.
Depending on the area you live, you may find a used welder for sale nearby.
The machines last a long time as long as they are used properly and stored inside.
Ships are built with flux core MIG, is that "agricultural"?????
I have everlast equipment inexpensive Chinese stuff just finished an aluminum hard top 3/16 sheet , schedule 80 pipe , quarter inch for the feet. I have a 200 amp machine yeah it was running maxed out but worked fine burned out my spool gun .So I put a Teflon liner in my mig gun and it works fine .I also have a 250 amp TIG AC DC yeah I go both ways rarely use it ,it is just for detail stuff light gauge most everything is done with mig ,again quit talking and start welding
Last edited:
Bugaboo, Everlast has some great equipment, the brand has been around for a while, and the higher end units have impressive duty cycles. They were some of the first inverter welders commonly available on the market I read about, I almost bought one. I am surprised you did not "bird nest" when running the aluminum through the MIG gun vice the spool gun!
I have a $400 Amico high frequency plasma cutter whichs works very well, and consumables are inexpensive! I even had a $165 Amico stick machine which ran a maximum 165 amps. It burned 6011 like nobody's business, I never could find the duty cycle! I gave it to a friend for Christmas.
I have a Hobart inverter stick unit which is made in China, and very well made at that. I guess it just depends on the factory and the folks writing the specications...
Compared to a good TIG weld that is indeed VERY ugly. There is spatter, obvious overheating, slag. It will be rusting badly in less than a year. If a SS fab shop delivered that to my boat it would be rejected in seconds.Here is an example MIG weld, not ugly by any means...
What looks OK on a 500' workboat looks like crap on a 40' yacht. They are also steel, not SS, a 'material' difference
. Even 40' steel yachts are welded with MIG. There is a very good reason why 99.99% of the welding done in a SS fab shop servicing yachts is TIG.
Last edited:
I started gas-welding a small aluminum rowboat years ago. It was slow going and I went through a good bit of flux paste, but it was a lot of fun.
I learned the hard way, and very quickly, that you need special goggles for this type of welding. Ouch, my eyes!
Never finished it. Got shipped off to Syria with one weeks notice so the materials were scrapped at the recycler. Oh well.
I learned the hard way, and very quickly, that you need special goggles for this type of welding. Ouch, my eyes!
Never finished it. Got shipped off to Syria with one weeks notice so the materials were scrapped at the recycler. Oh well.
kthoennes
Guru
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2013
- Messages
- 2,474
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Xanadu
- Vessel Make
- Mainship 37 Motor Yacht
When I was a commercial diver in my early 20's I figured I didn't need no steenkin' welding hood for a quick couple inches of mild-steel stick weld (surface, not under water that time). I'll just squint and look sideways. I'll never forget that flash burn. By the next morning it felt like I had a chunk of rock salt in my eye and I looked like Rocky Balboa after the fight. You're right, OUCH!! Taught me a good lesson. Luckily no lasting damage, but it taught me to be hyper cautious ever after.
Since you guys are so knowledgeable about welding. I read a long time ago to never weld while wearing contact lenses. No matter the strength of your shield. Some story circulating about a guy who basically fused his lens to his eyeball.
Is this true??
Is this true??
It sounds like an urban myth.
Used properly, a working shield will protect both the eyes and contacts.
I don't think that is true - certainly done that with no problems. There is a big difference in the wavelength and energy of the arc radiation though. When welding TIG I make sure every bit of skin is covered. 5 or 10 minutes welding with bare neck, knees poking through jeans, wrists uncovered, will give you a serious sunburn. That can happen with MIG or stick as well, but takes a lot more time.
kthoennes
Guru
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2013
- Messages
- 2,474
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Xanadu
- Vessel Make
- Mainship 37 Motor Yacht
As a result of this discussion I have been googling and watching welding tutorials and a number of them do say to remove contact lenses. One source said it's not the light though, the hood protects your eyeballs so it'll protect your contacts too, optically, but it's more an issue of the fumes and gasses potentially deteriorating the hydroscopic plastic. A rank amateur like me shouldn't post anything on welding though, that's just what some of the tutorials said. Kind of makes me wonder if the fumes can fry your contacts, can't be good for your eyeballs either. Uh oh, now I have to buy a $1500 closed breathing system hood.
Just use a "cheater" lens, that's what I do. Cost me $5 at Matheson, fits against the hood lens (inside). Works great!
