opinions on gasless MIG welders?

MaybeGuy · Super Spammer Joined: 12 Mar 2007 Karma :

like the title says.

gasless seem to be cheaper to buy, but are they as effective and do they work in the same way?

cheers mig queers xxx
____________________
Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!! Mr. Green

Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

WildGoose · White Van Man Joined: 21 Mar 2002 Karma :

you still need gas to shield the weld, in the so called gasless welders, this comes from a proportion of flux in the wire, as the wire melts and is fed into the weld pool, a gas form is given off to shield the weld.

Less chance of the gas being blown away in windy conditions apparently, thus professional welders use flux cored wire to be able to complete vital jobs in adverse weather conditions.

The price of the wire, more than compensates for the cheapness of the rigs to buy, expect to pay 45-50 quid for a 5kg spool of the flux cored wire needed for gasless welding. Standard mild steel welding wire is like 10 quid for a 5kg spool.

There are forever differing opinions on it, but I bought a gasless capable rig for the simplicity, but am not paying the daft prices for the wire, so have just bought a gas regulator so I can use standard wire + gas.

I can't compare the two processes from my own POV as havent started gas welding yet. Supposed to get a tidier result with the gas though.

Mine: https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/mig151en-turbo-no-gas-mig-welder/path/dual-purpose-and-inno-gasin-mig-welders
____________________
So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

chrisw · World Chat Champion Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Karma :

Depends on the welder but gasless welding in general is a good alternative if you arn't in a controlled environment.

I've been using gasless wire (.8) for ages now, all the welding on the Mini was done with it as there was no way gas would have worked (and it didn't, I tried). When I was working outside the gas shroud blew away in even the lightest winds leaving aero-bar type welds.

I switched to gasless out of desperation and I've never looked back, it allowed neat welds in all conditions...with the right technique.

Biggest problem with using gasless wire on body panels (if that is what you'll be doing) is that you can, as far as I know, only get it in .8 which is quite thick for welding the grades of steel used in car panels, especially if you buy a cheap welder.

If you are only doing light welding on thin metal you don't need or want a welder that can supply massive currents.
Thats the problem with cheap welders, they supply to much current and with the poor controls normally fitted you can't get them low enough to weld thin metal without blowing holes.
The way round this is to use thin wire, using gas you can drop down to a .6 wire which will carry less current and blow less holes.
The workaround when using the thicker, gasless wire is to change the technique...

Have a look here...

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/

Specifically these sections:

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/gasless-mig.htm

and

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/thin-metal.htm

For what I think is the best technique for gasless welding thin metal...

As for the cost of wire, check eBay and buy in bulk, we got quite a large amount for about the same price you'd pay for normal wire!

WildGoose · White Van Man Joined: 21 Mar 2002 Karma :

For a seriously deep analysis of gasless welding, from the perspective of a pro, try this:

https://www.markthewelder.co.uk/id35.html
____________________
So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

MaybeGuy · Super Spammer Joined: 12 Mar 2007 Karma :

cheers for the replies, 5kg of wire for £45 doesnt sound too bad considering how long it would last me. better than keeping a pressurised bottle IMO by looking at some of the damage it does to vans in other posts Very Happy

how does the method of gasless welding differ? sure the setup is different as theres no gas settings, so is it simply a case of wire feed and voltage?

i found a buy it now one on ebay for £50 with a mask, which would help as i could do without having to steal one from college.
____________________
Blue_SV650S wrote: it was a sh1te wheelie, but it proves that he can get it up in 3rd and can do angles. In summery, mattsprattuk is a gobby little sh1tebag, dopehead tw4t, but sadly for all of us, he probably isn't THAT full of sh1te!! Mr. Green

Kickstart wrote: Hi I tend to agree with Matt. All the best Keith

WildGoose · White Van Man Joined: 21 Mar 2002 Karma :

the 'torch' will go to neg, and the clamp to positive, as opposed to 'torch' on positive and clamp on negative with normal gas settings, otherwise exactly the same

I'm not electrically minded, so no idea why this is the case, but it is.
____________________
So in other words, he stopped you for being flagrantly in posession of a motorcycle in direct contravention of the Hippies, Darkies and People Whose Face I Don't Like The Look of (Police Powers) Act. 1976

ZRX61 · Victor Meldrew Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Karma :

Depends on what you're going to be welding... fluxcore is fine if you're in the middle of a field welding 6ft dia pipes together...
At home & work it's Mig & Tig tho