Flux Core Welder

[Brent]

Hey, I was just wondering what kind of welder you would suggest for making a valveless pulse jet. I was looking at a decent flux core welder that wasn't to expensive. I don't have a lot of money at the moment because of university but i was wondering if the flux core welder is suitable. I do not know how to weld but know people who do and learning shouldn't be to much of a problem. I want to get this soon before the deal ends.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Brent.

[metiz]

You mean a MIG welder? sure they work just fine. and if you can find some flux cored wire to go with it, you don't need gas. go for it.

[Brent]

Is it a mig? Forgive me i should have done a little reading befor asking but im in a mad dash for my exam tommorow lol.

Link To Welder

I know its a very cheap welder but if it can do what i want thats all that matters.

My main goal is to be able to produce a go cart powered by a fairly substantial pulse jet. I'm not completely new to pulse jets I was fascinated by them last summer but when school hit most of my hobbies fell to the way side and with summer fast approaching, once again so are my hobbies. Welding is first on my list, not the easiest of task for sure lol, just another challenge to tackle!

Thanks Again

Brent.

[metiz]

can you post a pic of the welder with the specs? I think if you don't live in Canada, it messes up the link

[Brent]

[GRIM]

Hi and welcome ,
Thats a nice looking little welder ,
I dont currently own a MIG, but had a couple in the UK ,
Some comments based on my experiences ,

Flux core wire is expensive , especially the 4" spools , and that machine will only hold a 4" spool, If you need to learn to weld, you will get through a fair bit of wire ,

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisear ... &Submit=Go

80 Bucks for a welder , 20 bucks per spool of wire , Marketing!!

solid wire from the same people comes out at about 6 Bucks,

I used to use solid wire with CO2 , a friend had a Pub , so I used the cylinders they use for pressurizing beer , burns a little hotter than argon , but works fine for mild steel ,

If you want to weld stainless you will need argon , this is not cheap either but all in all I feel you can get more weld per buck than with flux core,

Similar welders have started to appear here in the DIY stores , they just sell the welder , Never have the wire in stock , and say "just go to the welding supplies store" ,
The welding supply store sells a spool of the flux core wire for about 1/2 the price of the welder !!, needless to say the are appearing in the small ads , "very little use" HA ,


Just my 2 cents

G

[Brent]

I took the plung and bought this welder, your right the wire is a tad exspencive but managable. I really don't think i'll be welding stainless anytime soon as its pretty pricy and until i becomoe a decent welder I don't want to risk throwing money away by messing it up.

Thanks for the input!

This is going to be a fun summer

Brent.

[metiz]

If you want to weld stainless you will need argon

Hey GRIM

why argon for SS instead of just co2? (just got my first gas bottle. c02. never used gas before - even with normal wire. It'll do with thin ss and normal steel)

[GRIM]

Hi Metiz ,
Whilst some of the gas mixes specially designed for stainless do indeed contain between 1.5 to 20 % CO2 , using 100% CO2 to weld stainless will result in a brittle and or porous weld ,

The purpose of the gas is to shield the moulten (and solidifying) weld pool from atmospheric oxygen, hydrogen and other gasses , that cause cracking,

The addition of C02 to argon is done to increase weld penetration for single pass welds in thick stainless, not ideal for sub 1mm sheet ,

Google mig welding gasses, theres a whole bunch of information that will explain it much better than I can,

Peace

Joe

[metiz]

Hi Metiz ,
Whilst some of the gas mixes specially designed for stainless do indeed contain between 1.5 to 20 % CO2 , using 100% CO2 to weld stainless will result in a brittle and or porous weld ,

The purpose of the gas is to shield the moulten (and solidifying) weld pool from atmospheric oxygen, hydrogen and other gasses , that cause cracking,

The addition of C02 to argon is done to increase weld penetration for single pass welds in thick stainless, not ideal for sub 1mm sheet ,

Google mig welding gasses, theres a whole bunch of information that will explain it much better than I can,

Peace

Joe

Hmm it's only recommended to use pure argon when you absolutely positively need a corosion free weld. using co2 slightly increases carbon deposits but it'll do for pulse-jets especially if you consider the fact that i never weld with gas and the oxidation that occurs is very superficial; it can be scraped of with a piece of sandpaper. crisis averted