Gas or gasless MIG welder?

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GingerPuss

GingerPuss

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My trusty old gas MIG welder has finally given up....but now there are these new fangled gasless rigs with special wire. What are they like? Or should I still to gas? Will use mostly for automotive repairs and light fabrication.

Cheers
 
redhand said:
gas is better than gasless depends how fussy you are . But gasless is better if welding outdoors a lot.
Click to expand...

Agree with gasless for outdoors and I find it good all round especially if you are a crap welder like me.
Its not the welder or the wire or the gas or gasless I'm just rubbish;)

Gasless still shields with gas its just in the wire instead of a bottle. Wont leak away if you leave it switched on etc
 
From what I gathered, if you do lots of welding, gas is cheaper, because the wire is expensive for 'gasless' (also 'gasless' uses flux core wire, just like you get solder with flux core or you put flux on yourself, when the weld strikes the heat makes the flux turn to gas) personally I have a Clarke mig 131 or 151 can't remenber which, classic 'gas' system, works good for me, don't think it was too overpriced either and gas and wire isn't too expensive.
Hope this helps :)
 
I like gas less because there is hardly any setting up, just set power and wire speed and away you go. I was always buying gas for the gas mig , it either leaked while it was in storage because I forgot to turn it off or ran out just when I needed it so I went for gas less. Just me:)
 
Ive just got one with both.

From the advice (as ive never welded before)

Gas is cheaper, and easier to use as a novice, wire cheaper, but need a gas bottle, not so good in wind

Gasless: you can't see too well with the flux fumes, it also tends to spatter more, overwelding is harder. easier to use outside if its windy, quicker setup time

now can somone explain to me though, why the need to change polarity for gas/gassless, I cant figure it out.
 
Got a gasless one that that can also be set up with gas, never tried the gas as have found the standard setup did all I needed, but would probbaly find on light / thin panels thinner gauge rod and gas maybe be better.
Reckon its all down to preference ;)
 
timtheenchanteruk said:
now can somone explain to me though, why the need to change polarity for gas/gassless, I cant figure it out.
Click to expand...

I don't know the answer to this but I do know if you try welding with gas and the polarity wrong on a Clarke 151EN the welds are dreadful. When I bought mine I just fastened my gas bottle to it and tried a few welds, I was ready for returning it as faulty. It was at this point I read the handbook and found the bit about swapping the polarity for gas, now the welds are fine (as fine as my welding gets anyway). Still don't understand why though.
 
Had a google around and found the answer, apparently the heat is 2/3 on the +ve side, for gas you want the wire to the hotter, as the gas does the shielding form the torch, for gasless, the piece needs to be hotter, as the shielding comes from the weld (flux).
 
why bother getting a specialised non gas welder when you can just buy a gas one and keep a small roll of self fluxing wire on standby for the annoying occasion of running out of gas

as for welders my arsenal is

sip migmate 130 turbo mig welder converted to big gas bottles and a regulator and a modified transformer so i can do super fine welding ( 2 bean tins welded together)

cheap n nasty clarke arc welder bought from argos about 20 years ago now ( computer fan retrofitted in the casing and enstated the 3rd coil in the transformer for light work and can easily weld up to 5/8" thick steel easily )

and some really old dodgy but works mint spot welder got from a mate clearing his shed out :D
 
Got to say i'm not surprised to see folks with more than 1 welder. Got 3 myself - a small Lincoln (100 amp) I keep set up for gas for fine work, a 180-amp Miller I keep with flux-core for heavy work and a Miller TIG I also have rigged for straight arc with a stinger when i have to gluue together fence posts orr similar farm-type work.

Gas is a lot cleaner and easier to regulate for light work (sheet metal), and flux core cleans much more agressively if the work surfaces are perhaps not pristine. And if you insist on welding through rust and paint plain old stick welding is the way to go.

ajr
 
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