Alumiweld Rod for wleding aluminum ??

[yorkiepap]

Hey guys,
Yes, I do agree with SundownIII's assessment. You really need to know if any aluminum is pure/alloy aluminum, or the composition aluminum that is referred as diecast. Most diecast composition alum. alloys contain zinc, copper, lead, tin, antimony, & other garbage metals melted together & poured into castings. Also, most who have experienced it can see the brittleness of its' nature. It is a cheap method that does have uses as most can see & is much more inexpensive to produce.

With all the aluminum repairs I get in, I can determine the composition by examining the grain structure as diecast is quite porous & a slight touch with grinding wheel verifies. I do a lot of aluminum castings & other repairs with TIG or MIG only. The other facet of success with the alum. brazing rods is to clean the joint just as you would do any MIG or TIG weld. Cleanliness is primary concern with any aluminum or even that crappy diecast.

Denny

[FusionKing]

I will agree with Yorkie.... I can see the uses of this product. It had usefullness from the day it was developed many years ago.
It works wonderful for filling bulletholes.
My problem is with the "snake oil" type of marketing that is used to sell it.
Everyone wants to use it on applications that the original part failed and is seldom "stronger". So from my point of view...esp. when I usually find it like Sundown does, ie, where it DOESN'T belong is it is crap
Read the sales pitch on the HF ad even!!. I consider it out and out lieing. Nothing miraculous about it IMO.
BTW... aluminum is "die-cast" widely all over the world and is welded readily.
"POT METAL" is also die-casted and is what I suspect is Yorkiepap is referring to. I can identify if very quicly because it is much heavier than aluminum.
I get almost zero call for POT METAL repairs because I mainly do marine repairs but I do have antique cars and parts around and am aware of the material and how to repair it.
I will concure tho Yorkiepap, if people start a trend of bringing me pot metal castings I will have no problem using these rods...we even stock them in our parts store
These are my opinions tho and I made sure I stated that on my first post. Not trying to call anyone out. I consider it pretty much the same thing as brazing something steel that would be able to be welded best with a process like stick or mig.

[FusionKing]

Heck I will even add that I am glad to see Yorkiepap (or anyone for that matter) is using that stuff for what it is/was legitimately made/mfg for, in spite of all the hype.

[CrazyHorse!]

Any input on this rod for welding aluminum I was told you can use a propane torch or O/A to weld with this rod

got a aluminum water tank and it's not important that it hold high pressure
or that the weld even looks good just needs to fix the seapage it has under about 10 psi was told this rod will work as good as tigging it

has any one used this rod before and how was the outcome of it is it all that they claim??

Thanks for any input on this

CH!

02-09-2010 09:08 AM
CrazyHorse! Thanks for the input guys never mess with it just heard about it thought id ask about it was going to pick some up just to fart around with it a bit before trying any repair to the tank in this case it really is cheaper just picking up a used tank any way besides its not really an important project

And Thanks for chiming in it is appreciated.

CH!

Yesterday 12:22 PM
CrazyHorse! Well I pretty much abandon the idea of using it to patch the tank

But i just might take some advice here and pick up a few houndred pounds of it and start my own emergency mobile beer can repair service


But on a more serious note I may just pick some up to just fart around with it and see how it works.

any way here is a link to HF store where i found some

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44810

Hey Guys Sorry did not mean to open a can of worms here have not ever tried the product just wanted some input on it.

and I am pretty aware of product advertising as sometimes I refer to as (FIB-ER-Tising) that some thing that sound to good to be true are just that to good to be true.
I don't always read between the lines on products such as this and I am sure it has its place but like I said it is just cheaper to replace the tank with a used one which is more cost effective than repairing it.

although I will still pick some of this product up just to try it out and see where it may have its uses for me if at all any.

Thanks again
CH!

[FusionKing]

CrazyHorse....heck You didn't open up anything except normal discussion IMO.
Don't sweat it....Good thread as far as I am concerned
Every one gave their honest opinion and you got some great input too.

[yorkiepap]

Hey CH,
I agree with FusionKing that you did not open any can of worms & your query would enlighten those who have no experience with this type of rod. That said... it has a place. There is a tremendous amount of the so-called "potmetal" that is a garbage diecast in use everywhere from home appliances to the auto industry.

Just to give an example of easy $$$ that can be made. My boss's wife had (2) extremely decorative plant tables on their patio that was given her by her late father. All painted in antique green/charcoal that were really nice. She bumped the first one with a sweeper & knocked it over & broke it in (3) places in the middle of the frame. The second one broke after getting blown over by a wind gust. My boss brought them in & asked if I could fix them since I do all our companys' aluminum welding at my home shop. I indicated to him that I could do them, although it takes a special rod & the welds would need to be re-contoured to the frame design & that would take some work. He asked how much & I said $100 each considering the time to prep, weld, & re-contour to original shape of the broken joints. He said ok as these were his wifes' most precious gifts from her father & would pay that to get them restored. So, I used the HTS-735 I have & the repairs came out superb. It works well once you get the "feel" of flame/heat control with diecast and being not careful would result in huge blob falling off if heated too much. It takes some practice. Anyway, get some to try & maybe practice if you can get some scrap pieces. Gotta be as clean as regular aluminum welding.

Denny

[FusionKing]

Yorkiepap..great post makes me wish someone would bring me some of that junk (potmetal) so I can use some of that "crap" rod!
Glad you are hanging out here with us!! Keep it up

[kbraby]

This is one of the better commentaries I've ever read on the rods you see at home shows, boat shows, etc...

From: "Barry L. Ornitz"
Subject: Re: Help needed for Aluminium welding / soldering
Date: Jun 05 1997
Newsgroups: sci.engr.joining.welding

I see these "miracle rods" all the time at flea markets and amateur radio
hamfests. Usually the person selling the rods makes all sorts of claims
as to their being an extremely complex (and hence expensive) alloy.
Well, I bought ONE rod just to see what it could do.

But first I carried it to the lab for a quick analysis by electron
dispersive spectroscopy. The rod was basically about 83% zinc and 15%
aluminum. The only other component in any reasonable proportion was
about 2% copper.

I asked a metallurgist friend to explain the properties of this material
and he laughed. He said it was not real soldering where the solder
actually "wets" the surface and alloys with it slightly. He said that
zinc had a very low viscosity when molten and that it would readily flow
over an aluminum surface. Very little "soldering" would actually take
place since the aluminum surface would typically be covered with an oxide
layer. However the zinc would often fill small voids in the oxide
surface giving the impression that it was really soldering it. In
actuality, the zinc was more of an adhesive than anything else (think of
it as a form of super epoxy).

This is not to say that these rods are useless. They are handy for
patching many items and for plugging small leaks in aluminum tubes used
in refrigeration systems. However, they are nowhere as strong as a
brazed or welded joint. Also these joints tend to fail when subjected to
moist conditions. Just remember that zinc is an inexpensive metal so
paying big prices for these rods is a rip-off!

If you have need for a strong repair of an aluminum item, I would stick
with welding. I have seen excellent aluminum brazing done with a gas
torch but this generally takes lots of skill and experience.

Dr. Barry L. Ornitz WA4VZQ
[ChE/EE learning welding as a hobby]

[rusk1y]

Hi, sorry to resurrect such an old thread. Has anyone had any luck with this stuff yet?
I am trying to braze 3/8" thick aluminum. Seller told me it is aluminum alloy 6061. basically three pieces together and i am having no luck.
I tried Oxy-Acetelyene Torch and Propane... How long does it have to get heated exactly? Nothing seems to get hot enough IMO. I can stand there and heat it for 5 minutes or longer in one spot to no effect.
I did clean it off real well with a wire brush and gave it a 45 degree file down on the edges. The rod does not melt on as advertised unless its under flame directly.
Anyways, i am including a few pictures. Maybe you pro's out there can identify the metal or if it is possible to braze together at all or i'll have to TIG weld it.
Take a look if you have time, thank you for any feedback

Also, i included a old piece of aluminum from bicycle brakes. It worked nicely as i wanted on that, but i need to identify why it doesn't work on my giant heat sink
WP_000638.jpgWP_000640.jpgWP_000665.jpgWP_000666.jpgWP_000667.jpg

[weldbay]

I have used this before not the best but it works Cor-Al by Harris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1y8kY9Y5gI