trouble with gas

[wldrkev]

using stargon 90% argon 8% carbon dioxide and 2% oxygen. its not all the time but i have trouble with the wire not reaching into the weld zone the way it should. it kinda seems foamy or maybe irratic not really sure how to explain it but it doesnt flow smoothly like it should also it has either black or white soot around the weld zone. i am in spray so the wire is running fast but not any faster than usual. feeder wheels are good new liner new tip nozzle and diffuser but it stills does it. using a miller 302 with a 24a feeder. i know its the gas because it will be running fine and they bring a new batch of gas and it starts back to running bad. the penetration is very poor and it has holes in the weld like the wind blew the gas but no wind what so ever. has anyone ever experienced anything like this. or can anyone tell me what exactley what happens if certain gases are not to the right % because this has been an ongoing thing for a long time and i really like the guy we get our gas from and dont want to change companies . thanks for any help

[richross]

What metals are you welding? Could the metal be dirty or oily. I am told that when you by gas from a commercial supplier there is never any guarantee that it was mixed properly. Your supplier probably gets his tanks filled at a depot and does not fill them himself. Soot can be from dirty metal. I weld torque converters and we deal with rusted dirty oily metal. We burn Argon 98% CO2 2% with very nice results the weld stays cooler and does not end up brittle. You may also want to try a shielded wire if you are not already or change to a different wire. Try raisnig the pressure on the gas you are using to see if that helps. Rich

[wldrkev]

What metals are you welding? Could the metal be dirty or oily. I am told that when you by gas from a commercial supplier there is never any guarantee that it was mixed properly. Your supplier probably gets his tanks filled at a depot and does not fill them himself. Soot can be from dirty metal. I weld torque converters and we deal with rusted dirty oily metal. We burn Argon 98% CO2 2% with very nice results the weld stays cooler and does not end up brittle. You may also want to try a shielded wire if you are not already or change to a different wire. Try raisnig the pressure on the gas you are using to see if that helps. Rich

i have tried the 98 2 also. this has been a long time of dealing with this problem and its not all the time but quite often. ive also tried all the 2 part argon co2 mixes like 75 25, 80 20, 90 10 and none of them match the 3 part mix. i have noticed that the weld feels brittle coming out of the tip as its welding also. i do a lot of tack and hit with a hammer to move the metal into place and when the gas is not acting right the tack will break every time.

[gnforge]

What wire are u using? Is it solid or dual shield flux core. Had similar problem last year took me a wile to figure out. Maybe I can help ?

[wldrkev]

im using the lincoln s6 wire 045 i have tried turning the gas pressure up and it seems to help a little but still doesnt get where i want it. the metal i am using is 12" 19# i beam and then 3 and 5 inch channel and angles being welded in all positions. new metal so no rust and minimal oil. it seems that i cant get out of globular into spray without the wire speed being too fast. doesnt matter if i turn it up or down it seems to still run the same. i find myself turning the amps up more and more to try to get the wire speed out of globular but it doesnt work.any help will be appreciated before i start throwing things lol

[wldrkev]

also the company we get our gas from mixes it themselves but they use a temperature method where they shoot the bottles follow a graph and fill it to the temperature the graph says but it seems to me there is a lot of room for human error.

[wldrkev]

What wire are u using? Is it solid or dual shield flux core. Had similar problem last year took me a wile to figure out. Maybe I can help ?

i left a comment not sure how to notify you but could you go back to the thread and see what i said please im really having a bad time with this situation
thank you

[gnforge]

I sent you a Private message with my cell #.
Call anytime. Greg