• RME Gear & Apparel

MIG Welding with Gas

Brad J

Brad J

Registered User
Location
Woods Cross, UT
I've done stick welding with a Lincoln Tombstone and Wire feed welding with a small 220 V Hobart but never MIG with Gas. I picked up a Lincoln Pro MIG 180 Welder to do some body repairs on a wrecked 2005 Mustang. I've heard that you usually rent a tank but some prefer to buy one. What are the benefits? I don't weld that much (2-3 small projects a year). How long do the tanks last? Where do you recommend going to? How much do they usually charge to fill the tank? My garage is a very small 2 car garage so I would like to stick with a tank no taller than 30" to fit on a cart under my work bench. I have around 100 spot welds that I need to fill in. Any other recommendations?
Thanks, Brad
 
frieed

frieed

Jeepless in Draper
Supporting Member
Location
Draper, UT
An 80cf tank (one of the smallest) of C25 won't fit under your bench at 36" tall. If you really have the size constraint and want to use gas, you could possibly rig up a straight CO2 setup. I've heard of people using paintball tanks for this or maybe a PowerTank if you have one for wheelig.
As to how long a tanks lasts, MIG gas is typically set up at about 15-20 CFH (cubic feet/hour) so an 80 cf tank would yield 4 hrs welding time @ 20CFH. If using straight CO2, it is liquid that is sold by the pound. One pound of liquid CO2 yields 8.74 CF of gas, so a ten pound cylinder is about equal weld time to a 80CF C25 (C25 is 75%Argon, 25%CO2). Also, for body work, look at MP&C's posts in this thread...
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53534
 
Last edited:
Brad J

Brad J

Registered User
Location
Woods Cross, UT
I think that I should get a larger tank and just put the cart in backwards with the tank standing up out the front of the work bench. It would be a pain to run out of gas in the middle of a project. Thanks for the link. I have some reading to do.
 
Bucking Bronco

Bucking Bronco

................
Location
Layton
Brad J said:
I think that I should get a larger tank and just put the cart in backwards with the tank standing up out the front of the work bench. It would be a pain to run out of gas in the middle of a project. Thanks for the link. I have some reading to do.
Click to expand...

Tanks are actually designed to run out of gas at 5pm in Friday's right in the middle of projects. There's just no getting around it. At least that's been my experience.
 
frieed

frieed

Jeepless in Draper
Supporting Member
Location
Draper, UT
So I bought my MIG welder about 5 years ago. At that time I found a full 200cf tank on KSL for $150. I don't do a ton of welding, but I've done a fair amount (30lbs of wire) and I'm down to about 800psi out of the original 2200psi. The only issue is to have it re-certified for pressure. The point is, 4 hrs of weld time with an 80 (actual time arc going) is a LOT of welding time for a hobbyist.
 
Brad J

Brad J

Registered User
Location
Woods Cross, UT
Yesterday I called around and Norco quoted a little better price than the other locations around here on the purchase price and discounted original fill. I ended up getting an S tank (150 cubic feet), 75% Argon 25% Carbon Dioxide and an 11 lb spool of .035 wire for $435. They were great to work with and I also liked that they were open till 5:30 M - F instead of 5:00 like the others. Now I'm just waiting on the 3 wire 250 V Receptacle to arrive since I wired my other 2 welders, garage and extension cords to 4 wire and sold all of the 3 wire ones. I got a $40 cart at HF Tools. It looks like I can forget about trying to get it to go under my work bench now and just clean up a spot in front of the bench for it. Thank you for your help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top