Aluminium Welding machines

[Tarquin]

im thinking of buying and aluminum welding machine...
Who of you welds aluminum and what welding machine have you got?

[Obelix and Dogmatix]

Last time i saw someone welding alu they had a ventilation hood on for the poisoness gases that alu welding produced, so just do your homework properly before you buy.

[TOYOTA 4YEFI]

Hi

I am a welder by trade, I first had a miller welder and it was probably the best machine I ever welded with but it only lasted for about 7 years because the ingnighter or striker module had blown on it and replacing it would have cost around 14k. so we opted for a new welder and tried out the Thermadine 200A inverter,and it works like a bomb I might just go as far as saying it welds aluminium better than the miller , and they have local support on there welders aswell so parts have never been a problem although we have only bought new torches and at R10500 it was a much cheaper than R17000 for a new Miller

hope it helps
Cheers

[ChrisF]

from what I understand the main problem for the DIY person is that you need special inert gas with these welders .... VERY expensive for the DIY person ...

[legend35]

Hi Tarquin.Tou would need a AC/DC machine to weld alu with min 200A because most of the machines are only 60% duty cycle. You would also need a foot control so when the alu gets to hot ,you can down the power. The reason for the control is,the alu get hot very quickly and just melts away. The gas you need is Argon 5.0. I use a Goliath 350A machine.

[Tarquin]

Thanks for the reply's.
the termadine 200A is a mig welder isn't it?
do you weld aluminum with a mig welder and not a tig welder?

Does the aluminum burn away where you are welding, or does the feed wire get too hot?
how does it work with the pedal, do you start welding very hot and then slowly reduce it as you start welding?

[legend35]

You can weld alu with mig ,tig or stick,What ever you like.The pedal is what you say,start hot and reduce the power.It is the material that you weld,that gets to hot and not the wire.Just remember you need a AC machine if you want to tig weld alu.On mig welding ,you can use a DC welding machine.Hope this helps.

[legend35]

Tarquin ,did you find what you were looking for.Google some youtube videos.It helps a lot.

[Tarquin]

Thank you Johan
i've been googleing and think i know what i need to know.