How much Ar for this?

jake98 · Dec 7, 2011

Looks like more than half of my 80CF bottle is gone. I didn't flip it over yet to do the other side either. I did do about 15 min. of torch practice tho, with it set on 15 l/m the other night when I got it.. had it set at 7 for this truck bed cover.

slowzuki · Dec 7, 2011

Do you mean half your bottle's pressure is gone? Have you let it warm up after the gas was withdrawn? I got one with a bad valve once, tank was empty after first day, welding shop refunded my money.

jake98 · Dec 7, 2011

No, it was pretty cold, all wet with condensation. I didn't think of that..

yomax4 · Dec 7, 2011

The cold wont change the pressure all that much. ( not 1/2 a tank) Looking at this project, it looks like you must have had your gas turned up way too high or something. This amount of welding would hardly move the needle. You should check your gun o-rings too. Something is not right.

jake98 · Dec 7, 2011

When I got it a couple days ago it read 1870 lbs., now it's at about 800. I spent some time experimenting (maybe 20 min.) with the flow at 15 l/min., before I converted the metric. I figured in the middle of the scale was probably close.. live and learn. The cover I'm making would have gone 3x as fast with the mig, I guess, but I wanted to try out the Everlast 200DX. I think I'll hold off on getting a spare tank until I know what I'm doing.

It doesn't matter that the tank is sideways with Ar, does it?

yomax4 · Dec 8, 2011

jake98 said:
When I got it a couple days ago it read 1870 lbs., now it's at about 800. I spent some time experimenting (maybe 20 min.) with the flow at 15 l/min., before I converted the metric. I figured in the middle of the scale was probably close.. live and learn. The cover I'm making would have gone 3x as fast with the mig, I guess, but I wanted to try out the Everlast 200DX. I think I'll hold off on getting a spare tank until I know what I'm doing.

It doesn't matter that the tank is sideways with Ar, does it?

Tank should be ok like that. I didn't realize you were Tig welding this project. In that case the gas consumption would be more than Mig because it takes longer to do a joint. 15 l/pm seems like it would be too high. You only need about 15 cfh. I don't know how to do the math but it seems like 15lpm is way more than 15cfh. If I remember the flow from my med gas gas, If you use lpm it would be more like 3-5 lpm for welding? Not sure. I would turn the gas down until you get porosity and then turn it up a litre or 2.

Gary Fowler · Dec 8, 2011

For TIG welding, you can set the flow by just holding the gun close to your cheek. If you feel a slight breeze, that is enough flow. You dont need it hissing out to get coverage when welding inside. If outside, set up a windbreak to keep from blowing away your argon shielding. 15 CFH is about the right flow rate and you would get about 5 hours of welding time. Be sure the gas is shut off each time you stop. If you plan to do a lot of TIG or MIG you need to get a larger bottle or get a spare tank.

deereman75 · Dec 8, 2011

That tank sounds like it came with very low pressure. I think argon/o2 tanks come with around 3600 psi in them. Did you get that one used? If not, you might want to find a new lws.

jake98 · Dec 8, 2011

deereman75 said:
That tank sounds like it came with very low pressure. I think argon/o2 tanks come with around 3600 psi in them. Did you get that one used? If not, you might want to find a new lws.

That's what I didn't want to hear, it was definitely under 2000.

deereman75 · Dec 8, 2011

jake98 said:
That's what I didn't want to hear, it was definitely under 2000.

Did you get the tank on craigslist or something, or was it from a lws. As I have said, if it was from a lws, try and get a free fill-up, or find a new lws.