What gases for tri-process machine?

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Hi All,  I bought a Tweco 211i for Christmas which does MIG/DC TIG/Stick and there's still a few feet of snow on the ground so I am left contemplating what gases to get for it rather than using it...  I bought this welder to restore a 1934 Hupmobile which requires body panel work and fuel cell fabrication.  That means 18-gauge sheet steel and probably 1/8" aluminum for the tank.  There is also some steel TIG that needs to take place to fix cracked headlight buckets and other thin pieces.  My stock of bottles is as follows:-full WS acetylene (about 110 cubic foot?)-1/4 full 122 cubic foot oxygen-empty 122 cubic foot oxygen-empty Q size oxygen (83 cubic foot)I picked up the empty bottles at the dump yesterday.  They are lease bottles with 2 more years on the certs so I expect I can swap them for shielding gas pretty easily.  Knowing that, what would you suggest I get for shielding gas if I only wanted 2 gases and maximum welding results?  All welding will take place outside should that be a factor.Thanks guys, Steve
Reply:Get steel mix (75 percent argon, 25 percent carbon)and 100 percent argon. Really your only option. You also need a spool gun for aluminum to MIG. You can't tig aluminum with that machine.
Reply:Originally Posted by StevemoI picked up the empty bottles at the dump yesterday. They are lease bottles with 2 more years on the certs so I expect I can swap them for shielding gas pretty easily.
Reply:Ok, that is good news that I can get by with 2 bottles.  Should I bother trying to mix my own C25?  I am going to get a 2nd regulator so I can dedicate it to TIG so I guess it would be an option.All of my bottles were leases but there are options although it is a real PITA.  Gotta love the collusion between Praxair, Air Liquide, and Linde to only sell miniature tanks...  I went in to TSC today and they will take the leased Q size bottle regardless of ownership.  I even checked their stock and they had a random selection of leased bottles for exchange so that is confirmed.  It's nice when you can score a bottle "worth" over $300 bucks including taxes at the dump.One of my 122 cubic foot bottles is a lease from an outfit that does not have depots that I could try swapping it at so I may just return it to them in good will or take it back to the dump.  The other oxygen and the acetylene bottle are supported by a depot that is 2 hours away from my house!  I may trade them down to TSC sized bottles when they run out or I may just make the trip once in a while.  I'm not sure about that one.Cheers, Steve
Reply:That's awesome that your TSC will refill leased bottles. When I was shopping around for mine I gave the local places a call and they said they'd only accept their own bottles, and if you didn't own an up to date lease on the bottle they'd just confiscate it. Finding two in-date/fillable bottles at the dump is an awesome score. I'm jealous.Don't mix your own gas. Mixers are really expensive (more than your welder cost) and you'd still need two bottles anyways -- one for CO2 and one for Argon. Plus you'd want a BIG argon tank because you'd be using 100% for TIG and 75% for MIG, so it would empty pretty quick. That means 18-gauge sheet steel and probably 1/8" aluminum for the tank. There is also some steel TIG that needs to take place to fix cracked headlight buckets and other thin pieces
Reply:You got cylinders from the dump? Date on a cylinder means nothing if the cylinder is damaged. Did you buy these cylinders or just take them? I'd be really leery of getting cylinders at the dump and if the dump actually sold them brings up even more red flags. 18 gauge will weld with .023 MIG no problem but it's more a bunch of tacks than continuous welds.
Reply:Dave:  Not to worry, nothing underhanded is going on.  Our dump has various sections including hazmat, furniture, waste oil, free flea market, etc.  The workers do not take money to sell stuff as far as I know.There were 3 Oxygen bottles amongst a mountain of propane cylinders so I crawled through the snow and bottles to see what was sitting there.  One was a relic which hadn't been tested for 40+ years so I left it where it was.  The other two were very nice with most of the bottle being bare but some paint up on the curved top portions where they usually rust.  I checked the bottles over and looked OK.  They are much nicer than the stuff TSC is exchanging around here.  Those bottles have so many layers of paint that it's hard to know what you are getting.  I assume that the refiller has a procedure to follow when refilling these bottles to protect their *** but I am pretty confident they came from the same place and are fine.  The next thing I need to do is order a pack of Fusion .023 tips.  My welder only came for one and I'm betting I'll plug it on the first shot.Cheers, Steve
Reply:Hi again,  I continue to make small progress on getting gas for the welder.  The thing I am running into now is that the companies around here have names for their mixed gas.  Argon is argon but C25 is not C25.What would the Praxair and Linde names be for C25?  Below are photos of my bottles.  The Acetylene to the left of the 3 oxygen bottles came with my outfit and the oxygen bottle in the cart also came with the outfit.  The rest came from the dump...in the end I broke down and went back for the two oldies I had previously left behind.  The whole leasing thing is driving me nuts so I figured I would just collect every bottle I can possibly find and turn them in to funnels or something rather than give the companies the satisfaction of being able to lease them.   I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Acetylene now on my cart had 3.5 lbs of contents in it which is about 50 cubic feet.  It had a bad stem leak at first but I was able to seal it up by tightening the packing.Cheers, SteveTweco 211i complete with pedal and TIG kit"Victor Style" Oxy/Acetylene outfitUNIWELD Air/Acetylene Kit
Reply:http://www.praxair.com/~/media/North...SS%20P8354.pdf
Reply:Thanks man, I have found that the dealers know more about the gas than the depots.  If I mention C25 to the main dealers they know what I am talking about.I found a dealer that will sell me an odd ball ~300 cubic foot breathing air bottle converted to CGA 580 and filled with C25 for a good price.  The blue 125 cubic foot bottle is heading down to Syracuse NY for a pressure test and conversion to CGA 580 and argon fill.  He won't touch the 125 cubic foot Linde bottle so its likely to become a science project.It has taken me a few months but I am close to breaking the system regarding leasing bottles...Tweco 211i complete with pedal and TIG kit"Victor Style" Oxy/Acetylene outfitUNIWELD Air/Acetylene Kit