Hobart 187 with 3035 spoolgun aluminum welding help needed

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I purchased a hobart 187 several years ago and recently purchased a 3035 spoolgun kit from www.brweldingsupplies.com that allows you to not have to buy the Hobart control box. I am trying to learn to weld 1/8" aluminum and I am having a really hard time getting 5356 to lay a decent bead. I figured out the 4043 wire pretty fast, but when I switched to 5356 I have not been able to get a single weld that I liked. I noticed that I can not weld with my machine set on the recommended settings either. I have to run my volt and wire speed at almost max to get the machine to melt the aluminum. I am using argon shielding gas with the regulator set at about 25. I am cleaning the aluminum with a wire brush also.Could it be that the aluminum I am welding on is the reason the 4043 wire welds good and the 5356 does not on it?Is the regulator I used for steel shielding gas the right one for 100% Argon?What do you think? The first picture is my 5356 weld and the second is my 4043. Attached Images
Reply:The problem is not the filler wire.What may have been different is that the piece of aluminum you were practicing on may have been a much larger size.On aluminum the total size of the weldment is important because the aluminum is trying to give off heat very rapidly. The larger the weldment the more heat will be required. That includes size and thickness.Do you know what the base material is of both test base metals?Try the same test on the piece of metal that WAS good and then see what happens.BTW...I have welded on some aluminum car bodies that were so large and giving off the heat so fast over such a large surface that It required a 500 amp machine.The aluminum garbage truck bodies are welded with 600 amp water cooled guns.Last edited by Donald Branscom; 03-22-2011 at 02:40 PM.AWS certified welding inspectorAWS certified welder
Reply:Those welds were placed on the same piece of 1/8" thick tubing I had laying around. I have no idea what type of aluminum it is. Here is another 5356 weld I did earlier where I welded 2 pieces together and then broke the weld to see what it looked like. That 4043 sure did make less splatter as you can tell. I cleaned with a stainless brush, wiped it down with acetone, and preheated and always got the same results with the splatter. Attached Images