TIG Welding a maple syrup pan

admin

We make maple syrup and have decided to make my own pan this year. I have the stainless  steel sheet, it is about 26 gauge I think.  I will be bending it up and down in the middle and forming the sides but will have to tig in the ends. I have been a pipe welder and frame welder all my life but on stick not tig. I am bound to weld this myself.  I have the welder and all but not the experience. Will I have to weld the inside or out side? Or both?  If both will I have to purge the backside after the opposite side is welded?  All help appreciated. Harold
Reply:I'm not exactly sure what these are going to look like but I kind of have a mental picture.  Just keep in mind when it comes to welding stainless that any butt welds will need to be purged.  But I don't think you will have any of those unless you're gonna get really creative. Anyways,  ya just fillet weld the outside to the bottom of the pan, and if you can reach inside to weld the other side go ahead, but I wouldn't say you would need to, as long as the outside welded well.  Run 3/32 tungsten around 60 to 70 amps for thin steel like that, and off you go. Shouldn't be too much trouble. Ps,  you could get some 1/16 stainless stick rod if you really wanted to stick it.  Matt
Reply:Thanks Mat. Stick was my first thought but I figured I could learn to tig and do a better job. Thanks Harold
Reply:On 26g SS I have a feeling you will need to purge the backside on almost all joints. At least I would need to to prevent sugaring.If you don't have the experience with tig, 26g will probably be a PITA. That's like .0179 or a bit thicker than 1/64". You might want to think about some thicker SS to attempt this with at this point, or plan on tons of practice. If anything you may want to plan on lap joints and weld both seams to work with thicker material..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:sorry to get off topic, but how much strength will be lost by not back purging? or is it simply aesthetics?
Reply:Originally Posted by Ridr4lfe96sorry to get off topic, but how much strength will be lost by not back purging? or is it simply aesthetics?
Reply:Ok. Maybe I am wrong on the gauge. It shows about 27 thousandths on the caliper.
Reply:.0269 comes out as 23g on my chart. Still very thin to me..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Another question on back-purging.... Actually, on second thought I'll start a new post to avoid hijacking this one in a slightly different direction.  Updated:   posted my Q here:  http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=37281   (concerns using a different gas to backpurge).Last edited by Aquafire; 01-11-2010 at 01:19 AM.Lincoln AC225 & MigPak 140, Lincoln Magnum SpoolGun, Miller Spectrum 375-X Plasma, Syncrowave 200 TIG, Millermatic 252 MIG, Miller Digital Elite, General 7x12" horiz/vert bandsaw, 3' box/pan brake, 20 ton press, milling machine, 12x28 lathe, etc.
Reply:DSW posted some good(extreme) photos of sugaring.  That will happen if you weld this stainless without purging or coating the back side of the weld joints with solar flux paste.  The problem with this 2 twofold:1 - sugaring is an indication that you've compromised the corrosion resistance of the stainless.  Since this is going outside, it means that the weld seams and HAZ for the joints will rust just like low carbon steel.  Your pan will fail and you'll get rust flakes in your maple syrup.2 - The rust will take time to cause structural failures with the pan, but the rust pits that form are a great place to grow bacteria.  It could be real hard to get the pan clean and keep nasty, food-poisoning causing bacteria from contaminating your maple sap.  I know that the sap gets boiled down, as a part of making syrup, so maybe this isn't such a big problem... Originally Posted by WelderskelterOk. Maybe I am wrong on the gauge. It shows about 27 thousandths on the caliper.
Reply:Bacteria is not a huge issue with making maple syrup. It all gets heated to ~218f to finish it anyway. That is more than enough to kill off the normal nasties. Keep in mind that the sap pails are rather open to all sorts of fly poop, moths and what not so bacteria are a normal part of the process right from the start.Having a perfectly corrosion resistant pan is not esential at all. We have a plain steel pan that has boiled thousands of gallons of sap over 30 plus years. It is seasoned much like a cast iron fry pan, leave it out and it will rust but in normal use it does not. Back before these fancy stainless pans syrup was boild off in large cast iron pots, it worked back then it will still work today. There are downsides to stainless too. More prone to thermal cracking and less efficient in transfering heat. Depending on the food regulations you are trying to meet though you may have few options.What about Using a backing flux rather than messing around trying to set up a back purge?Lincoln PT185 TIGLincoln 175 MIGLincoln 240 amp AC StickLind Needle Arc plasma welderPlasma cutter, soon???
Reply:You could tack it all up with some very small tacks, duct tape the pan opening, stick a purge hose in it and let it run a few minutes...should be good to go.  After purging, you might want to add a bunch more small tacks to keep the thin SS from warping as bad.  If you get any sugar from your initial tacks, you could sand it off with a tiger paw or flapper wheel.
Reply:Originally Posted by Matt80Run 3/32 tungsten around 60 to 70 amps for thin steel like that, and off you go. Ps,  you could get some 1/16 stainless stick rod if you really wanted to stick it.  Matt
Reply:Another situation where I'd use the Solar B weld flux to prevent sugaring on SS.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:For some one without much tig experience, this sounds like a very ambitious project. I think you're going to be hating life trying to weld on something that thin. But if you gotta do it, use some kind of backer (aluminum or copper) for a heat sink, even if you use the Solar B weld flux. That should help reduce the chance of blowing through.
Reply:Lapping the corners will help you-much;either by forming or adding a lap piece--inaddition to the other suggestions of backer bars, solarfluxand lots of sample practice. If this was easy.....everybody would be doing it!Blackbird
Reply:I have welded enough to know that trying something different isnt always easy. But you know how hard headed we can be. I better go get the solar flux sounds like. Thanks Guys.