Mig aluminum

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I just got a new millermatic 180 with a spoolmate 100.  I am wanting to teach myself how to mig aluminum, but i am not sure what wire to use.  Also, what gas mix should i use or should i use straight argon?  While i am asking, what is the best mix for welding mild steel and what wire? Any advice?  Thanks
Reply:All very common questions on this forum. I would use the search feature and search the topics for the key words your interested in and you'll be sure to find a ton of information.
Reply:I have a lincoln 180c with a sg100 spool gun.  I think you will find it easy.  Just remember to push your wire.  Clean your metal.  You machne chart settings will get you close. Straight Argon.
Reply:Fabc8tor  -  there are legions on this site that know more than I ever will, but I will respond to your question since I have the same setup, though I imagine you have the latest version of the MM180 which  avoids the retrokit issue I encountered. Following is my response to another thread about this. Regarding gas, I believe 100% argon is the way to go. As for mild steel, I know even less so I can't even hazard an opinion.    In my experience, very limited as it is, the Spoolmate 100 kit is a lot easier to use than trying to ram 10' of aluminum wire through the regular setup. Installing the switch in an older MM180 wasn't difficult, and though my machine doesn't have the Autoset feature the settings sticker that came with the kit has all the info you need. It even sounds different than using the original gun, a smoother hum. I had to use the stiffer 035" ER 5356 wire previously to get past most of the bird-nesting feed issues, which is fine but for a newbie like me a little harder to get a nice looking weld, and a lot of soot cleanup. Now I am using 030" ER 4043 and it almost like night and day. I'm not doing marine or high strength stuff so the softer wire is fine for my needs and easier to get a pretty weld with no soot or cleanup needed. I have only done 1/8" aluminum so far, but this isn't pushing the machine a bit. Worth it IMHO.
Reply:75/25 Ar/CO2 for mild steel, pure argon for aluminum.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Originally Posted by Fabc8torI just got a new millermatic 180 with a spoolmate 100.  I am wanting to teach myself how to mig aluminum, but i am not sure what wire to use.  Also, what gas mix should i use or should i use straight argon?  While i am asking, what is the best mix for welding mild steel and what wire? Any advice?  Thanks
Reply:THanks for all the help guys!
Reply:As for the aluminum wire, 4043 .030/.035" is a good place to start.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Ok i now know what i need for aluminum, but as for mild steel what is the difference between er70s-3 and say ER70s-6??  The tubing i will be welding is .058 thick with 3/4 outside diameter mild steel.  Would you recomend using the spool gun for the tubing or just the regular gun?  I bought the spool gun just for aluminum, but if it will make it easier to weld pipe then that is fine. Advice?
Reply:S-6 has more dioxidizers and is for rusty metal.  JohnSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:so the higher the number the more the dioxidizers?  The tubing i will be welding is new and no rust so i should use 3 right?THanks
Reply:Originally Posted by Fabc8torso the higher the number the more the dioxidizers?  The tubing i will be welding is new and no rust so i should use 3 right?THanks
Reply:I use -6 for all mild steel mig welding.   I would use the regular mig gun.  No reason to fight with a big heavy cumbersome gun when you have a nice light easy to handle one right there.  MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I bought a roll of .035 S-2 and couldn't get it to run for beans.  Short arc or pulsed spray.  Got 40 lbs left......David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Thanks for all the help guys, really!  And thanks for the websites Weldgault i love to set and read up on stuff i just don't know of many places to do it. Thats why im on this site.  I stumbled across this in search for a welder one day and have learned a lot off this site thus far.  More than i have from the tech school teacher anyway.  I hate to talk about him, but i really don't understand how he got the job.  I have read the majority of our school book which is good it just doesn't go into much detail and apparently leaves a lot more out.  I don't ask many questions on here i just read everyone elses.  I do like to learn stuff on my own, but sometimes its just easier to ask espically when it is a question on technique.  Thanks again for passing down yalls knowledge!