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Ive only gone through 3 bottles of c25, and am getting down to last 100 lbs or so.  My weldarc is starting to look globular (excessive spatter) and the arc is getting unstable.  Is this common when tanks start running out?  Just wondered if something was going wrong with my welder...Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:If you have gas flow on your flowmeter then when is the last time you changed your contact tip???  Often the arc becomes unstable when the hole in the end of the tip is egg shaped and the wire wiggles back and forth.
Reply:I think you've got a valid question here.  I've wondered if I've seen a change as a mixed bottled gas runs low.  I've heard/read of people rolling bottles on the floor to keep them mixed .  I asked a well respected scientist friend, he's a phyiscist/welding/metallurgist, and he figured that natural atomic movement, Brownian movement, would keep the gas mixed.  Have not found a definitive study on this subject, so if you see a change in the arc, maybe it is due to the gas mix stratifying?   I'll have to look at Ar/CO2 densities, don't think they are too far apart, like Ar/He is/are.Another reason to brew your own, fresh.
Reply:I had the same problem yesterday while welding up some chain to make parts for a cylinder bracket for my truck.  Checked the gas, changed the tip and finally figured out I was not getting a good ground.It seems every time I have these type problems it is either a worn tip or bad ground.
Reply:Thanks fellas.  I went ahead and got another c25 tank.  I was gonna get c10, but it was 96 bucks for 150cf.  No friggin way was I paying that.  My 300cf argon tank only costs 68 bucks for a refill.  Freakin me out.  Anyhow, Pulser..  What kinda fitting do you use to mix your gas and where can I get one.  I know you need like a 'y' type fitting.  Ive allready got 2 flow meters.  When I run outa gas again, Ill pick up some co2 and just start mixing it myself.  Oh, almost forgot.  The tip is practically new (took one out doing overhead stuff), and I moved the ground all over the place trying to get it to stableize.  Im with pulser on this one.  My rig is like brand new Last edited by Doolittle; 03-14-2007 at 05:01 PM.Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Well, how about a simple brass "Tee" and some hose barbs?  Now I've not actually mixed gas myself this way, but far as I can tell it should work.  So try at your own risk.   Maybe running the two gasses into a small chamber allows better mixing?  There are several commercial units that appear to use flow meters and a chamber.  We had a big mixer at the auto parts plant, but never bothered to see exactly how it worked.
Reply:I got my mixer from E-bay..I love it!http://www.weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread...iths+gas+mixer...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Zap, good score on the mixer.  Maybe you could descibe how your mixer is designed.  Reading this article makes it sound more complicated than I would have guessed. http://www.weldingmag.com/323/Global...e/False/11321/
Reply:Originally Posted by pulserZap, good score on the mixer.  Maybe you could descibe how your mixer is designed.  Reading this article makes it sound more complicated than I would have guessed. http://www.weldingmag.com/323/Global...e/False/11321/
Reply:Oops, got excited and replied to your old post zap.  Thanks again.Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Yeah..I see that.. ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:This could be the cause, CO2 liquifies at 1100psi, Argon does not. Down to 1100 psi CO2 is supplied by the CO2 boilling when the pressure drops below the critical pressure the amount of CO2 available changes.
Reply:So, Zap, how does the mixer actually work?  Most of us can't afford to buy a new mixer and they don't come up on Ebay that often, so maybe it would be possible to apply the basic principles based on an existing design like the one you have in front of you, and build something that works a whole lot cheaper.  Are there flow meters, valves, mixing chamber, pressure regulators, or what?
Reply:Originally Posted by pulserSo, Zap, how does the mixer actually work?  Most of us can't afford to buy a new mixer and they don't come up on Ebay that often, so maybe it would be possible to apply the basic principles based on an existing design like the one you have in front of you, and build something that works a whole lot cheaper.  Are there flow meters, valves, mixing chamber, pressure regulators, or what?
Reply:Hmm.  If we knew what was inside one of those weird looking diaphrams, maybe we could come up with something.  You still have the old one you pulled out zap?Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:btw, everything is back to normal with the new tank.  This might be an exception.  Tank may have been sitting for a while before I got it, or who knows.Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:You still have the old one you pulled out zap?
Reply:It would be cool to see what makes the thing tick.
Reply:I scuba dive and last year I got my technical certification for gas blending. I blend three gases right now, Oxygen, Air(21% O2, nitrogen, and negligable impurities) and Helium. I have a great utility program that lets you input the size of your air tank, the percentage of each gas, the current PSI of your air tank and then it tells you how much in PSI to put in of each gas to get your desired mix at a desired CuFt. This is pre-mix, while you guys are looking for continuous flow mixing. But bang for the buck, most of us would be able to use a single cylinder of premix for quite a while. This may be cheaper than paying for pre-mix and less expensive than the mixer required for continuous flow mixing. I am sure the utility program could be modified for other welding gases. It's pretty simple.And just in case someone is calling BS on me.....It's a PADI DSAT TECREC Course and my Cert Card Diver # is 0607079131Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain