MIG Welding Aluminum Systems

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Just before I get to purchase a mig welding system for aluminum I wanted to hear from anybody who has experience in using any particular system.  I am leaning towards the Lincoln system with the MK cobra gun.  But any track record from anybody would be helpful.  We will be manually welding aluminum 5000 series and thickness will be around .5 to 1 inch thickness.Also any wire supplier recommendations?Dave
Reply:I use a miller cp 302 with a profax spool gun. whatever machine you decide on I would suggest the spoolgun as opposed to a cobra style gun aluminum is soft and has a tendency to drag in the feed thru lead type guns. Profax is me personal preference. Miller has a spoolgun but I believe profax to be much better.profax spool gun Attached Images
Reply:Howdy!  I am not an expert in the subject of alluminum welding bye any meens, BUT, I have been doing alot of research on the matter.  Many people seem to prefer the profax gun over the millers, as far as spool guns go.  I would think if money weren't a problem, that the mk push pull system would be the best way to go.  I haven't ever heard anything bad about any of the MK products, except the high price.  Most the lincoln and miller push pull guns are MK guns also.  I have heard questionable reliability and feeding with Millers XR cabinet, but I doubt you would go wrong if you got one used for a good deal.  Getting good high quality wire is very important regardless of how your delivery system to the workpiece.  just my thoughts on it.  Brian Lee  Sparkeee24
Reply:Spool guns work well, but if you're putting down alot of filler,you'll spend all day changing spools.  I've used the miller spool guns and XR push pull system.  I prefer the push/pull for big jobs, but you can't beat the ease of the spool gun for small jobs.
Reply:Dendog I can not disagree the large spools on the push type guns last a very long time. For the type of work I do I can not stay in one place I have to weld from one end of the trailer to the other several times. They are 39' trailers and it is not practical to move the r22 feeder ( 20 pound spool feeder ) all over the place. The 50' leads on my spool gun lets me leave my machine in the same place all day long and I don't have to worry if the lead is straight or not. The wire will feed the same even if I tie the lead in a knot. yesterday I made a point to see how far a fresh one pound spool would take me I made it 35' with one spool. I have welded more than 180' on this one trailer so far. Not exactly a small job.