Aluminum MIG with TA 181i. Thoughts?

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So, I have a 181!, I took on a project where I want to weld a lot of old road signs as base material. Curious how my TA does with Aluminum MIG BEFORE I drop the coin on a hand spool, or whatever else I might need. I have Argon/co2 And pure Argon tanks currently, will I need another shielding gas mix? Anyone have trick tips or not so obvious suggestions/advice for doing this with the TA?Thanks!Last edited by rideit; 06-19-2013 at 11:37 AM.Motorboating...in the Cleavage of the Tetons
Reply:Well your 181i does not have run-in control like the 252i does, but that does not mean it will not run alum. The run-in control is a slow speed feed adjustment to get the arc started, then speeds up to welding speed when the arc is initiated. I like to run 75ar/25he mix with my machines. It helps intial wet-in and overall penetration with 5356 wire. Personally I hate 4043 because it feeds like crap. 5356 give me the strength that 4043 does not have also. I suppose you could try feeding some 5356 thru your existing liner and argon to see if it works. Generally you could get an hour before the liner clogs up. I don't know if you can get an alum/nylon/teflon liner kit and drive rolls for your torch, but it would be worth looking into.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Yeah, I was thinking of purchasing a dedicated liner and hand spool for aluminum. Honestly, I have only ever run my machine for Tig, so the MIG functions are all new to me.Motorboating...in the Cleavage of the Tetons
Reply:I'm not that familiar with that exact machine, but I'll make a few comments on mig alum in general. 180 amps will do 1/8" alum with the machine and wire speed just about maxed out. It's doable, but because you are running at max, you won't have much room to make adjustments to fine tune things like you would if you had a machine with a bit more output. Results therefore may not be quite optimal as far as appearance goes. Also since you are maxing out the machine, duty cycle will be quite low. Keep in mind alum mig is a hot fast process. You will need to move at least twice as fast as you are used to moving. This means that when using a bulky spoolgun, rapid changes in direction and so on become much more difficult than you are used to..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:Thanks. Given that practice material is virtually unlimited, I'll do a LOT of test runs first. Seeing as I will be using old, exposed aluminum (will prep as best as I can, of course), what filler roll would you try first for a material like a road sign?Motorboating...in the Cleavage of the Tetons
Reply:Like Terry, I'd vote for 5356. Keep in mind many road signs are often plastic coated on the front these days. It makes using them a PITA quite often..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:Hmmn. I'll definitely keep the in mind for procurement.Motorboating...in the Cleavage of the Tetons
Reply:Bevel, bevel, bevel, then fill, fill, fill. Run it hot and deep. Preheat if necessary.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Can anyone chime in whether I will NEED to purchase the hand spool drive to run the 181i with aluminum filler (mig) or if the existing roll and drive will work well enough? Do I need a dedicated gun (can/should I use the stock one?) Thanks!Motorboating...in the Cleavage of the Tetons
Reply:Originally Posted by rideitCan anyone chime in whether I will NEED to purchase the hand spool drive to run the 181i with aluminum filler (mig) or if the existing roll and drive will work well enough? Do I need a dedicated gun (can/should I use the stock one?) Thanks!
Reply:Just to clarify, do you mean the one the unit came with?(U drive)Or something else?Motorboating...in the Cleavage of the Tetons
Reply:I think that the U drive rolls are an optional for the unit. You can find the part number http://victortechnologies.com/IM_Upl..._March2013.pdfMauricio
Reply:Look at post #5 in this http://tinyurl.com/m356xq2 thread. I just finished up a small job using the 181i for aluminum. I don't want to post any pics of the actual job as it's not mine and might be proprietary but it was multiple lap joints in 1 1/2" x 1/4" flat bar with a few T joints thrown in for good measure. The first weld, although fused in, looked a bit convex and was definitely acceptable but the second (after the joint was hotter)  was as good as any I've done, ( dunno if that's a good testimonial or not LOL) I went thru 10 lbs of wire and roughly 6 contact tubes. The only problem and I've even had and I've had the same thing  with a spool gun, was near the end of the roll I'd have to turn the speed up a bit. Saying that, it wasn't even as bad as a spool gun. I tried different sizes and types of wire from .030 to .045 in both 4043 and 5356. My advise, don't even try 4043 of any size as it's too soft to feed properly, Go with .045 5356 set around 360 o the speed and 20-21 on the volts.One thing I did notice which was weird and thru me for a loop was that it was very sensitive to a good ground. If I had a spot that was burnt a bit where I had stopped and moved away before the weld had cooled and was oxidized slightly, I had to start the arc on a clean section of the weld, no big deal thoI got the liner from here http://tinyurl.com/mend7sl and used the .035 'U' groove rolls (that come with the unit) with the tension set so it'd slip if I should get a burn back and I wouldn't have a birds nest. Never happened very often but it did happen occasionally.Straight argon for aluminum btw, I cheated a bit on the flow (strange when you're paying for it yourself how you can scrimp :-) and was set 15-20cfm with no problems.....MikeLast edited by mrmikey; 06-22-2013 at 04:30 AM.
Reply:Thanks guys. I am still a bit unsure of what I will need, can someone break it down?Linerspool of fillerwhat else?I feel like I am missing something. Basically, are you guys saying the spool gun is uneccesary, and the stock whip, torch, drives, etc work just fine?Could i get a pic of all of the equipment you are using, Mikey?Motorboating...in the Cleavage of the Tetons
Reply:Originally Posted by rideitThanks guys. I am still a bit unsure of what I will need, can someone break it down?Linerspool of fillerwhat else?I feel like I am missing something. Basically, are you guys saying the spool gun is uneccesary, and the stock whip, torch, drives, etc work just fine?Could i get a pic of all of the equipment you are using, Mikey?
Reply:Nobody is saying the spoolgun is unnecessary. The alum kit(u drive rollers, teflon or nylon liner) will only drive stiff, large diameter alum wire only. But it will tell you if you want to upgrade to a spoolgun.