New to welding, few questions.

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well i bought a welder with an airgas bottle (its like 3 foot tall 8 inches diameter).and ive only welded one time, but it was already set up and everything.first question is my dad said if i take the bottle in they will take it and not give me a new one without signing a contract or something?second it had 80% argon and 20% carbon. what would be best for welding around the house? i really dont know anything about the gases but i weld mostly steel. (up to 1/4 and maybe a bit more) also do i need a different gas for aluminum? cause i have some of that to weld also.oh and this is on a lincoln sp135plus.anymore pointers for someone who hasnt really welded also?
Reply:My main pointer would be to use the search engine here - it's very good.  Most questions you can possibly think of have already been answered several times here.Your bottle of 80/20 is for MIG welding steel.  I use 75/25 for basically the same thing.  You may wish to switch to 100% CO2 as it's cheaper and will give deeper penetration for the same voltage setting - a big deal for smaller machines.  For aluminum, you'll want Argon.I don't follow these smaller machines but I'm assuming yours is a MIG-only welder.  If so, you'll want a spoolgun for aluminum if it's an option for your machine.  The wire is so soft that it doesn't feed well through a long MIG liner.  Or maybe you're planning to TIG weld instead?Airgas might trade you bottles without requiring a lease - they do that on smaller customer-owned bottles.
Reply:Your ok,  you dont have to go to Airgas unless its over 125 cf tank. You can go anywhere and get that swapped out or filled. If it was a larger tank, you would have to get it filled there but they still have to fill it. People use to be able to buy the large tanks and still have the writes to them. They just can sell them anymore. I would go with 75/25. Your machine is a bit too small to do aluminum. Alum takes 100% argon. You have to have the amps to spray transfer. Even then it has to be thicker material and you have to move fast. Practice and have fun.Last edited by mikeb9550; 01-20-2012 at 06:27 PM.Hobart Handler 210 with SpoolgunHypertherm PM30 PlasmaHTP 221 Tig WelderHF BandsawHF Auto Dark Helmet