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Hello all,I plan on making a stainless tank and installing it under the trunk of my VW T4 van. I will be using this tank for showering or diswashing at most, but not for drinking.I am no expert welder and I do mostly stick with a nice inverter (Solter ICON ProDigiCell, 180 amps, 6010 capable, etc) but a few months ago I got a second hand three phase Mig welder. We use it with 85/15 gas. I also have all the bits and pieces needed for scratch start tig welding with the inverter but I have never used it and I don't have a bottle of argon either.I have been reading as much as I could find about putting together a water tank and so far this is what I found:304 stainless in thickness between 1,2-1,5mm, thicker is not needed (small tank) and will get too heavy.Fittings will come from a kit sold for boat water tanks. They are made of plasticSince the tank will not be presurized by any means I plan on making a box with a lip on the top edge (not sure if on the inside or the ouside of the box, if that makes sens) and then riveting the lid shut (with a nice bead of food-safe sealant, say Sikaflex). That will allow me to open it up should the need arise (maintenance or future modifications.Now the big question is... How do I weld this? If possible, I will try to have as many pices of it bent to shape to reduce the amount of welding (which reduces the chances of screw up on my part, btw).I was thinking of getting some 0,8mm wire for the MIG which I could use right away since I have rollers for that size. If I wanted to go down to 0,6mm (0,023" I believe) I will need to get the proper sized rollers.Is it possible to weld 1,2mm stainless with 0,8mm wire without burning through? I will get a few pieces of copper bar to use as backing and chill blocks. Given the design of the tank I will be able to do inside corners or ouside corners, whatever works better.Any tips will help,MikelPD; Will try to make some drawings of what I have in mind.
Reply:Well, seems like someone on my VW forum already had one made. Not the design I would like to make but i got some tips anyway.316, 1,5mm fully TIG welded, stainless fittings welded as well.Can this thickness be welded with a MIG?Thanks,Mikel
Reply:If you mig weld it you will need the correct gas, not 75-25. It is a combinati8on of 3 gasses but I cannot remember what right now. Check with your welding supplier. Stainless can be hard to weld because it warps so much from the heat. Make a lot of tack welds and then weld up between then. Tig is much easier to do.
Reply:Thanks txcarbuilder! I also remember something about a trimix mixture but I will give the gas supplier a call to be sure.I was interested in migging this together because I have never used my TIG setup (which consists in a inverter with no foot controll and torch with valve) and seems like the learning curve for TIG is... long.As far as warping controll I was thinking of backstepping the welds or even jumping from one joint to another to let it cool. Aided with some chill blocks or something.Anyway, thanks for the tips. Will let you all know how it goes,Mikel
Reply:Trimix for mig welding stainless, get ready this stuff is expensive. Throw a few baffles in there to add rigidity and keep the water from rushing around as you accelerate / decelerate.
Reply:You can easily weld 16 Ga SS with 0.035" wire. 16 ga is about 1.5mm, 18 ga @ 1.3mm would be a little trickier. I think open corner fit-up would get the best results with the least amount of distortion. Tacks should be about every 3/4" and it should be welded vertical down.I get the best results on light guage SS using a 110V welder with 0.030 wire and stainshield gas. Get your running shoes on cause you'll have to weld very quickly.
Reply:Originally Posted by Mikel_24I was interested in migging this together because I have never used my TIG setup (which consists in a inverter with no foot controll and torch with valve) and seems like the learning curve for TIG is... long.
Reply:Have you considered plastic sprayers used for insecticide? The backpack style are fairly thin and hold around 3 gallons and lightweight. Several could be hosed together. Added benefit you can mount it so the handle to pressurize it use as the shower,
Reply:" I will try to have as many pices of it bent to shape to reduce the amount of welding (which reduces the chances of screw up on my part, btw)."I did this with some drawers I made. Had a local sheet metal shop supply the material (carbon steel in this case) and shear and bend into several "U" sections. They also sheared the ends. Then I welded the ends to the "U"'s and presto...drawers. I TIG'd this I can't really comment on MIG'ing thin pieces." They do make a "flux" that can be applied to the back, but I'm not that familiar with that product and I believe it may be difficult to remove afterwords in a tank application."It's called Solar B flux. I have some and have used it on several projects. It leaves a very hard glass-like slag that's a bit@h to remove...but at least the stainless is protected."Trimix for mig welding stainless, get ready this stuff is expensive."Airgas here calls this StainMix and, yes, it's expensive as it's 1/3 helium. From the Airgas website..."2% Carbon Dioxide 35% Helium Balance Argon".I hope you get the opportunity soon to try out your TIG machine. As DSW said, this may not be the project to start with but once you get the hang of it, you'll love it. TIG is ideal for this application...IMHO. Also, Argon is a lot cheaper than helium. Lack of a foot pedal suks...maybe you can add one or even build one as others have.Miller 211 w/ spool gunMiller Dynasty 200DXLongevity 60i IGBT plasmaO/A w/ crappy chinese torch/gaugesSouth Bend 10K latheGrizzly 4029 10x54 millGrizzly 7x12 hor bandsawangle grnders, bench grnder, bench belt sndr7.5 hp 80gal cmprsor |
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发表于 2021-9-1 00:10:44