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Had some trouble getting some Helium the other day. The local compressed gas supplier that I have been going to for the past 6 or 7 years didn't want to give me any due to a shortage. They told me that our supply of Helium is gathered from natural gas drilling. There seems to be an over abundance of natural gas, so no more drilling on public lands, hence no more helium production. I finally talked them into giving me some, but now I'm concerned. I checked around and found that several other compressed gas suppliers didn't even have any Helium at all. I do a fair amount of aluminum TIG, and I find that mixing some Helium with Argon really makes it a lot easier. I heard that one of the other compressed gas suppliers is experimenting with their own aluminum TIG gas mixture using Hydrogen of all things! Does anyone know of any substitute for Helium for aluminum TIG?
Reply:Straight argon and more amps..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:Originally Posted by DSWStraight argon and more amps.
Reply:Hydrogen is used in tig shielding gas mixes, I have read about it before but don't remember what it does for the weld.DSW is right about the helium substitute, more amps/ preheat/ more focused arc.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:They are sending the helium to china and japan, I see liquefied helium tankers all the time on highway 70 heading west. Why they stay on highway 70 as opposed to I-40 I do not know.I couldn't get helium for a long time up until a few months ago but they never ran out of tri-mix.old Miller spectrum 625 Lincoln SP-135 T, CO2+0.025 wireMiller model 250 and WP-18V torchCraftsman 100amp AC/DC and WP-17V torchCentury 115-004 HF arc stabilizerHome made 4 transformer spot welderHome made alternator welder
Reply:Originally Posted by eaw99517 I heard that one of the other compressed gas suppliers is experimenting with their own aluminum TIG gas mixture using Hydrogen of all things!
Reply:Matheson Tri-Gas has their own mixture which I had asked about in the "welding gases explained" thread sticky. 1st on WeldingWeb to have a scrolling sig! HTP Invertig 400HTP Invertig 221HTP ProPulse 300HTP ProPulse 200 x2HTP ProPulse 220MTSHTP Inverarc 200TLP HTP Microcut 875SC
Reply:Originally Posted by mad welder 4They are sending the helium to china and japan, I see liquefied helium tankers all the time on highway 70 heading west. Why they stay on highway 70 as opposed to I-40 I do not know.I couldn't get helium for a long time up until a few months ago but they never ran out of tri-mix.
Reply:Originally Posted by injunctivereliefi don't know the answer to that either, maybe they weren't headed to china or japan. if you google baker hughes rig count for natural gas you will see why helium is expensive. the rig count has declined by about 1700 since 2011. they are capping a lot of wells because ng prices are in the cellar (although they have risen considerably in the past three weeks.) these are the wells that contain the gas that helium can be extracted from. now, in the process of producing shale oil lots of natural gas is produced, in fact so much that nearly everywhere you see a pump or rig you see them flaring ng. the ng that comes with fracking contains next to zero helium content. (as opposed to the other which contains, up to ten percent.) so for that reason the price of helium has risen, it will continue to rise and be in short supply until it is economically feasible to market the nat/gas that is in storage or in the ground.22N five miles out of dickinson, ND.for clarity, the natural gas that has come from extracting shale oil in the bakken fields.
Reply:I did not know that fracked gas contained so little helium.Demand for helium just keeps going up and up, as the supply of cheap easy to get helium runs out.old Miller spectrum 625 Lincoln SP-135 T, CO2+0.025 wireMiller model 250 and WP-18V torchCraftsman 100amp AC/DC and WP-17V torchCentury 115-004 HF arc stabilizerHome made 4 transformer spot welderHome made alternator welder
Reply:Guess I'll just have to crank the amps up and push the pedal all the way down! The Helium Argon mix made it a lot easier, ( at least for me with my set up) especially on the thicker aluminum.
Reply:strange that you are having problems getting helium i get it biweekly with no problems prices did jump awhile back due to the govt sell off of the strategic national reserve of US helium but has been stockpiled again for a while now and prices dropped due to availability dont know what is up with your supplierMiller Xmt 350Lincoln Ln-25Ahp 200xSmith Gas Mixer AR/HTig is my Kung FuThrowing down dimes and weaving aboutInstagram http://instagram.com/[email protected]
Reply:I wanna know why you had to beg the LWS to give it to you? That would aggravate me. Was he saving the helium till he got married?Arcon Workhorse 300MSPowcon 400SMTPowcon SM400 x 2Powcon SM3001968 SA200 Redface1978 SA250 DieselMiller Super 32P FeederPre 1927 American 14" High Duty LatheK&T Milwaukee 2H Horizontal MillBryan
Reply:Originally Posted by blawlessWas he saving the helium till he got married?
Reply:I have a 330cf of He tank almost full. Im saving it till? Im not getting maried this timeLast edited by Insaneride; 12-15-2013 at 02:04 AM.Reason: not for my He, no way:laugh:
Reply:strange that you are having problems getting helium i get it biweekly with no problemsprices did jump awhile back due to the govt sell off of the strategic national reserve of US helium but has been stockpiled again for a while now and prices dropped due to availabilitydont know what is up with your supplier
Reply:Impossible to get in NY. And I'm good friends with the owner of my LWS who is a tremendous gas supplier and mixing company in NY and multiple other states on the east coast. His exact words were, if I can get it for you, trust me, you aren't gonna wanna pay for it. I could never get a straight answer why tho. From anybody. I think the lawyer guy who posted above ^^^^^ nailed it down. That makes sense to me.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Originally Posted by weldermikeImpossible to get in NY. And I'm good friends with the owner of my LWS who is a tremendous gas supplier and mixing company in NY and multiple other states on the east coast. His exact words were, if I can get it for you, trust me, you aren't gonna wanna pay for it. I could never get a straight answer why tho. From anybody. I think the lawyer guy who posted above ^^^^^ nailed it down. That makes sense to me.
Reply:I spoke to my LWS about helium or helium mix. They can't get 100% helium anymore and mixes have to be ordered and are expensive. They have everything else and are much less expensive than Airgas. I haven't asked Airgas about helium because I don't go there anymore and you can't get the local outlet on the telephone. As mentioned above, helium has been more difficult to get since the government began depleting the US helium reserve. The link below discusses this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium_ReserveMiller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:The government has been selling off the reserve to make helium more obtainable. If they were not selling helium, it would be even harder to get.
Reply:Originally Posted by gnm109I spoke to my LWS about helium or helium mix. They can't get 100% helium anymore and mixes have to be ordered and are expensive. They have everything else and are much less expensive than Airgas. I haven't asked Airgas about helium because I don't go there anymore and you can't get the local outlet on the telephone. As mentioned above, helium has been more difficult to get since the government began depleting the US helium reserve. The link below discusses this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium_Reserve
Reply:Awesome.Are you a lawyer?????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:Originally Posted by rlitmanThe government has been selling off the reserve to make helium more obtainable. If they were not selling helium, it would be even harder to get.
Reply:From back in 2008:http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...ghlight=heliumTxDoc's Photos Lincoln SP175 PlusLincoln Power Mig 256Lincoln 250 LX Spool Gun Lincoln Precision Tig 225 Hypertherm 600 KMG 2x72 Belt GrinderBaldor 812RE Grinder
Reply:Well we are ALL in luck......I discovered that DOG FARTS work better than HELIUM......So go get some dogs and your problems will be over.... Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig RockOriginally Posted by B_CWell we are ALL in luck......I discovered that DOG FARTS work better than HELIUM......So go get some dogs and your problems will be over....Attachment 560061
Reply:Not only will my welds look like shXXX, they'll smell like it too! LOL!
Reply:Only if you live in Marinez and el perritozzz come muchos frijoles !Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:I just checked my lws and helium is 59 bux for 74cu ft. Thats if you own the 84cu ft bottle alreadyMiller Syncrowave 210 w/CK FlexLoc 150 3/6/14ESAB PCM 1125 Plasma CutterAtlas 12x36 LatheACER 9x42 3hp millHarig 612 Surface GrinderDRINK Machine welding&fabrication
Reply:I see a lot of newer guys who are obsessed with helium, sort of like they are obsessed with multi function inverters. They seem to think helium is some magic gas and by using it it will make them better welders and do away with the need for an adequate machine for the job. That somehow it will turn a 110v machine into a 350+ amp one at a fraction of the cost. That's just not true and in many ways I wish people who know what helium is for, would stop mentioning it. It's a case of a little info that is often too much info for these people.Don't get me wrong. Helium has it's place and uses. BC's welds certainly benefit from it, but he's not using an under powered machine with his Dynasty 350 either. Same goes for Terry. However I see a lot of newer welders who buy 180-200 amp class machines and then want to weld 3/8"+ alum because they think helium will solve the issue that they simply don't want to spend the money on a machine designed do the job. It can help guys who are doing jobs right on the edge occasionally. Guys who have say some 3/16" to do for a specific job, that's just beyond the practical reach of their machine. Yeah the machine can do it, if all the stars align just right without helium, but that extra gain in performance makes things a bit easier to accomplish with a less chance of failure. The operator still has to have the skills to maximize the machine though. It's not going to make up for an inexperienced operator. A bigger machine would have solved the problem without the use of helium though, and if you plan to feed your machine a steady diet of heavy stock, it's the best choice.I see a ton of posts by guys who just randomly squirt helium into just about any mix and then rave that it's made things "better". Mostly because they read it on the internet or watched some guy use it on Youtube. Way too many times it's easy to see they really have no clue about what they are doing in general and are just talking $**t. They need to go back and 1st learn the basics, 2nd get a machine that's up to the task at hand, and 3rd learn what advantages, under real, controlled, repeatable circumstances they can get with helium. Otherwise all they are really doing is wasting gas..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:I think I want to get a cylinder of helium and see what my Maxstar on straight polarity will do on some aluminum Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:Originally Posted by SquirmyPugI think I want to get a cylinder of helium and see what my Maxstar on straight polarity will do on some aluminum
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749Ill hold your beer!!
Reply:Originally Posted by injunctivereliefi don't know the answer to that either, maybe they weren't headed to china or japan. if you google baker hughes rig count for natural gas you will see why helium is expensive. the rig count has declined by about 1700 since 2011. they are capping a lot of wells because ng prices are in the cellar (although they have risen considerably in the past three weeks.) these are the wells that contain the gas that helium can be extracted from. now, in the process of producing shale oil lots of natural gas is produced, in fact so much that nearly everywhere you see a pump or rig you see them flaring ng. the ng that comes with fracking contains next to zero helium content. (as opposed to the other which contains, up to ten percent.) so for that reason the price of helium has risen, it will continue to rise and be in short supply until it is economically feasible to market the nat/gas that is in storage or in the ground.22N five miles out of dickinson, ND.for clarity, the natural gas that has come from extracting shale oil in the bakken fields.
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749Ill hold your beer!!
Reply:Originally Posted by InsanerideYou can hold squirmy's beer, Im sure we could both learn from him :wave:
Reply:Good point DSW, Helium is far from a fix all for small machines.......Only in some cases can it help out with thicker material.The price has gone through the roof in some areas and wouldn't be worth the price anyway to purchase. I use it because I weld thicker plate and pretty much ALL my parts are production processes.. The faster I get it done the more money I can pocket.....As mentioned the Dynasty 350 has settings that make it a FAST AC machine, along with the Helium mix gets my parts done as fast as possible and still a nice cosmetic finish.......I have been told its the guy behind the torch but the machine is the star in my opinion.....I like helping the new guys but dont want to confuse AC tig welding with a must for HELIUM....Some of my best welds come from pure Argon and nothing else......Using the newest fillers and techniques will yield some awesome results.... Last edited by B_C; 12-22-2013 at 03:45 PM. Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock |
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发表于 2021-8-31 22:38:30