Q about mig and Aluminum

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Use Argon - OK, I don't have a spool Gun  though. I don't have a push pull feeder either.My TA 211i manual says:  To connect the MIG Polarity Lead to the + positive  terminal when welding steel, stainless steel or aluminum electrode wire.  It doesn't say that you must also be using gas, but then goes on to say you use the - Negative connection when using gassless wire. The manual also says that a spool gun is required (yah required) to weld aluminum.Is this true?Can I use my conventional wire feed for aluminum? What will happen if I try?  I'm assuming that evil  dwarfs won't swarm out of the welder and attack me.Will the soft  wire bunch up in the feed line and that's why a spooler is "required"?Last edited by Raul; 04-15-2013 at 11:50 AM.Hey~!! It's a hobby. It's not supposed to make sense~!!
Reply:The reason a spool gun is used is that the aluminum wire is very soft and will bind up in a regular MIG wire feeder.You would be running the MIG wire postive and the work piece negative.And yes you need argon.Lincoln Idealarc 250Lincoln Weldanpower CC/CV engine driveLincoln LN-25 wire feederMiller Syncrowave 180 SDVarious oxy-fuel setups featuring Victor, Harris, and Prest-o-lite products
Reply:Your mig gun liner is a steel coil inside (like an old choke pull cable) and the aluminum wire will not like being pushed through it.That's why it will likely bird-nest in the machine.Dave J.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:You can run aluminum wire thru conventional gun but it's not the best. Not sure what TA offers but Tweco used to offer a plastic nylon type liner for the mig lead so the alum wire would not get contamited with the steel one. You will need to set the roller tension very light so when the wire burns back and sticks to the tip it won't rat nest but simply slip on the rollers. Keep mig lead extra extra straight and use argon. Shorter the mig lead the better. Did this several years ago with average bad results, wire would stop feeding about 25% of the time, but obviuosly much cheaper way to go. If you have some wire, you have nothing to lose but the price of the wire and the argon. Keep us posted if you try it.
Reply:Originally Posted by moya034You would be running the MIG wire postive and the work piece negative.
Reply:The oxides on aluminum as soon as it touches the air, you can't stop it. The electrode postive breaks up the oxides as the current flows out of the work piece. Problem is this will melt your tungsten, so they use AC to get the best of both worlds.DC mig works becuase the current is breaking up the oxides and we actually want the electrode to melt.Lincoln Idealarc 250Lincoln Weldanpower CC/CV engine driveLincoln LN-25 wire feederMiller Syncrowave 180 SDVarious oxy-fuel setups featuring Victor, Harris, and Prest-o-lite products
Reply:Well that  was a lot of answers, even to questions I had  not "yet" asked but was pondering, like the liner composition of the  wire feed line. I'd wondered If I should put a bit of something over the  end of the wire when it was first being fed through to prevent damage. So  my take away is: I  should prolly get a spool gun if I plan on Aluminum.Grazi me hombresHey~!! It's a hobby. It's not supposed to make sense~!!