Welding aluminum with a lincon 180

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I work in a shop that has tons of aluminum scrap available. I'm wanting to start welding aluminum at home but my inverters are all straight dc my mig is a 220 and I don't know if it's worth the 250 for a lincon spool gun on a 180 welder any advice?
Reply:The box it came in said it would weld it but I know without a spool gun I would need a dedicated liner I don't want to have to keep switching it out. I was also wondering about how well they can weld stainless. I'm not going to be using Sun mix just straight argon. Haven't had a chance to try it just wondering if anyone knew how well it works.
Reply:It welds fine for me. The settings for 5356 are different than the ones under the door for 4043. I photocopied the chart from the owners manual and keep it with the machine.Nothing Ever Got Done By Quitting, Never Give Up.
Reply:I think stainless and the 180 would be fine.  For aluminum, I've seen it done before with the spool gun, but very thin aluminum at best.A Liberal is someone who lives in a gated community with private security,  but says that a boarder fence won't work and people don't need guns for self protection.
Reply:I have a Lincoln 180 with a spoon gun and it welds aluminum fine.  3/16 is the limit and can stress it some until the work has gotten up to temp.  The last stuff I was working on was 3/16 5052 using 5356 as a wire.  I found that wire ran better in that instance than the 4043.  But usually the 4043 works fine on 6061 material.  Never tried any stainless.
Reply:Thanks for the info!
Reply:You can use a hotmax spool gun on that lincoln by cutting the end off the part that inserts into the welder. There is a thread here that explains it. I'll try to find it.I found a gun on CL for $60 and got the switch online (I think the 180 already has it).Nice thing is the hotmax has a 20' lead.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...80C&highlight=There is a link in the post to another post that has details on the mod.Many thanks to Mechanic416.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:I use my Lincoln 180 and a hotmax spool gun for aluminum all the time up to 1/4" with a little preheat. I have also used the spool gun for fluxcore and 70s wire for small jobs so I didn't have to change out the big rolls.www.georgesplasmacuttershop.comPlasma Cutter and Welder Sales and Repairs--Ebay storeTec.Mo. Dealer Consumables for the PT and IPT torch's
Reply:Thanks gravel, for posting the link, I couldn't find it.www.georgesplasmacuttershop.comPlasma Cutter and Welder Sales and Repairs--Ebay storeTec.Mo. Dealer Consumables for the PT and IPT torch's
Reply:I had to go to my PM to find it. GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.