TIG Welding in the Winter

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I took a series of welding classes this year at a local trade school and we started TIG welding this past October/November.I just picked up an HTP Invertig 221 and I'd like to continue practicing in my garage. I'm not actually building substantial projects yet - rather, just running beads, filet welds and v-grooves in the various positions.Understandably - the welds may not be the strongest - but I don't want to put the torch away for 3 months. Is there a temperature below which I don't want to run the TIG machine or any other reason I wouldn't want to TIG weld below some acceptable temperature?Also, I'm investigating some type of heating method. I'm not moving around so I only need heat directly on me. I tried a propane blower last year and got tired of the fumes. Was considering a 23k BTU kerosene heater from Lowes but not sure what kind of fumes that would throw off of if it would be effective with the garage door cracked to keep some circulation going.Thanks,-Luther
Reply:Electric or vented natural gas are the onlySafe ways to go in my opinion  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Sure.  Below some temperature, your hands will get cold and start shaking.  You will lose dexterity, your fine motor skills will deteriorate, and your welds will go to pot.  Somewhere in there, maybe around 40F, your motivation will start to deteriorate as well.  LOL.You could look at the invertig manual and see if it gives an operating temp spec, but I think that short of some serious motivation to weld, you will be the weak link and give up in the cold first.  Obviously, the part with the narrowest temp spec will limit the system, but a lot of parts are good for "industrial" temp range of -40C/F to +85C/185F.Space heaters that exhaust into the space to be heated seem pointless since you're going to gas yourself, or dump all of the heat outside."Great spirits have always encountered violent oppostion from mediocre minds."  --  Albert Einstein
Reply:Most mfg's say 5 degree C or about 40deg F, check your manual its their.
Reply:For the purpose of welding, I woun't worry too much about 10's of degrees with regard to temperature of the base metal.  You can always preheat, but a few degrees difference is unlikely to be a big worry.  A cold environment (in human terms) is much more likely to have an effect on the shrinking within the HAZ than it is on the strength of the weld.  Work in your garage, in Missouri, really isn't that extreme.Keeping yourself warm so that you can continue to work is almost certainly the bigger issue to be dealt with.  Outside of exotic solutions, you either need to wear more clothing (with the expectation that it will be destroyed over time), or you need to find a way to efficiently heat your workspace.There are any number of available heaters rated for indoor use.  These should not present air quality problems unless your garage is exceptionally resistant to environmental air turnover.  Without knowing the square footage (and volume) of your garage, it is nearly impossible to guage the heating requirements, but cracking an overhead door is almost certainly counter-productive.  If your garage is too big to heat effectively with an unvented heater, you will almost certainly save money pretty quickly by installing a vented heat source or a large electric heater of some sort.If you are willing to cut a hole for the vent, a high efficiency gas or propane furnace off of your local craigslist might well fill the bill.  A little bit of weatherizing and insulation go a long way as well.
Reply:One thing to keep in mind...If you're using a water cooled torch in freezing temps, then you need to run an antifreeze solution in your cooler system.
Reply:hi, as far as a kerosene heater goes I bought a low noise radiant blower  type. Its great and its           used in a garage type  set up with lots of ventilation. there is no insulation either with 12' ceiling height. I was going to set up a tarp above to try to keep the heat  down.http://reviews.tractorsupply.com/051...ws/reviews.htm
Reply:Wick type kero heaters aren't all that bad as far as fumes once they get going and are adjusted correctly. There will be some odor when you fire them up until they get up to temp and there's usually a fair amount of odor when you shut them down for a short while. The big thing is to follow the directions and clean them regularly. That usually means once a month on a calm day taking them outside and burning them with the fuel can pulled until they are empty 100% and burn out. This burns off all the residue on the wick and lets them burn clean.The torpedo type kero heaters pump out a lot of heat, but also usually have some odor/fumes with them if they aren't adjusted right. We use one in the open shop, but I wouldn't use one inside a garage that was closed personally.Given a choice I use a couple of propane radiant heaters that you can hook up to a BBQ grill cylinder. There's minimal odor/fumes. The only thing to watch for is leaking propane inside. In the garage, I stoer the propane cyl in the shed and simply bring them in to use and put them outside for 10 minutes to cool down while I clean up before returning them to the shed..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 have a non vented ceramic natural gas heater made for inside a house. If it's really cold or just want quickly heat it up I turn on my big buddy propane heater. Both are safe indoors. I am sensitive to fumes and smells and they don't bother me at all. My garage is attached so I didn't want to put a hole in the room. When I build my shop in the future, it will have a vented shop heater like mr heater.
Reply:Thanks for the input! Kerosene advice was great as was the thought of using the smaller propane radiant heaters.I'm right handed - so if I place a dualie to my right 5~10 feet away - facing my work ... would that be safe? I won't be stick or MIG welding so shouldn't really see any sparks and I don't think argon would react with the heat or propane.Garage door open is just so WIDE that even at just an inch, a sweeping icy breeze fills the garage pretty quickly. Gets down to freezing and then wind chill might bring it down a another 10 degrees or so. I wouldn't mind insulating the door with some cheap styrofoam .... but if that were the case, my other option is to go with something like a G73 - which admittedly, is a step up I'm trying to avoid .... but maybe I should just run the wire and be done with it. I do have some woodworking appliances I'd like to use over the winter as well ...I do have a water cooled torch and mixed their special "antifreeze" 1:1 with distilled water -- so should be good on that front.
Reply:Another aspect is whether or not you use an AD welding hood. Those have minimum operating temps below which, the AD might not function properly.I have one of those 23K round kerosene heaters, but I am leery of using it in the garage because I have the motorcycle in there and I would hate to ignite any stray fuel vapor. Just overly cautious. Unfortunately, my garage door faces north, so cracking it open to allow for fresh air intake jus lets too much cold air in. However, I have used that heater indoors in the past, and it puts out a lot of heat. I could probably cook something on the top of it if I chose to.Lincoln Idealarc 250 (circa 1962)Lincoln Weldpak 155 w/Mig KitLincoln Squarewave TIG 175
Reply:Originally Posted by papaharley03 I could probably cook something on the top of it if I chose to.
Reply:If you're unhappy with the fumes from ANYTHING burning propane, then you will certainly be unhappy with anything burning Kerosene (other than a direct vent heater).Propane burns more cleanly than anything out there, and my radiant tank top propane burner emitted NO smell, even with the garage door all closed, for hours on end (that was one with a single burner).I just stopped using it, because of the ridiculous cost of propane around my parts.Either way, get a CO detector in there.
Reply:You can put a torpedo heater (either LP or liquid fuel) OUTSIDE and run a stovepipe into your work area.Then it sucks in fresh air for combustion instead of depleting your air inside. If Something Bad happens, the heater is not connected by anything flammable to your structure. Put a screen on the end of the pipe as a spark arrestor if you like. No need to have 'em on the ground either. You can also run a large warm light. I have a 400 watt HID bulb in an outdoor fixture I scrounged hanging two and a half feet (I can move it for clearance) over my bench. I don't need an autodark helmet because with it on I can see my work with the hood down!  I should have done that years ago, and it lights so well I'll do it in summer too.
Reply:I just recently built a 24x20 garage for working in.I also had the problem of heating as there isn't any natural gas available and a wood stove takes up to much space. I insulated walls and ceilings and them went on the search for a heater that would do the job. Here is what I went with and it has worked great. Don't let the size fool you as it heats my garage to 70 degrees when it's 20 outside. Maybe it will fit what your looking for. http://www.air-n-water.com/product/g73.html
Reply:I use a wood stove in my shop and weld all the time in below 0f temps and don't notice a difference.
Reply:We have very little heat in the winter where I am and I weld all day every day in below zero temps when it happens with no problems..I even have to heat the table up with the rosebud and put the welder torch cables on it after to melt the ice sometimes..That's my only worry..Frozen torch tubes = Pooft!...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Regardless of the heater type, propane,kero, NG or wood, be sure to hang a good carbon monoxide alarm nearby.Sure don't want to read about anybody here.
Reply:i have a propane fueled torpedo that will raise my onecar garage with no insulation's  temperature  from 30 to 44 in 15 minutes..then i shut it off and  sit under an electric radiant heater and tig away... Attached Images
Reply:Get yourself either a halogen or IR heater both can be controlled via a rheostat.That way you will be heating yourself the local area including tools, and not the whole building.The heat is instant, so works out cheaper as you have no need to preheat
Reply:When the temperature dropped below freezing, the paint I applied to old welders would take forever to dry.  Now my garage is fully insulated: walls, ceiling and garage door.  I tried using a propane blowtorch - burnt propane fumes and no enough heat.  I tried a portable white gas (ESSO Iosol), a one burner Coleman stove, but the fumes from that leaked slowly into the house - sickening sweet smell.  I tried a large kerosene lantern, same problem = fumes.  I ended up using a small electric heater with fan - no fumes and way cheaper here that using any hydrocarbon fuel (white gasoline equivalent, kerosene or propane).  Big bonus was the fan - blowing over the painted area helped the paint to 'dry' much more quickly.  Drying time went from two days to 4-5 hours.Rick V 1 Airco Heliwelder 3A/DDR3 CTC 70/90 amp Stick/Tig Inverters in Parallel1 Lincoln MIG PAK 151 Oxy-Acet
Reply:After doing some new fuel lines and injector o-ring on my truck I learned that a beach towel soaked with about 1 gallon of diesel will burn for a good 3 hours. One of these days I would like to try out rigging up a waste oil burner in my wood stove. I give that stuff away by the pails full.
Reply:Originally Posted by VPTAfter doing some new fuel lines and injector o-ring on my truck I learned that a beach towel soaked with about 1 gallon of diesel will burn for a good 3 hours. One of these days I would like to try out rigging up a waste oil burner in my wood stove. I give that stuff away by the pails full.
Reply:Look into the big (gas grill type propane bottles) conversion. I can get those bigger tanks filled for around $14. That would be a much cheaper option for you than those little green bottles.
Reply:I use a Electric furnace out of a double wide mobile home.Heats my garage up quick and doesn't run very long.It's only 22 x 39 size garage.If I wanted to I could hook up the a/c for it like I did at my old house.Syncrowave 250MM130Cold in Dallas?Cold in Missouri?Cold in Philly?This pic was supposedly taken at the Stoney River Lodge near McGrath, Alaska.  The reported temp was MINUS 51F.  Concerned about a heater in the shop with a motorcycle in there, but welding in there???My home has a natural gas forced air furnace in the garage/shop (for the house) and a dedicated natural gas heater (for the shop) and I park my car in it.Am I missing something??Jerry in Anchorage Attached Images
Reply:Welded up a driveshaft in freezing weather the other day.
Reply:Hmm custom driveshaft. I will keep your name handy Torchmate 2x2 CNC with Flashcut CNC controlsHypertherm Powermax45 Esab ET220i Razorweld 195 MigRazorweld 200ac/dc TigTormach 770, Tormach xstechRazorweld, Vipercut/Vipermig, SSC Foot Pedal Dealer