Gasses

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I am purchasing a miller multimatic 200 for my home garage and want to know what type of gasses I should use for the MIG and the TIG? I have been welding stick and Oxy/Acet mostly for years now and have played with a MIG but I don't think it was ever set up right but now I want to have a machine at the house. I want to play with the MIG and learn to TIG. It will be mostly on steel with the occasional stainless steel, I am getting a spoolmate 100 for the MIG because I am told this is the only way to do any Aluminum up to 1/4". 2 questions for you... 1st  what type of gas should I have on hand in general? I have been looking around and I see that I should proably have 2 - 80 cu ft bottles...I have read about CO2 and Argon and mixes of this and that but just in general any suggestions? again it is a home hobby thing and I will be doing a lot of practice mainly to learn MIG and TIG. I have an old rat rod I just acquired so there will be a lot of steel sheet metal... which brings me to the 2nd question... I also want to be able to play with aluminum. this machine is only a DC so I was told I would need the spool gun for the MIG to do aluminum. is this correct? and how well does the mig spool gun weld aluminum?
Reply:To do tig or mig alum you will want 100% argon. To do mig on steel 75/25 Argon Co2 is the most common, but some places will stock say 80/20 instead..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 would suggest getting some quick disconnects for the 2 different gas bottles.It doesn't seem like a big deal to swap out the hoses by just unscrewing the connection but having the quick connect sure makes it quick n easy- at least you don't have to go get the wrench As far as Mig AL with the spool gun- Mig is Mig and you will not achieve the stack of dimes look of Tig.My Passport runs the Spoolgun pretty dern nicely and I believe the 200 is based off of the Passport.16g is about the thinnest you'll be able to weld with Migging the AL and 1/4" is really at the upper limit of the 200.Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:C25 with Er70s-6 wire.  .030, picked up some from HomeDepot (Lincoln.SuperArc L56)One thing, if you are going to do a lot of welding, order some extra contact tips now.  That Q gun is smaller than the one they use on the bigger machines (like the 350) and nothing fits - and the 200 is less common (newer) so they typically don't stock replacement parts (yet).As for quick connects.  Right now I have the regulator for the MIG hooked up and I disconnect at the bottle and wrap the regulator up with the cables on the side of the machine.  This is less than ideal.  Hoses + work cable + MIG gun is a lot to spool up on one side and hold with a little velcro.  I'm just careful when I move it around.100% agree with 1/4" limit on the big end.  I will say 1/16 is easy on the bottom end.  You can do thinner but its spot welding at that point.  The arc starts very nicely - I find that starting is my weakest point at welding.  Once the arc is going and I settle into a rythm all is good.  But it takes me a couple of seconds to 'settle down'.  The 200 starts very nicely (even on mill scale).Last night I was TIGging some wire shelves together (making bigger shelves out of small 12"x12" ones.)  Wire in the self was 1/8".  When I tried to build corners (all while clamping to hold 90s) I found my clamps were getting in the way.  Turning the torch etc. I was TIG welding, backhanded, filling with my right hand.  Tired of that - I pulled out the 200 and finished up real quick.  No burn throughs, nice looking beads etc. etc. used the autoset for 1/8" on 110V.   Effectively laying two 1/8" wires side by side and welding them together - stitch weld, 1.5" beads every 1.5"Con Fuse!Miller Dynasty 350Millermatic 350P-Spoolmatic 30AMiller Multimatic 200Hypertherm PowerMax 1000G3Miller Maxstar 200DX
Reply:As far as needing to order extra contact tips right away, as far as I know, it should take the same centre fire consumables as the other Bernard guns. My q200 accepts the same tips as the q300 does. As far as I read it the q150 on the multinational should be the same.
Reply:Thanks for your responses... I went to an AIR GAS location today and talked with one of their guys... I will be buying2 bottles... 1, 125cu ft argon and 1, 75/25... this machine comes with 2 regulators... as the mig has its own and the tig kit comes with an additional regulator... im not so sure about the quick connects as I haven't seen the actual machine yet but I cant see the bleeding of a hose as an issue... I am setting up my home garage for this new toy... I have given myself a 5K budget... so its the multimatic 200 with spool mate 100 and tig contractor kit.... along with this I am looking at the miller 60 full table, 2 125 cu ft bottles and an air compressor with some air tools.... I already have a compressor but its not near big enough to run tools continuously... this is a play toy at this point but I think its a good start... no doubt if I get the hang of tig I will be buying an AC machine later.
Reply:It maybe wise to get prices from other suppliers. What's your location ?  I know with tanks and gas refills the prices are all over. The supplier I bought my CST 280 from was higher in price for a Miller 211 then another. Went there for the 211 and even had better gas refill prices too.Your gonna spend a decent amount of money so they should work out a real deal. Good luck.
Reply:Originally Posted by TempestAs far as needing to order extra contact tips right away, as far as I know, it should take the same centre fire consumables as the other Bernard guns. My q200 accepts the same tips as the q300 does. As far as I read it the q150 on the multinational should be the same.
Reply:[QUOTE=con_fuse9;2479851]Yes.  Same tips but my 200 has .030 wire and the 350 has .035.  Last summer I had two week wait to get .030 tips.  Ok, I see what your saying. My lws stocks 0.030 tips in centre fire, didn't realize that was an issue.
Reply:Originally Posted by con_fuse9Yes.  Same tips but my 200 has .030 wire and the 350 has .035.  Last summer I had two week wait to get .030 tips.  The Nozzles are definitely different.  I find that with nozzle spray and the relatively low spatter from the multimatic, the nozzles last forever.And come to think of it, with the autoset, haven't messed up many tips either.As for gas fittings.  The multimatic runs gas through the Dinse connectors.  It has a separate input for 'TIG' and another for 'MIG'.  The MIG going through the '+' and the TIG going through the '-'.   So you can keep both regulators hooked up 100% of the time.I use quick disconnect on the Maxstar - mainly because its portable and I don't use a cart.  I'll drag a bottle out there on a 'hand truck' (single bottle truck) and plug it in as needed.  But the quick disconnect sticks out about 1.5" so I'm always careful how I carry and place it.  If you are getting two bottles and putting this all on a cart, I wouldn't even think about the quick connects.  BTW, so far, zero leakage from the quick connects.In my case, I hand carry the Multimatic around and I have one regulator permanently hooked up.  Its a bit bulky to carry, but managable.
Reply:CO2 is good for penetration for migs, it's messier and more prone to splatter. Argon is much shallower but your bead looks nice and pretty.If you plan on using different gasses like pure CO2, Pure Argon, and a mix, be careful. If you're using a flow meter meant for Argon with CO2 you'll damage it beyond repair.
Reply:100% argon for TIG and the spoolgun, and 100% CO2 for the MIG.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Originally Posted by Broccoli1But you'll have to switch the Argon hose over to the Mig side for the Alooominum Mig welding, correct?