what gas for mig

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I have a millermatic 185 wirefeed and just wondering what everyone uses for gas was thinkin of switching to strait co2 since argon/co2 cost so much more. wanted to just use argon so i ony needed one bottle for the mig and tig but the guy at the the welding store said that wont work. Just wondering  how co2 welds with a mig thanks
Reply:CO2 works just fine for mild sttel MIG welding.  You might notice just a little more spatter, but other than that, it is just fine.
Reply:Typical:100% argon for aluminum (a must for aluminum a no no for mild steel mig)Argon / C02 (C25) for mild steel with less spatter100% C02 for mild steel with more penetration more spatterArgon / C02 / Helium for stainless steelMM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:awesome thanks
Reply:I have done it for years and it works just fine. There is a lot more splatter that depending on what you're working on may or may not need to be cleaned off. I switched to the argon co2 mix a while back because it does have less splatter and I really don't see a huge price difference. But yes Co2 works just fine for mild steel.
Reply:Thanks for the info, I will use it later. When I finally get my MIG.
Reply:Looks like everyone has you covered.  I agree with all-of-the-above.
Reply:First of all, hello to all! I am new to the fourm. Have a question. What will pure Argon do on mild steel?  I am a cavilian equipment operator for the military. We seldom do any aluminum repairs, but have about 10 full tanks of argon. And it is like pulling teeth to get a P.O. for CO2 when we run out of it.
Reply:You have to really crank up the voltage to get any penetration with straight argon and mig on steel.    CO2 helps it burn hotter so some amount of CO2 is helpful.   C25, C15, C10 all work for mig on steel.  The smaller the machine, the more CO2 you will want in the mix.   For fixing equipment, presumably outside, I would use fluxcore wire or stick, instead of short circuit mig.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Thanks for the info DesertRider. I was just wondering how it would work, since we have so much of it(Argon). Think ill just wait on the mix.
Reply:You could do alot of tiggin!!Ya gotta spend money to make money!
Reply:Originally Posted by duaneb55Typical:100% argon for aluminum (a must for aluminum a no no for mild steel mig)Argon / C02 (C25) for mild steel with less spatter100% C02 for mild steel with more penetration more spatterArgon / C02 / Helium for stainless steel
Reply:I did a little with co2 and there was a little more splatter, nothin i cant handle bein it only really gets used to weld up demo cars.
Reply:Originally Posted by DesertRider33You have to really crank up the voltage to get any penetration with straight argon and mig on steel.    CO2 helps it burn hotter so some amount of CO2 is helpful.   C25, C15, C10 all work for mig on steel.  The smaller the machine, the more CO2 you will want in the mix.   For fixing equipment, presumably outside, I would use fluxcore wire or stick, instead of short circuit mig.
Reply:Originally Posted by FluxThisThats weird, I just switched from c15 to 100% co2 and noticed that now I have to crank up machine much higher then I ever did before with c15.. And the welds are not nearly as nice with just co2.. The price is higher for the mix but IMHO I think the mix gas is worth it! Oh yeah and a  ton of splatter! And the settings on my MM252 even show a chart showing the need to crank the machine up when using 100% co2...