problem welding stainless.

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ok,ill tell flat out, ive very little welding expereince, i welded regular steel ok before.I recently did a t304 stainless car exhuast system and it came out crappy, visually and has numerous leaks.  It seems very spotty, not a continuous nice puddle of weld.I have a lincoln mig welder with two settings, it has a-d and then speed of wire feed.Im on like 5 of 10 wire feed which i hope is fast enough and a-d settings, do i need to be on a certain setting for stainless? i tried it on B and D and seems the same.  I belive this setting is the amperage setting which the higher the letter the hotter the weld gets while working with it.Im using the tri-mix gas hooked up and went through an entire bottle in a couple hours and its a 60cu ft bottle. I started around 2200psi.  Possibly there is a leak somewhere in one of my fittings because you can hear a hiss sound, do you need to teflon tape the fittings?  Sorry for all the questions, like i said im new to this and had no one show me the ways
Reply:What wire are you using and what is your gas flow rate set at?
Reply:Im using the tri-mix gas hooked up and went through an entire bottle in a couple hours and its a 60cu ft bottle. I started around 2200psi. Possibly there is a leak somewhere in one of my fittings because you can hear a hiss sound, do you need to teflon tape the fittings? Sorry for all the questions, like i said im new to this and had no one show me the ways
Reply:Originally Posted by RamAirfreak98ssok,ill tell flat out, ive very little welding expereince, i welded regular steel ok before.I recently did a t304 stainless car exhuast system and it came out crappy, visually and has numerous leaks.  It seems very spotty, not a continuous nice puddle of weld.I have a lincoln mig welder with two settings, it has a-d and then speed of wire feed.Im on like 5 of 10 wire feed which i hope is fast enough and a-d settings, do i need to be on a certain setting for stainless? i tried it on B and D and seems the same.  I belive this setting is the amperage setting which the higher the letter the hotter the weld gets while working with it.Im using the tri-mix gas hooked up and went through an entire bottle in a couple hours and its a 60cu ft bottle. I started around 2200psi.  Possibly there is a leak somewhere in one of my fittings because you can hear a hiss sound, do you need to teflon tape the fittings?  Sorry for all the questions, like i said im new to this and had no one show me the ways
Reply:You shouldn't NEED teflon tape if all of the fittings are undamaged and you tighten them sufficiently...All the fittings are supposed to seal without tape...but...you also should not hear any hissing when you aren't welding either.  Make sure the hissing isn't coming from the regulator itself by opening the gas valve and closing the flow side to the welder.  Once you eliminate the regulator and its fittings, recheck all the hose connections by tightening them, then using a little soapy water in a spray bottle or on a rag to try to find any leaks.  Also, look along the hoses...while pressurized, you might even dip the hoses in water if you suspect a spot...it's easy to scuff or burn through some of the cheap hoses that come with consumer-grade welders.  You are going through gas WAAAAY too fast.Last edited by smithboy; 05-08-2006 at 10:38 AM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:You need to fill the pipes with argon or use a back-up flux when welding stainless steel.
Reply:Oh, and make sure you're using the proper stainless filler.