Why does my ironman 250 work with a spool gun alum gun ??

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I have got a Hobart Ironman 250 Mig set up.  It is da bomb , works great on the steel. So, a good alum project came into the shop. We boogied down to the welding supply shop and they sold me an adapter set with a 25' spool guh. I got through the install instructions and got it welding ok. One of the local experts came over and knocked out the job with the spool gun in two hrs. worked great, the only bitch is that after every bead, we had to use a wire wheel to remove the black smoot that was laid down. THe wire wheel was virgin and only used for that project so it was not contaminating the welds bed.here is my questions:  I have used TIG to weld ALum, and it has to be run on AC to get the cleaning action of the phase change, or that is how I understand that part.  How can my Ironman that has no AC/DC switch be able to weld great using the spool gun ??  Does the Mig box have special magic smoke in it for this type of work ??Just wonder why that works like that.Thanks guys/galsWWoW (Wild welder on wheelchair)
Reply:Watch these two videos, then report back.~Johnhttp://welding-tv.com/2011/11/10/mig-welding-aluminum/http://welding-tv.com/2011/12/15/mig...uildpro-table/
Reply:You got to push it.
Reply:Cause mig runs EP.  Blows the oxide off the aluminum bead.  The heat is absorbed by the wire electrode and deposited.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:You will get more soot with 5356 than 4043 because of the additives in the wire.Tiger Sales:  AHP Distributor    www.tigersalesco.comAHP200x; AHP 160ST; MM350P,  Spoolmatic 30A; Everlast PowerTig 185; Thermal Dynamics 60i plasma.  For Sale:  Cobra Mig 250 w/ Push-pull gun.  Lincoln Wirematic 250
Reply:Nature of the beast, crank your flowmeter up to 40, 45 if any draft & push the bead.REAL TRUCKS DON'T HAVE SPARK PLUGS
Reply:It works as Drf said because the electrode is "sacrificial".  You can run aluminum tig dc with helium but it is a very high heat process. With mig, you want your eletrode to melt so running it in dc ep is how you do it.Multimatic 200Ellis 1800Haberle S225 9" cold sawMM 300;  Spoolmate 30A w/ WC-24TB 302GDynasty 280 DX Tigrunner