|
|
I'm in the market for a mig welder and am considering the Lincoln SP-175 Plus. They offer a liner kit that allows you to weld aluminum. Has anybody tried these? How do they compare to a spool gun? Do they work at all or am I not going to be able to use this welder with aluminum?Is it possible to get a spool gun for this welder? What would they cost?Last edited by mmurray70; 12-15-2004 at 01:04 AM.
Reply:I really dont think there is a spool gun that will fit one of these. There is no way to plug one in to one of these little wire feeders. You would have to go up to a Power Mig 215, and even then you need a special spool gun with an adapter for an all in one mig machine- $1500 for the power mig, another $625 for the spool gun. Mig welding aluminum is never easy, and always expensive. You can use their aluminum kit, which includes special rolls along with the liner.It will work, as long as you are careful, patient, and dont have too much of it to do. Even with the special liner, you need to be really careful to keep the hose straight from the machine to the work. And you probably wont have the power to do very heavy stuff. A spool gun with a bigger power supply is a step up, at almost 3 times the price. But it still is fussy, jams a lot, and doesnt do the best job. I have had one for years for my Miller, and have welded a lot with it, but never really enjoyed it all that much- big clouds of white smoke, spatter, tips welded shut, and the occasional birds nest of expensive wire. Heavy and not very well balanced. A few years ago I bought a push pull- mine is a miller XR-30, but Lincoln sells the old cobramatics, updated, and in a snazzy red box. A push pull allows you to use full size spools of wire, so you arent always changing out expensive 1lb spools, and with two motors- one at the gun, and one at the feeder- it pushes aluminum around corners, up ladders, into wierd spaces- in short, in the real world, instead of the fantasy of liner world. And you can hook it up to a gas drive, and use it on site, or any size power supply you want. And I love having 30 feet of mig gun reach. But you pay for the privlege of actually being able to weld.No free lunch when it comes to aluminum.
Reply:I'll give you a report on this set-up next week. I have a Miller 135 and ordered the system to see if it will work. It has some good reports.http://www.wirepropellant.com/concept.phpMillermatic 135Miller Big 40Lincoln 225AC
Reply:The SP175+ will weld light guage aluminum with the Lincoln advertised aluminum kit. TBill,I never tried to run aluminum on my MM135, but others have done so. Did you go the SGA/3030 route? It's a lot of money for very little aluminum welding capability. The door chart doesen't even mention Al.Hank
Reply:Originally posted by hankj The SP175+ will weld light guage aluminum with the Lincoln advertised aluminum kit. TBill,I never tried to run aluminum on my MM135, but others have done so. Did you go the SGA/3030 route? It's a lot of money for very little aluminum welding capability. The door chart doesen't even mention Al.Hank
Reply:TBill,I've seen it advetised. I'd be very interested i your opinion of how well it works.Hank
Reply:$200??? I just got a $25 liner for my MM 135 and started burning alu. It is tricky, but I seem to be making some progress. Attached Images
Reply:wow that almost looks like a stick bead...
Reply:I was just playing around trying to find out where my limits were. I pulled that bead. I should have pushed it, I'm told. I used an eliptical weave, kinda like what I use on steel. I still have a bit to learn with alu. Still kinda cool to do it when all the store reps are telling me it is impossible. Don
Reply:Don...You using Argon or helium?Millermatic 135Miller Big 40Lincoln 225AC
Reply:TBillI guess I shoulda put in the particulars. Here they are: 1/8 alu flat from the orange store, .030 4043 Esab wire with 100% Argon. I'm still trying to get it down as to when it switches from short circuit to spray transfer.( It would be nice if they'd put volt meters on these things.) It seem to be somewhere around 8.5 on the volt scale. The sound is unmistakable. With the short circuit, the penetration just wasn't there. It was maybe 50%. When it goes into spray, the penetration is great. I was weaving to keep it from blowing through. That is a hold over from my stick days. Some habits die hard, esp when you do it before you even think about it. Here is another one. A little hotter this time. If I don't weave, these beads will come out almost smooth, but the blow through doesn't let me get too far. Attached Images
Reply:TBillI would like to hear how the Propellant sys works out as regards birdnesting. I was getting a birdnest every two to three inches when I first started out using just the regular steel liner. I switched out the steel liner for a teflon one from Miller. They don't make one for the M-10 gun, but the one for the M-25 gun fits like a champ. ( I bought a Tweco Fabmaster 12' gun to use for steel only. That way I can switch back and forth without switching liners.) Once I switched liners, feeding was a lot easier. I got a birdnest every foot to a foot and a half of bead or less. Towards the end of my last alu session, I ran almost 8' of bead with just a few birdnests.FWIW, I found that the drive roll tension worked best at around 1.5. I had fewer birdnests when I goofed up when it was set that low. Most of them happened at start-up.I notice you're in Gonzales. I'm gonna be in Smiley later this week. Small world. Don
Reply:Don...you hunting or spending Christmas in the wonderful city of Smiley? I'll let you know how it works, but I have some body work to do before I install the alum. kit. How much did the Tweco set you back? I was going to buy another M-10 but if the Tweco is cheaper I'll do that.Millermatic 135Miller Big 40Lincoln 225AC
Reply:Here we go again...something ate my reply. To answer your question, I picked up the Tweco at AOC in SA for $105. It is a Tweco Fabgun 250. Basically it is a 250a, 12' long replacement MIG gun. I like it. It is way more flexible than the M-10 or 15. The extra two feet are nice also. I switch setups a lot. That is why I went with the extra gun. Basically, what I did is go with the first one I could find a teflon liner for locally. Miller won out, so Tweco was the steel only gun. The only downside so far is now I have two sets of consumables to buy. The Tweco's are the same as Lincoln's, so I can get them at Home Depot or Lowes if need be.Is you alu set up a pain to install and take out? Or is it easily removeable?Smiley is for work. I'll go down Thurs or Fri to pickup one load and haul it back to a pit near SA.
Reply:OOPS, forgot the pic. Here is the Tweco ( left) with the M-10 for comparison. They really aren't that different. Attached Images
Reply:THe Wire Propellant system is not hard to install, I just don't want to run steel wire thru the new liner.Millermatic 135Miller Big 40Lincoln 225AC
Reply:So that's why you are looking at another gun. The big switch like I do. What about the heater and all, would it get in the way of an 8" spool when you go back to steel? I'd like to see some pics of the set up. Are there any install pics on the linked pages? I had trouble getting to them. Crappy dial up.Don
Reply:The heater is made to fit the 8" spool. It only heats to 80 degrees, and I wondered about the small spools heating properly. But in our area, I don't thik that is a problem except this week! Can you belive 25 degrees for Thursday? The heater is supposed to relax the wire so the natural coiling is reduced so it enters the guide and liner easier. The web site doesn't have a good installed pic, I'll either take a pic or scan the owners manual when I get back to Houston next weekend.Millermatic 135Miller Big 40Lincoln 225AC
Reply:Cool, I'd like to see it. Yea, 25 deg in TOWN (SA). We'll be in the upper teens I bet. I hate the cold. We get to about 20-21 last week. I expect this time will be worse. Stay warm.Don
Reply:Originally Posted by TBillI'll give you a report on this set-up next week. I have a Miller 135 and ordered the system to see if it will work. It has some good reports.http://www.wirepropellant.com/concept.php
Reply:Make sure you apply the magic snake oil/ fairy dust, so it works correctly!!
Reply:It is interesting that they don't show a picture of the thing. I havn't had any problem pushing .035" 5356 though a teflon liner with a 10ft gun. They say you can push .030" 4043.
Reply:I push .030 4043 with my teflon liner with little difficulty. I was getting a birdnest every four feet of bead. ( approx) TbillWhat is the latest?
Reply:[Basically, what I did is go with the first one I could find a teflon liner for locally.]I looked for a liner for the M-10 gun and could not find one. Miller does not make one anymore. Don is there any more down your way? I thought about trying the passport out with aluminum.Scott
Reply:ScottI didn't get a M-10 liner for the same reason....However, the M-25 liner fits perfectly. Got that one from ROCK a while back. Miller p/n 194-014. It is the M-25/M-40 teflon liner @ 3/64 and 15' long. I cut it down to 10' for the M-10 and it worked great. I need to call the store tomorrow anyway. It seems I may have gotten a bad spool of .030. I'll see if they got another one back in. I remember seeing a liner in the spot last week, but I didn't look closely at it. Check out your place with the p/n and if they don't have it, email me in the am. I'll probably be heading out around noonish. Can't work anyway. Too wet. So, I will be playing around in the shop in the am.I saw that one in the book. It said something about a O-ring somewhere?I tempted to just hook up my spoolgun setup to try it, except I have the contactor wired for my esab and it's 120 volts!!! Ouch!!!!
Reply:[QUOTE=Brand X]I saw that one in the book. It said something about a O-ring somewhere?I tempted to just hook up my spoolgun setup to try it, except I have the contactor wired for my esab and it's 120 volts!!! Ouch!!!
发表于 2021-9-1 00:21:16