6g root pass

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Howdy, first post Currently i run these root passes with 1/8" land and 1/8" root gap with 1/8" 6010's at about 75 amps.  I've talked to a lot of other welder's and some have suggested decreasing the gap and turning up the heat.  Do you still get good penetration and a decent root face running it like that?  I know everybody has their own way of approaching things like this so please let me know how YOU run pipe roots and maybe i can learn somethin' from ya'll.  I don't know how active this forum is but hopefully somebody will write back.  Also i tried to post this once already and it didn't work but now that i think about it maybe it did.  Hopefully i didn't double post a thread.
Reply:Hi MetalMafia,Enjoy yourself here, there's a lot of information to be had.1.5mm gap, 1.5 to 2mm landing 3.2mm rod 120 amps straight polarity. If your on bigger pipe say 12 to 16 inch go to 4mm rods and up the heat a bit more.Stephen
Reply:Thanks stephen for your reply, I'm open for any new methods because the school i went to followed this curriculem and made it seem like 1/8" land and 1/8" gap at 70-80 amps was the ONLY way to do it, even though i know better.  The instructors were pretty old school but they tended to follow the school's agenda.  Any one else wanna comment on this problem i'd appreciate any input!
Reply:One thing I should have asked is are you going up or down? As you can do both....Stephen
Reply:Well i usually go up but i think depending on the gap size you can also go down, right?
Reply:That set up I've given you is for down, but I would use about the same for up. Maybe with a little less heat, then get a key hole going and you'll be away. Use a whip style.Stephen
Reply:Hey,I've recently passed both stick and tig 6g pipe tests.  It is a goog idea to have the root landing and gap the same size.  I think you are using too much heat, as i had no problem with 50 amps with 6010 (3/32''). 75 amps for the cap with 7018.  -passed the bend tests and all is good!take care.
Reply:Hi Avram,I hope you enjoy your self here.On your heats, if I welded that cold I'd be laughed at! I don't even weld that cold on S/S, I take it you where welding very small pipe with those kinds of heats and that size rods?Can you imagine how long it would take to weld a 24" pipe set up like that?  And yes I've done a bit of pipe work including a lot of x-ray stuff    Stephen
Reply:wow..thats kinda cold.i just passed my 6G test on 2in boiler pipe. Tig root / hp , and 3/32 7018 fill and cap. I know that this is thicker material than what you might be working with, but i still ran my root a 80-90 amps and like a 3/32 root and land. Whatever works for you works, but with a 1/8 land/root i would split that in half and turn up your machine. I ran my hot pass(tig) at like 115 or so.and fill at 90 and cap about the same. Im just a student, not a pro like some of these guys. It seems your setting are on the bottom end of the spectrum..Just curious, but what school did you attend?-Owner - Certified Welding & Fabrication / 22yrs in businessSteamboat Springs, Co(970) 879-5491AWS structural shopHMI 70t iron worker2 field trucks specailizing in structural steel, aluminum and stainless steel
Reply:I got my structural welding degree from Tulsa Welding School and have gone back recently to finish up on the master welder.  But about that pipe, I think i found my niche at about 3/32 inch land and gap and 80-85 amps.  With heliarc I'm using about 105.  Thanks for all the info, fellas, I really enjoy this forum.
Reply:Hey Stephen,In regards to heat, yes i forgot to mention the 6g test was a relativley small 2'' sch 80 pipe (3/8 thickness).  Much hotter and the keyhole would fall out. But i do agree this is in the low end range. I don't believe testing on large diameter pipe to be very accurate at estimating one's skill when testing.  The smaller pipes are a testament to your competency, due to the constantly rapid changing angles etc..  I'm just saying it's a bit easier to control when you are going up a 24'' pipe.  You know what i'm saying?                      -I was married in lake Tekapo last year, a friend took us on a tour of the south island by car and some helicopter.  You are truly in paradise man.        Be well-
Reply:AvramI just set a procedure on 1" sch 80 all tig, but I was still running just over 90 amps, 4mm gap, 2.4 wire 2mm landing. One thing I have found is some guys once they get up to about 10"pipe they don't know how to weld it, because there's a few wee tricks once the bore size gets up for getting the bottom in and closing the top out.My parents have a house at Twizel, which is just down the road from Tekapo, I remember going there as a kid to go ice skating, and next month I start a job just out of Fairlie. She's not a hard place to live, you should be out here on a working holiday. There's a heap of pipe work around for the next two or three  years, and the rates are shooting way up to Stephen