Welding Tips and Tricks

Can someone please tell me what is causing this much smut?
I have tried everything, and i mean everything.
I even took my machine to a welding training centre and welded there and had no trouble, but when i get home it continues.
100 % argon
1.2mm 5356
250 amp machine brand new september 2016
Tried on 5005, 5052, 6060, 6061 t6.
240 volt 15 amp circuit.
Volt and wfp depends on material thickness.

Is your polarity correct?

I'm not awesome with aluminum, but I've never seen it do that.

Are you welding outdoors?
Just a little draft can blow your shielding away.

Your shielding gas is wrong. You need 75% Argon and 25% CO2 or straight CO2.

exnailpounder wrote:Your shielding gas is wrong. You need 75% Argon and 25% CO2 or straight CO2.

He's welding aluminum right. If he is then definitely 100% argon. Aluminum doesn't like carbon dioxide.

Farmwelding wrote:

exnailpounder wrote:Your shielding gas is wrong. You need 75% Argon and 25% CO2 or straight CO2.

He's welding aluminum right. If he is then definitely 100% argon. Aluminum doesn't like carbon dioxide.

I guess I wasn't paying attention. I was up all night with a flooded basement so pay me no mind. Carry on!

exnailpounder wrote:

Farmwelding wrote:

exnailpounder wrote:Your shielding gas is wrong. You need 75% Argon and 25% CO2 or straight CO2.

He's welding aluminum right. If he is then definitely 100% argon. Aluminum doesn't like carbon dioxide.

I guess I wasn't paying attention. I was up all night with a flooded basement so pay me no mind. Carry on!

That's right you guys got pounded last night with rain. We got a little on the outer edge of the storm I can't imagine what the red clouds on the radar was like. And then as per usual Wisconsin weather it snowed today. Good luck with the the flood.

When you MIG aluminum, you will get smut because you're welding with DC and have no cleaning action. To minimize smut, crank up the CFH (pure argon) and use a push angle. As mentioned, if you're welding outdoors, be mindful of the breeze as a little cause a lot of problems.

You also look cold on the welds, so crank up the volts and slow your travel a tad. A gentle brushing afterwards with a stainless brush cleans those welds right up (but they'd better be good welds else your mistakes show )

Farmwelding wrote:

exnailpounder wrote:Your shielding gas is wrong. You need 75% Argon and 25% CO2 or straight CO2.

He's welding aluminum right. If he is then definitely 100% argon. Aluminum doesn't like carbon dioxide.

We may be hitting and missing the mark simultaneously. Sharn got sooty welds at home, moved the machine offsite and got good welds, then sooty welds back at home. The gas bottle at home may be mislabeled or contaminated, even though it is marked 100% argon. Sharn, is the bottle at home new, or recently exchanged? Have you made good welds with this gas?

Do you have a tig machine to test the argon on. Yeah try your colts up to. Aluminum weldin has to be kind of hot because it is spray transfer. Of course spray for aluminum is a lot colder than steel spray.

Easy Farmer!

cj737 wrote:When you MIG aluminum, you will get smut because you're welding with DC and have no cleaning action. To minimize smut, crank up the CFH (pure argon) and use a push angle. As mentioned, if you're welding outdoors, be mindful of the breeze as a little cause a lot of problems.

You also look cold on the welds, so crank up the volts and slow your travel a tad. A gentle brushing afterwards with a stainless brush cleans those welds right up (but they'd better be good welds else your mistakes show )

Respectfully, I would have to disagree with your cleaning action statement.

Welding with DC+ is the cleaning polarity. DC- is the penetration.
These are the 2 that get adjusted on tig machines with adjustable balance.
On mig aluminum, you only get the DC+

Completely agree that the settings are off.
Could be wrong polarity or just not adjusted correctly into spray?

For the OP, here is a short video of what spray arc looks like (the arc itself looks very similar for aluminum and steel).
Make sure the sound is on so you can hear what it sounds like.

Also, make a weld, post all related settings that made it. This makes it easier to help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHkbh0oKv_g

Poland308 wrote:Easy Farmer!

What did I do this time.

Take deep breaths don't be offended! Just pause for a bit not every question needs a rapid answer. Sometimes you need to think first.

PeteM wrote:Is your polarity correct?

I'm not awesome with aluminum, but I've never seen it do that.

Yes

MinnesotaDave wrote:

cj737 wrote:When you MIG aluminum, you will get smut because you're welding with DC and have no cleaning action. To minimize smut, crank up the CFH (pure argon) and use a push angle. As mentioned, if you're welding outdoors, be mindful of the breeze as a little cause a lot of problems.

You also look cold on the welds, so crank up the volts and slow your travel a tad. A gentle brushing afterwards with a stainless brush cleans those welds right up (but they'd better be good welds else your mistakes show )

Respectfully, I would have to disagree with your cleaning action statement.

Welding with DC+ is the cleaning polarity. DC- is the penetration.
These are the 2 that get adjusted on tig machines with adjustable balance.
On mig aluminum, you only get the DC+

Completely agree that the settings are off.
Could be wrong polarity or just not adjusted correctly into spray?

For the OP, here is a short video of what spray arc looks like (the arc itself looks very similar for aluminum and steel).
Make sure the sound is on so you can hear what it sounds like.

Also, make a weld, post all related settings that made it. This makes it easier to help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHkbh0oKv_g

Thanks!

AndersK wrote:Are you welding outdoors?
Just a little draft can blow your shielding away.

No all inside

Everything that has been said has been tried.

exnailpounder wrote:Your shielding gas is wrong. You need 75% Argon and 25% CO2 or straight CO2.

Sorry but you wrong !!!! Aluminium is 100% argon.

Artie F. Emm wrote:

Farmwelding wrote:

exnailpounder wrote:Your shielding gas is wrong. You need 75% Argon and 25% CO2 or straight CO2.

He's welding aluminum right. If he is then definitely 100% argon. Aluminum doesn't like carbon dioxide.

We may be hitting and missing the mark simultaneously. Sharn got sooty welds at home, moved the machine offsite and got good welds, then sooty welds back at home. The gas bottle at home may be mislabeled or contaminated, even though it is marked 100% argon. Sharn, is the bottle at home new, or recently exchanged? Have you made good welds with this gas?

It has been changed twice at least. And now from a different supplier with no connect to each other.

Is the plug you plug the welder into good and tight? And is the voltage correct? I.e. Do you have a bad plug internally at the wall. Is there any thing else you took apart to transfer the welder to the other location that may have gotten reassembled one way when you were there and a different way when you got home?

Poland308 wrote:Is the plug you plug the welder into good and tight? And is the voltage correct? I.e. Do you have a bad plug internally at the wall. Is there any thing else you took apart to transfer the welder to the other location that may have gotten reassembled one way when you were there and a different way when you got home?

No all the same assembly. All the wiring in the wall is new and good so is the plug on the machine.

Can you take a picture of the front of your weld machine? So we can see where your dials and or switches are set? Is this a 3 phase or single phase powered machine?

Back to the gas for a minute: you said the bottle has been changed, got it.

Have you made good welds with the gas from the current bottle?

To me it looks like bad gun angle. Point your gun at a 15 to 20 degree Pushing angle. When I started I found I needed even more of an angle then I thought. Try it.
Remember with aluminum it's push only. When you pull the gun it'll look like your picture.

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