I finally got around to trying to measure the voltage with a DVM. Whatever the circuitry inside the welder, it was not responding to the high impedance load of the meter. I got a reading of around 20 VDC no matter where the knob was set. I could try to measure it under actual conditions, but am afra...

Thank you Steve, that's very helpful. I'll give it a shot.

Have you ever used a o'scope or averaging to figure out how much droop there is under load? I'm wondering if there is a rule-of-thumb adjustment that could be made from the unloaded measurements.

Or you are saying there is no scaled display of voltage? Yep, That's what I was saying. I just have A-K. Knowing the voltage is just the means to an end though. I don't need another quest! No DVM permanently installed for me!! All I want is a chart that translates the Miller calculator into the sta...

Thank you Artie. That page is what I tried before but got no response.

That machine looks to be a fair bit different from mine, but again, thank you for trying!

I have an old (circa 1990) Presto-weld MIG 130 that only has a few hours on it but no manual. The machine is in perfect condition and my LWS said they'd be glad to sell me a new one, but that it is a really good, tough machine. I have contacted ESAB who bought LTEC and they didn't even have the cour...

My little foot-operated 110 VAC spot welder will fuse a 0.250 inch diameter spot. That's ~.05 sq inches at 15 Amps (primary side) give or take. The area of the joint of a 1" diameter fitting through 18 ga (0.048 thick) is ~3 x 0.048. So would it only take 45 Amps to get the same current density...

I'm surprised nobody has come up with an electric (like spot welding) jig for these fittings. It seems like it could be done and it would be perfectly clean and very little skill required. Have you every tried to autogen weld a mismatched joint like that? I've found that you have hold the arc on the...

Thanks for posting. That looks like a real mismatch in thickness. Must have been a bear.

Did you patch the top? There looks to be a boomerang-shaped piece added on.

Have you ever cut a cross-section and etched it to see how well the fillets penetrate when done from the outside only?

All my life I have wrapped the lead one wrap around my arm, (Stick and Tig) so I am not carrying the drag from the lead when I am welding. I recently purchased a "superflex" hose and 9 series torch. While they were both improvements for welding small diameter tubing, the biggest help was ...

I filled it with water before I cut it. I was outside, but there was no visible smoke and just had to dump out the water instead of scrubbing the inside. I also used a 20 Amp drag tip (Cutmaster 42) and cut at low amps which makes a tiny kerf and no sugaring.

I used the top I cut out for all of my practice :) I did that with a plasma which I had read was not the way to go (I think it was from people without plasma cutters). I made a jig and it came out perfectly. I was taught by nuclear and aircraft certified welders so I know quality work when I see it ...

Thanks so much for the kind words. It took me way longer to get the confidence to weld on the actual keg than it should have, but I just have to be sure of myself before I start something like that. I can't stand the feeling of screwing something up and THEN realizing an obvious mistake. I'm very ha...

Here is the modified heatsink: hs2.jpg Here is the outside as welded. It got a little hotter than I wanted but I was trying to ensure I go full penetration. tw2.jpg Here are the inside on my test piece where I could see what I was doing and the inside on the actual where I couldn't: inside sample.jp...

There is a franchised metal supplier in Beltsville (I'm not sure if it's ok to mention businesses by name on the forum). They have another location in Baltimore. I've gotten drops from the Baltimore location and I bet they'd help you out in Beltsville.

I have gotten aluminum off-cuts from my local metal supplier and only paid scrap prices of $2/pound. They let me sort through the bin and pick whatever I wanted.

Thanks. I hear you about the special tooling, but I inherited a machine shop and 70 years worth of accumulated stock. I'm trying to use it!

Thanks. What do you think about using it like it is versus adding a circular channel under where the weld bead will be?

sink.jpg This is the heatsink that I made. It's radiused to match the inside surface of the keg. There is a quick disconnect on the back and a hollow threaded rod on the other side that passes through the fitting. I will cap the hollow and drill a couple of small holes to allow the argon to flow in...

Thanks again guys.

I'll post pics when it's done.

I wondered about using silicon bronze. Thanks for saving me the effort! I put four evenly spaced tacks on and then welded 1/4, opposite 1/4, backstep 1/4, and then the remaining 1/4. I let it cool a bit after each section and then removed the heatsink and dunked it in water. Does that sound workable...

That looks like quite a trick.

Did you just feather from the thick to thin or did you use some internal sinking?

Thank you for the help. We are talking about the same thing.

I will put the final one on the outside. I just did this one inside because the Sanke thing on this lid cutout was in the way

top.jpg brushed.jpg back.jpg Here are some cell phone shots of practice (sorry for the poor focus). Not really too hard to control with heat sinks on the back. My A game is probably about equal to most of your C games so I'm not sure my A+ will help too much LoL! Getting my heat set by running a be...

Thanks guys for all the info. I'm use to welding in a mirror and tight spots so I've figure out how to reach and weld at times holding my mask in front of me...lol Since I know where my settings need to be and I'm just fusing it together it makes it easier. Feeding filler is a whole nother issue.......

Thank you all for the answers and recommendations. I have several spare fittings and plan to sort out as much as I can ahead of time with practice setups. I've read that the lid of the keg is thicker than the side wall. Is that everyone's experience? If so I'll have to find some 18 ga. scrap instead...