midget1500

hi

i'm looking to buy a small mig welder, i like the SIP migmate 105 as it has 6 settings, 25-105amps. the only thing that i can't find out is how long these small 60L bottles of co2 last?

OllyK

How long does a tank of petrol last in your car?? Kinda depends how often you use it and how you drive it huh?? Same rules apply to MIG welders

midget1500

cheers for that

okay a rough average time for continous welding on sheet steel (car bodywork).

i.e. 1 min? 1 hour? 1 day?

OllyK

Dunno is the short answer, just had a look for a spec to see if it stated what the gas flow rates were. The power setting will affect how much gas you need to pas through to stop the weld oxidising, but looking that the bit of kit you should get a good few hours out of a bottle

midget1500

can't find the flow rates anywhere. someone told me 15L per minute, but that would = 4 minutes of continuous welding...

OllyK

But with a MIG it tends to be Splatter - Pause - Splatter - Pause. More Spot welding type stuff than full on seam welding

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Rent a decent bottle & keep the soda stream bottles for backup or it'll cost you a fortune.

D

midget1500

no definitive answers then?

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Depends if your welder leaks...how much did that cost me everytime I got the thing out and found the bottle empty

Put it this way, translated into the number of sundays whilst working on my Landy it lasted about 4-5 days

clarky1982

dont bother. if your gonna do alot of welding go for the small refillable one or you will spend a fortune on these overpriced hobby bottles

john_s

iTrader: (1)

I found they didn't last very long, so i got a bottle of argoshield light from BOC... costs about £35 a year rental and about the same again for each fill. Lasts massively longer than the little bottles.

John.

starstruck

Midget 1500,
I used the Hobby bottles once, only beacause I was given two of them. I used them when welding a new front inner wing to my Midge. The two bottles didn't last long enough to complete one side. I have aquired a P10 (quarter bottle size) of Argoshield light and it seems to last for ever, and give a much smoother weld than CO2.

Cheers

john_s

iTrader: (1)

Yep, forgot to add that to my post... i think CO2 gives a hotter weld than argoshield.

John.