Hobart Handler 210+Spoolgun= Scrap Aluminum???

[flipflops]

i have thoroughly wasted a day and a bunch of aluminum trying to make a simple tag bracket for my motorcycle. Im using 1/8th inch aluminum and my HH210/spoolgun combo. I am cleaning the snot out of the aluminum with a dedicated SS brush. I have my workpiece clamped to a piece of steel. I have tried every setting for current, wire speed and gas flow and every weld looks like total junk. very disgusted with it so far. i have argon set at 25, i have tried as high as 35, the tip is clean, i can hear gas flow out of the nozzle. i have tried a fast travel and slow travel. the only welds that look like they might hold for a while are HUGE, sooty, spatter everywhere, and overall very very ugly. if i slow the wire speed down in hopes of a smaller weld, the wire immediately burns back to the tip. if i speed up the feed, the weld almost immediately piles up thicker than the material im welding. im using a push method and keeping the gun at 10-15 degrees or so. ive watched youtube videos, read hobarts instructions, countless forum posts and i get junk every time i touch this spool gun. ready to throw it away, what gives?

[dda52]

I believe I can tell you what is up....cuz it sounds exactly what mine did during all the testing I did. Sooty and spatter are the key. Take the spool gun power pin out of the machine and take a good close look at the O-rings. Those things need to be pristine..no scrapes, cracks or gouges...not even the tiniest of scrapes. If you have a messed up ring or two...there is your issue. The messed up ring is letting some air get into the mix and mucking things up. Aso, be sure to check all gun and gas connections as well.

When we were testing them, I had a lot of email traffic back and forth with Hobart on this. I was told it welds alu, but sure couldn't get it to act right. Once the O-ring issue was discovered and remedied, it welded perfectly. I always try to keep extras on hand now. Check your unit out and if in doubt, change them anyway and see what happens. They are fairly cheap. These units will weld alu very nicely once you get the bug out.

[aametalmaster]

I was ready to pitch mine the first time i used it too. Then i found that the spool of wire had some stickey paper inside the hole and was dragging on the spool gun spindle. What size wire are you using? I really like .030 for 99% of my alum jobs...Bob

[Blacksmith]

Not specific to aluminum, but somewhere I read to apply a tiny bit of silicone to the o-rings before assembly to ease seating the power pin and help avoid cutting an o-ring. This made sense to me as we always lubed o-rings when sliding cylinder sleeves into a diesel block, etc. I did that to my new 210, a little dab of electrical grade silicone grease on my finger then wiped most of it off, just leaving a film. Unit slid right together and makes better welds (ER70-S6 on mild steel with C-25) then my skill level should allow.

[flipflops]

thank you, i will check the o-rings right away, and lube them. i am using .035 5356 wire. so far, the best (or cleanest) weld has come with the machine set at "6" on power and "65-75" on wire speed, however, this burned through very very quickly on the 1/8" stuff i was trying to weld.

[flipflops]

checked the o-rings very closely, they are fine. i lubed them and reassembled. i changed to a new roll of .030 5356 wire and new tip. set the machine according to the table on the welder and i get more junk. very smokey, sooty, ugly.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp187/joshwhitson/IMAG0137.jpg

[flipflops]

tried more settings, just big fat welds and messing up all my tips. i'm done with it, any market for selling these spool guns?

[eman]

i have thoroughly wasted a day and a bunch of aluminum trying to make a simple tag bracket for my motorcycle. Im using 1/8th inch aluminum and my HH210/spoolgun combo. I am cleaning the snot out of the aluminum with a dedicated SS brush. I have my workpiece clamped to a piece of steel. I have tried every setting for current, wire speed and gas flow and every weld looks like total junk. very disgusted with it so far. i have argon set at 25, i have tried as high as 35, the tip is clean, i can hear gas flow out of the nozzle. i have tried a fast travel and slow travel. the only welds that look like they might hold for a while are HUGE, sooty, spatter everywhere, and overall very very ugly. if i slow the wire speed down in hopes of a smaller weld, the wire immediately burns back to the tip. if i speed up the feed, the weld almost immediately piles up thicker than the material im welding. im using a push method and keeping the gun at 10-15 degrees or so. ive watched youtube videos, read hobarts instructions, countless forum posts and i get junk every time i touch this spool gun. ready to throw it away, what gives? Try it without spool gun.

[dda52]

Ditch the 5356 and get some 4043. MIG will run better with 4043 and TIG with 5356.

[xdhd350]

You didn't specifically say, but are you running pure Argon? No 75/25 mix for Aluminum.

[flipflops]

yeah pure argon. i guess i can try the 4043 before hanging it up for good. still very disappointed in how these welds look. every video ive seen ends with a nice, clean, pretty weld with almost no soot or burnt oxidation marks (white spatter streaks??), or spatter on them. very puzzled by this. i tried keeping my stickout short, say 3/8"-1/2", and i kept ruining tips. the wire would just melt itself into the tip. 3/4" stickout wasnt much better, more soot too. also it seemed difficult to direct the puddle, it sort of went where it wanted to go regardless of me trying to keep it on my joint, if that makes sense.

[aametalmaster]

still very disappointed in how these welds look. every video ive seen ends with a nice, clean, pretty weld with almost no soot or burnt oxidation marks (white spatter streaks??), or spatter on them. very puzzled by this.

Yeah me too and i have been welding alum for 35 years with a mig. Only a few times did i have a perfect textbook weld with no soot or splatter so its not just you...Bob

[Roger]

Just looking for another cause.
Are you using solvent to remove oils on aluminum and SS wire brush? What solvent?

Argon Helium mix expensive to try but might help.

[usmcpop]

What Aluminum alloy and who made it? There is offshore junk metal in circulation. Try some practice on a known quality piece before you give up.

[aametalmaster]

Here is my last alum job and it looked great. Don't know the grade of alum but i was using .030 4043 and running downhills. Just a little smoke on the weld...Bob

[Marksweldingams]

have you tried another bottle of gas?
if the bottle company has filled a 75/25 or other mix gas in a bottle for pure argon you will end up with contamination that way as well.
wire brush till a brused look has appeared and brush drags hard.
i've never used a cleaning agent on aluminum it's just another chemical to clean off and never had any issues.
Best of luck.
i still use an old westinghouse I believe it is hobart made them

[aametalmaster]

i still use an old westinghouse I believe it is hobart made them

Westinghouse welder or WH spoolgun? I have both of them and haven't seen too many more. The spoolguns were made by Profax and have been around for years. Just wondering...Bob

[Marksweldingams]

Westinghouse welder or WH spoolgun? I have both of them and haven't seen too many more. The spoolguns were made by Profax and have been around for years. Just wondering...Bob

aametalmaster,
accept my appologies as I'm wrong. it is a hobart spoolgun but i believe I was told it was built by westinghouse for them.
i bought it as a close out from mg industries back in 84-85, my question is where do I get the long contact tubes for this thing now a days. Must be 5-6 inchs long.
been so long about a year since I used it i forgot w/old age 7 stress

[aametalmaster]

my question is where do I get the long contact tubes for this thing now a days. Must be 5-6 inchs long.


I have seen those long tips online for about 5-6 bucks each. I do conversions so that those old guns use modern .50 cent tips but i would need the barrel off your gun to do it if you are interested...Bob