Help me reduce my welding spatter

[tmorgan4]

Today I was welding up a piece and noticed that it had far more welding spatter than usual. On the next piece I made 100% sure the welding areas were perfectly clean, shiny metal on both sides. Same results. Both pieces are mild steel...tab is 1/4" and the plate is 3/16.

Setup:

Hobart 140
.035 solid cored MIG wire
75/25 Argon/CO2

As you can see in this picture, it didn't turn out well. The dirty brown crap doesn't show up on anything else I've welded before. What else would cause this?

http://www.picvault.info/images/537057636_IMG_0177.JPG

[Aces'n'8s]

What was your voltage and line speed settings?

Even with proper voltage, when I'm running too slow the bead pops and sizzles and I get plenty of spatter. :confused:

[tmorgan4]

Correct, running on tap #4 (highest setting, 140 amps).

Line speed was 40 (in/min???) as was suggested by the chart under the cover. I ususally go by this chart.

I DID clean the surface for any type of grease or oil. I usually use this Xylene stuff I've got for that sort of thing but I did grind "new" surfaces onto both pieces.

The wire is Hobart brand. I actually hadn't heard that .035 would be better for this application. The chart mentions to use .035 for "thicker" metals like 3/16.

Was welding inside and should have had plenty of shielding. The weld doesn't seem porous like when I forget to turn the gas on. :D



Really just trying to figure out what causes all the brown crap around the weld. This hasn't shown up on any of my other projects so you may be right about the surface still having some oil even after grinding it.

[sn0border88]

try turning down the wire speed, and if you really dont like the spatter you can hit it with an anti-spatter spray. The stuff slides right off.

[pneufab]

The problem with welding 1/4" plate is the correct amperage/ voltage needing is in the spray transfer range. Granted your 140 doesn't have enough power to successfully spray transfer, but cranked it may want to.Do you have that much spatter when you turn the heat down a tab? If not, you you may want to try a cylinder of over 80% argon/ balance co2 (80/20,85/15) next time and see how that runs on the higher voltage settings.

That looks like it maybe your problem since the bead looks like it was run with the correct machine settings.

Just a guess.

t

[trkklr77]

i get the brown shit every where, im useing .035 flux core, i just assumed it was part of the slaging. you have less spatter than i do, what i was welding was 1/4 plate and 3/8" forged iron.

heres the welder im useing, exept i had the volt set on d/#4 and the wire at 3-1/4[whatever that relates to]

[nissancrawler]

Have you checked your wire? Mine was getting that way, and when the spool ran out, I saw that the wire I pulled out of the liner had a little bit of rust on it. It also looks like it isn't hot enough, although it's hard to tell. I would preheat the metal if you can. I weld 3/16-1/4" with my 175 cranked up full.

[threadkiller]

I'm running .035 HB-28 in my welder right now. The stuff has quite a bit more "soot" than the roll of Inweld it replaced. I did some destructive testing to see if the welds were acceptable and they passed my test. That said, I'm going back to Inweld after this roll gets used up.

On a similar note, I think your weld lacks penetration.

[95geo]

I have a miller that welds exactly like that... tried everything, wire, gas, settings.... the anti-spatter works wonders.

[85f150dsel]

i get the brown shit every where, im useing .035 flux core, i just assumed it was part of the slaging. ]

you're using flux core wire, its the nature of the beast

[JoeDirt82]

With you welder you need .023 or .025, you get a little more adjustment out of your wire speed! 75/25 is a good mix but if its spatter your concerned about then try 90/10 it will run a tad hotter. I like 98/2 98%argon and 1-2% oxygen, that will give you the least amount of spatter. I also is harder to make a good bead, but all you can do is try it. You can also try Anti-Spatter spray but it likes to give you porosity with hard wire!

[reddevil1111]

I used to sell chemicals. I sold a TON of anti splater to welding shops. What is it you ask? Silicone. In a spray form....you can buy it cheaper if it does not say anti splater.
The next question I always recived: "does it really work?" I used to offer for any welder to try a free can. (I always got my money back in future orders) I never failed to sell it as long as the guy tried it.
It will clean up your welds, reduce or eliminate your splatter and keep it looking clean. It does not affect the weld. Just make sure what you spray is 100% silicone and nothing else.:evil:

[LBHSBZ]

Heh...get a lincoln

I have a miller 175 at work and bought a 180 for the house to upgrade from my lincoln 135 about 1 year ago, both millers weld like shit IMO. The puddle has corners on it (should be roundish) and they both spatter like nutz. I tried everything with the new 180...3 different brands of wires, 2 different bottles of gas, different settings, they all sucked.

I went and bought a lincoln 175 and it welds like a dream. Nice stable arc, good puddle, low spatter, and in a significantly smaller package than the Miller. The high end is a little bit weaker, but not substantially enough to make a difference IMO.

I imagine the hobarts will have similar characteristics since they're made by Miller.

[fj40charles]

I used to sell chemicals. I sold a TON of anti splater to welding shops. What is it you ask? Silicone. In a spray form....you can buy it cheaper if it does not say anti splater.
The next question I always recived: "does it really work?" I used to offer for any welder to try a free can. (I always got my money back in future orders) I never failed to sell it as long as the guy tried it.
It will clean up your welds, reduce or eliminate your splatter and keep it looking clean. It does not affect the weld. Just make sure what you spray is 100% silicone and nothing else.:evil:

Good info.. Thanks! I'll have to try it out. I know many people use regular anti stick cookin spray like Pam and had good results.

[tmorgan4]

I used to sell chemicals. I sold a TON of anti splater to welding shops. What is it you ask? Silicone. In a spray form....you can buy it cheaper if it does not say anti splater.
The next question I always recived: "does it really work?" I used to offer for any welder to try a free can. (I always got my money back in future orders) I never failed to sell it as long as the guy tried it.
It will clean up your welds, reduce or eliminate your splatter and keep it looking clean. It does not affect the weld. Just make sure what you spray is 100% silicone and nothing else.:evil:

Today I was at the local metal/welding shop and they had "Anti-Spatter" spray on the shelf. It says SILICONE FREE. What's this about?

[Toyoda]

Maybe they are going back to saline...

Personally I never had a problem with silicone or saline, they both feel nice.

[95geo]

MM175? MM175 was not one of the better Miller welders when it comes having a nice stable arc in the upper tap range.

110v welder is really designed to weld 1/8" or thinner with solid wire. 3/16" flux core. You might be able to get by on 1/4" with lots of beveling, but I would not take a chance.

If you're going to weld 1/4", you really need a 220v welder.

220V MM150, one thing I do not like is the 1-2-3-4 position for amperage... not infinately adjustable.

none of the welds my dad or I have run with it have ever failed, i figure on 1/4" I would chamfer about 1/8" of it or leave about 1/8" gap. Isn't that typical for mig welding?

[b4wscrambler]

Maybe they are going back to saline...

Personally I never had a problem with silicone or saline, they both feel nice.

:lmao:

[reddevil1111]

When selling chemicals, there is an insider joke: everything is made from 3 chemicals and the rest is colored water"
While it may not be 100% true, it does stand to reason. Brake cleaning fluid is the same stuff used in dry cleaners(with different surfactants to smell better) as is most of the spray can spot cleaners for carpet(not all though)
Window cleaner is a degreaser, as is dish soap,as is concrete cleaner. You can buy one gallon of some manufacture's degreaser and at the proper dillution, use it for everything from cleaning windows,toilets,greasy dishes and degreasing your engine.
So a lot of effort goes into sales and can designs. If it is silicon free, it has some sort of dry chemical lubercant in it. Maybe teflon? It all uses the same basic premisis, the lube will burn off, but the welding process is fast enough to allow a proper weld and still the chemical keeps the splatter down. If you rewelded an area,you would get splatter. (the chemical has done its job and burned off)

BTW? avoid the fumes while using any anti splatter. Very bad for ya.

Another tip: look at any spray can,(most quality makers do this) look for a small colored dot on the can ring near the spray head. Redirect the nozzel of the can to face this colored dot. When you use the can you will use most if not all of the product this way. The dot indicated the direction that the pickup tube was inserted in the can during assembly. The straw leads to one end of the can, when you hold a can it tilts that section lower than the rest of the can. (thats why sometimes you use a can and the stuff inside is still there and the propellant is all gone.):evil: