mig or tig that is the question

[stroker74]

I am a mechanic we repair aluminum trailers. We have a miller185 mig with spoolgun. Right now we repair aluminum up to 1/4 inch. Light boxes, ladders, 1/8 product pipe. My millwright buddies tell me we should be using a tig machine. The stuff we have repaired for the last two years seems to be holding up fine. Also, we would like to repair our own trailer frames that are a half inch thick. What do you think we should move up to? A miller 250 mig or a big tig machine.

[Gregg]

FOR THE THICKER STUFF ,I USED A REGENCY 250 WITH THE WC24 AL. PACKAGE AND .035 5356 WIRE IN THE 1LB SPOOLS . I'VE USED THIS SINCE 1997 AND NOTHING HAS BROKEN YET!!!

[HAWK]

It sounds like the mig is doing just fine. The tig will just slow you down and is probably not necassary for what you are doing. It involves precision movements and lots of time. That will drive your cost up, up, up! If you are happy with the mig welds and want to go larger, check out the MM251X with a spool gun or the new push pull module that lets you use the XR gun on the MM251X.

Gregg is right about the Regency. It too does a nice job. If you have access to 3 phase power, the new Miller inverters for mig are really nice. I use a Trailblazer engine drive with the WC24 and a 30A spool gun. It's hard to beat for mobility.

[wooly]

AL trailers?...wooo never heard of that before heheh....i would recommend using what you know how to do?...i would suggest mig and tig

[kurt]

as far as using a mig or tig for aluminum trailers the mig is fine for most of the areas of welding. you wrote of ladders and product pipe which are a couple of areas you might want to use tig. You didn't say what type of trailer you work with. I am assuming it is some type of tank. The product pipe when welded with tig seals up better and you have less crud on the inside of the pipe. Mig is tough to seal up as of the air pockets in the welds (pin holes in the weld) Ladders are better with tig due to the fact that you don't always have good heavy material to work with and strength is critical. As far as welding on the frame you may need technical advice from the manufacturer. Just welding can create more problems than it solves. I have been employed in the trailer business since 1976 and have seen a lot of changes involving more use of aluminum. It can get to be interesting to say the least. We use a lot of Huck rivets and other fasteners to hold things together. Good luck