Welding Aluminum Irragation Pipe

[Lefty Lucas]

need a little information on this. I have a Trailblazer 302 and I need to weld on some irragation pipe. the pipe is thin about 1/32 if not thiner. I need to keep it all portable. Would the Miller 251D-1 High Frequency box be the best to weld this thin aluminum pipe? I tried a Miller 30A Spoolgun but it would blow a hole in it.
Thanks for the help.

Lefty Lucas

[SundownIII]

Lefty,

With pipe that thin, sounds to me like your only option would be to use a Dynasty 200 and tig it.

The hi-freq box might work, but I think it'd be a crapshoot. Controlling the heat would be the issue. If you don't already have the hi-freq equipment (and I'm assuming you don't since you'd probably already tried it), I don't think I'd make the investment. Would it be possible to borrow/rent a Dynasty, if this is a once in a blue moon project.

Just my .02

[fun4now]

sounds like your only choice realy. unless you have a small inverter to hookup. good luck, i'm shore some of the guys with a lot more expereance will jump in here soon to help out. have you given a 1/16" stick a try?? that might be an option. but i'm way to new at stick to give that advice, but it would seem a fast travel with a 1/16" rod might get it done.

[MMW]

I do this stuff once a year in the shop with tig. Farmer brings me whatever is broke, rotted from the year before. It is very thin to start with & corroded. Needless to say it is a pain but I weld patches over whatever needs it. I always go well past the damaged area to get to good material. Never used a HF box though. If you don't have a tig then rent or borrow one. I use 1/16 4043 wire. Most of the time it looks pretty good but some spots just wind up ugly due to the contamination. Can't really grind it out to start with because it is so thin. I clean it the best I can with a wire brush & then weld.

[Tex]

Huh?

MMW, why wouldn't you use a HF box? Just curious since I'm in the market. I realize it doesn't have some of the features a 200DX has but that's what Miller recommends with the TB302.
Matt

[Lefty Lucas]

I think the best way to weld the thin pipe would be the Dynasty 200 also, but at $2600 I was hoping the High Fq. box would do the job. It's easer coming up with $900. I'm going to call AirGas today just to see what they say.
Thanks for the help again.

Lefty Lucas

[glockdoc]

might get away with using DC+ scratch start if the al is thin enough. You will need a big tungsten and water cooled torch but no hf. maybe someone helping with preheat.

[SundownIII]

WOW!

I'd sure like to hear more about "that" procedure.

[MMW]

MMW, why wouldn't you use a HF box? Just curious since I'm in the market. I realize it doesn't have some of the features a 200DX has but that's what Miller recommends with the TB302.
Matt

I've never used one so I can't comment on it. My TB is DC only.

[Finney]

Lefty Lucas,
I repair some of this every spring, I use a 302Trailblaser with a 251HF box and a thumb control on a 17Weldcraft torch with 1/16" 2% tung. It works fine but a lot of this pipe is junk. I use the same setup for aluminum boat repair and welding pipe. I use a water cooled torch when the pipe is over 1/4" thick. I can't remember the number but it uses the same guts as the 17.

[dabeldesign]

I have a TB 302 with a High-Freq box. I regularly weld 16 ga. aluminum with it and it does fine (AC, 3/32" pure tungsten). Of course, that was nice clean metal not pipe...I wish I had AC balance sometimes though...

[SundownIII]

Guys.

Please read the original posting.

1/32" or less. That's less than 22 ga. material. Material is not new, it's been in the weather.

The guy who can weld that stuff with a TB and a HF251 unit would think welding two soda cans together with a Dynasty 200 was a day in the park.

Unless I miss my guess, it will require lower freq and pulsing to get a weld that will hold. Last time I checked, a TB didn't have that capability.

Just my .02

[Lefty Lucas]

Sundown:
You are right I talked to Miller today and they said that the HF Might do it but that it was a big MIGHT because of the pipe being out in the weather and that the pipe was not the best grade of alum. Miller told me the Dynasty 200 DX would do it old pipe or new that the 200 had a lot more adjustment to it than anything else and it would take care of the job.Now if I can just find $2600.
Thanks again guys for all the coments and help.
Lefty Lycas

[dabeldesign]

Guys.

Please read the original posting.

1/32" or less. That's less than 22 ga. material. Material is not new, it's been in the weather.

The guy who can weld that stuff with a TB and a HF251 unit would think welding two soda cans together with a Dynasty 200 was a day in the park.

Unless I miss my guess, it will require lower freq and pulsing to get a weld that will hold. Last time I checked, a TB didn't have that capability.

Just my .02

Wow 16 ga. isn't 1/32"! Since I appear to be the only one (to post) with this setup that he was asking about (in the original post ), I thought he might like a comparison of what I have done. I have never done something that thin and I don't think it could do it. I would go with a nice little inverter, there isn't enough adjustment with the TB and a HF251, all you can adjust is the high-freq intensity...