Carbon Steel to Stainless Steel

[Dra3gon]

I'm working on a project that requires welding carbon steel bracing to the outside of a stainless steel tank.
Which will give me the best job for penatration and over all appearance?
(316L Stainless Steel wire or the ER70 Carbon Steel )

[aametalmaster]

Since you didn't specify the SS specs for the tank i am assuming it is 316. I would use 309 wire to weld it...Bob

[triggerman]

Be VERY careful.....

If the vessel you plan to weld on has an ASME certification and you are not certified to weld on vessels, the vessel must be re-tested/certified to ASME specs. Just FYI.

[Dra3gon]

Carbon to Stainless

The tank is 48"X48"X26' Non pressure constructed from 1/4" 304 SS.
Welding the tank is not the problem.
Welding the bracing to the sides is where we are haveing trouble.
The Stainless wire does not seem to be penatrating the carbon steel bracing.
It's just rolling over with what seems to be little pentration.
Any suggestions??

[ssenger009]

Use 309L wire or stick

You need to use 309L electrode because of the dissimilar metals. I have done lots of carbon to SS at the pulpmills in the past. This may not be the best way, but I do know that it works and is what I learned during my "A" ticket in BC. 309L has the most carbon "memory" I think that is why it works best with Carbon to SS.

My 2 cents...hope this helps!


Steve Senger

[Fat-Fab.com]

the higher Alloy

Allways go to the higher alloyed material. AWS D1.1 chapter 6? I think
TJ

[ssenger009]

Higher alloy!

Always use a higher alloy when welding SS to SS. EX: 304 SS to 309 SS use 309L or higher. Good Point Fat ****, and there is a good reason why 309L is for carbon to SS, I just wish I remembered.

Steve Senger

[Dra3gon]

Thanks

Thanks for all the help and input.
I'll give it a try.

[MAC702]

Ditto. E309 sticks or ER309 wire is the tool for the job. Start there and let us know how it goes.

[Blondie_486]

I've done quite a bit of welding stainess to carbon steel, 309 is the best way to go whether electrodes or wire, if you're going to MIG weld it you'll probably want to use a tri mix gas Argon, Helium & Co2, I've used 90/8/2 with good results. Praxair has a tri mix called Helistar that works well too.

Good luck
Blondie

[Norhumboldt]

carbon to SS

I've done a fair amount of carbon to stainless, primarily 304, but also a bit of 316l, in precipitators and associated assemblies. Carbon to 304 is easy enough with 309, and doable with 308 as well, but remember that the filler doesn't want to wet-out well into the carbon, so be diligent in making sure you have good fusion. It can be coerced with a smooth hand. And once done, it looks pretty cool, too...especially to the guys who aren't sure just what you did.

The carbon to 316 was just a PITA, but again, due diligence will pay off...as will a boatload of practice.