4043 VS 5356 What aluminum filler to use, when and where

[@adamherold3991]

How do you identify the type of aluminum material

[@ZILAwelds]

all depends ... typically first line of defense is : ASK the manufacture .... people who builds boats or trailers will typically tell you all proud hat their stuff is made out of ... now if you can't find out what it is .... THAT is when you get to charge SERIOUS $$$$ to fix shit ... now it comes down to experience and educated guesses ... for example a lot of aluminum casting (more or much more than 50%) of all aluminum castings are a 300 dries casting .... now you need to look up properties and chemical composition of 300 series castings, find out what they are welded with, take in consideration that you destroy heat tread and artificial again of that casting ... then you need to have a plan to decide if that matters on that particular part, how much it matters and if you need to "fix" that for example by re heat treating it .... If you see aluminum diamond plate, typically it is 3003 aluminum on some rare occasion it is 5052 ... pick a filler that works with either or and you are ok .... I mean this is something I teach in a 7 hr class with a bunch of disclosures at may shop ... it is really nothing that I can lay out here in one medium or even long KZbin comment .... sorry. It is way more complicated than that and there can be some liability in me (potentially telling you) how to "identify" stuff and then you making a judgement call based on my "suggestion" ....

[@adamherold3991]

@@ZILAwelds many thanks for your help. I appreciate the real world perspective and the technical response. Thank you for your time

[@ZILAwelds]

@@adamherold3991 i am sorry I cant give you a better answer, if you have a specific project in the future send a comment and if I can assist you in finding an answer I will point you in hopefully the right direction. In the description of this video there is a link to a Lincoln Electric brochure that has TONS of information in it ... it will help you selecting the correct filler metal and stuff .. take a look at it ....

[@ncs353a]

This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you

[@ZILAwelds]

you are welcome

[@Ryan_1997]

Awesome 🤘 I finally ordered more tungsten(3/32), gas lens kit from usaweld, a good size 1/8 5052 sheet, and buying 5356 rods tomorrow. I'm so dam eager to learn more how to weld aluminum. Thanks for this vid.

[@ZILAwelds]

thanks for watching

[@jessemccollum937]

you should try out some 5554 filler. best of both, without any of the cons.... resists corrosion better as well

[@ZILAwelds]

Yes one con : no color match anodize I have been using and recommending a bunch of 5554 wire for YEARS and welded cleetus mcfarlands jet boats with it and a bunch of other stuff Another con: very few people stock it and it typically cost more

[@brentbowles828]

Thanks for the info.

[@marktgsxr]

I ve learnt alot from your vids! Thanks!

[@FreeRV]

Hi buddy thank you 🙏 for great 👍 information ℹ️ This was a lovely video 😃 Have great weekend my friend 🙂👍

[@ZILAwelds]

you too !

[@weldersandblaster]

Thank you so much Peter. I've learned so much from you. I look forward to coming to your place and taking a class and learning even more.

[@ZILAwelds]

thanks Chris

[@ZILAwelds]

did you find the link for the download of that lincoln brochure in the description of this video .... 72 pages of pure knowledge

[@simonjupp4604]

4043 can be used on 6 series heat treatment. Because it takes the magnesium from the base material and puts enough into the weld pool .

[@papajon6715]

Excellent lesson. Sounds like there is almost no reason to use 4043 wire because 5356 is superior in almost every application...

[@ZILAwelds]

Papa Jon i like to disagree. Besides 5356 not wetting out as nice and being really sooty.... All aluminum wires with a magnesium content of 3% or more (5356 has 5 or 6%) are subject to hot cracking .... over 150F there is a concern of hot cracking ... so if you weld up an aluminum valve cover for sure 5356 is less than ideal ....

[@papajon6715]

I have no plans to use aluminum in such a case but primarily household/yard goods and on an aluminum boat where I now use pop rivets. The other filler for small jobs may involve that new aluminum brazing. Have you worked with that for small jobs Pete?

[@ZILAwelds]

Papa Jon i have used some zink based aluminum brazing rod ( look up HTS2000 on youtube) That stuff sure looks A LOT easier on youtube than in reality .... Apparently there is an aluminum mig brazing wire ..... i have not tried that yet.

[@tignola9029]

I use it on cast aluminum

[@جمالدحدوح-س4ن]

hi who is best for welding aluminium cylinder head and bloc?

[@ZILAwelds]

4000 series like 4043, 4943, 4047 Anything with minimal magnesium content and a lot of silicone content

[@جمالدحدوح-س4ن]

@@ZILAwelds thanks ❤❤❤❤

[@catherineharris4746]

Fkng simply outstanding!👍👍👍👍👍

[@davidspin581]

5356 .046 in my spool gun(30A) runs great.

[@ZILAwelds]

David Spin of course. The 30a spool gun is one of the better ones. Also generally speaking 5356 wire is fairly “hard” and feeds good anyway - especially if it only has to be pushed 8” far ....

[@eklein3904]

4043 anodises just fine…but because of the high silica content, the welds appear a dark grey colour. If anodising black it covers well but for clear and all other colours use 5356.

[@bernardmauge8613]

Thanks i knew most of it but the refresh is welcomed. I subscribed today.

[@ZILAwelds]

Thanks for the sub!

[@reubenivanoff2757]

Thank you good information

[@ZILAwelds]

Welcome

[@5thStreetFab]

Perfectly said!

[@ZILAwelds]

thanks.

[@jihadghanim4276]

Please.. Can I wleding aluminum 2024t3 plate 3mm thick.(tig wleding )by 4043 or 4047 or 5356 ?

[@ZILAwelds]

no you can NOT - not tig weld - not mig weld .... rivets or bolts will be your best friend !

[@jihadghanim4276]

Thank you so much.

[@johnygood5833]

Thanks for the tip 👍

[@ZILAwelds]

Any time!

[@isaacthomson683]

What role does the magnesium play in the heat treat-ability of the alloy?

[@jlush4097]

Hey my buddy wants me to weld a exhaust together I only have a arc welder what do u think I should use?!

[@ZILAwelds]

Rent or buy a mig

[@datarprasad5]

Hello there @ZILA, Which one best aluminum filler wire and size for Tig aluminum welding ?

[@ZILAwelds]

wow, that is hard to answer .... probably the most common and mostly used is 4043 .... BUT there are times where when you weld marine grade material you cannot use 4043 .... if you as 5 other people you will get 5 other answers ... some guys swear by 5356, 4943, 5554, .... there is no end to this ... you really have to "match" the filler to your base material (that is if you know what your base material is) .... then there are some companies that specialize in repair alloys and they only have "one kind" and it is a "one size fits all" approach ... it welds "most kinds of weldable aluminum" ... now that stuff is much more $$$ but it typically works good .... I mean - no one ( at least no one with some knowledge ) can answer a very brought question like this .... as far as diameter ??? 3/32 is very popular ... but if you weld thinner stuff 1/16 is also popular and if you weld thicker stuff and you have a tig machine that will put our more than 200 or evermore than 250 amp than 1/8" filler rod diameter is very good .... again - not easy to answer with the information given ..... here is the link to the repair alloy if you are interested in it rockmountwelding.com/products/?bigcommerce_category=tig-alloys-gtaw look for NEPTUNE TIG ......

[@garymathews9534]

thank you so much for this great info !

[@ZILAwelds]

gary mathews thank you for watching

[@abrihancristian7574]

Awesome info..love it Thanks a lot

[@Hardstyler981]

so if its something for like inside a car part which one should i use

[@ZILAwelds]

hard to say, there are factory repair specs for all this stuff .... some parts on corvette are welded with 4043 some parts on suburbans are welded with 5356, some stuff on the new fords and Jaguars and land rovers is welded with 5554 alloy .... so it is really not easy to say, there is computer software for collision repair shops that describes exactly locations and alloys used .... I would not know your specific application

[@helmbuilt1253]

great info!

[@jackle9696]

4340 is heat treatable 5356 is not

[@GaijinManabi]

Thank you sir ✨✨✨✨✨

[@ZILAwelds]

Most welcome

[@brucepeninsula2036]

Hi im welding an aluminum engine block with crack, what number do you suggest please?

[@ZILAwelds]

4043

[@ZILAwelds]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5LJkoeJn6ymndEsi=mytWImCERZFpO5tE

[@MsSiddaraj]

Tq ur guide

[@manhdungo1325]

What filler rod works best on 6063?

[@ZILAwelds]

Best for what? Strength? Looks? What is the service temperature of the part you are welding? Does it need to be salt water corrosion resistant? Are you welding 6063 to 6063? Or some thing else?

[@kharbeqmaro175]

What about 5385 .your comments please:) ?

[@ZILAwelds]

i have never used 5385 myself

[@جمالدحدوح-س4ن]

Hi teacher can I use 5356 for cylinder head

[@ZILAwelds]

No. 5356 has “hot cracking issues” the service temperature is way too low! You need to use 4043 or similar

[@جمالدحدوح-س4ن]

@@ZILAwelds thanks my teacher

[@Hyudryu]

I thought 4043 was heat treatable and 5356 wasn’t, but you said the complete opposite

[@ZILAwelds]

well - I could have been wrong. ... I have to check

[@chiefcar-o-liner8366]

Будьте добры перевод

[@umeshchali1869]

👍

[@bflico]

On point..thanks……

[@ZILAwelds]

You’re welcome 😊

[@alfredocuomo1546]

What I would like to know is welding stainless Steel, I know the most common is 308L but for all grades of Stainless does it pay to just use 316L or are there Caveats for using specific rods with specific materials? Yes I am just a DYI'er trying not to buy five different fill rods. Thanks in advance.

[@ZILAwelds]

no, stainless is "like aluminum" you have to match the filler to the base metal ... 316 filler should ONLY be used on 316 base metal ..... 308 filler you can use on 301,304,304 stainless .... and I believe but dont quote me on this you can also use it for joining 304 to 316 .... 309 on the other had is to weld mild steel to stainless steel ... there are a few different ones that you are supposed to use in different situations .... 308 is your most common .... if you weld stainless to mid 309 is your most common ... there is no easy YES or NO question ... and ALWAYS use .... XYZ ..... now there are some guys that say all you need is ...... 312 rod and you can weld everything with it ....but that is a half truth .... dont count on that ......

[@alfredocuomo1546]

@@ZILAwelds Thanks, that was what someone said about 316 but after going on the Lincoln website there is more than 50 types of filler rod for stainless so I guess I'll just go with 308 & buy one pounders if I need anything specific. Hey thanks for the fast come back & thanks, enjoyed the video.