Mig Welding Aluminum with a Hobart IronMan 230 Welder

[@joshmeyers8797]

Thanks a million buddy! I have all these tools at my disposal through my employer sometimes i just need a few pointers to get started. With your advice I saved a couple hundred dollars and fabricated a really nice dive ladder and kicker mount for my boat. Couldn't have done it without your tips and tricks.

[@KeithFenner]

Great vid Jody, I shoot for the low side of the sweet spot myself, burn backs kill the party. Back in the yards, we reached down inside the bores of aluminum props for subs and welded our way back out of the bore. We allways had soot, but when it came to X-ray and machining, allways clean... Keith

[@weldingtipsandtricks]

@huerdon after watching it a few times, I think it ran smoother with more stickout .... about 3/4" Too close a stickout and it sputters or burns back, too long and you lose gas coverage. Its tough to stay in the sweet spot

[@RichardSmith-ms6hh]

Deferring to you as the expert and then some - wow for the first time I am seeing what I experienced of Ali GMAW/MIG. Without detracting from the generality: the smooth soft hiss; the electro-etching action around the weld; zero spatter; your almost straight run (I always did constant smooth straight run with Ali GMAW when allowed to); bit of sooting beyond the electro-etch band (but not much - your Ali is 5000 (Al-Mg) or 6000 (Al-Si-Mg) ? Loving seeing something I recognise. BTW getting home from day of setting up a major job (no photos permitted), found I was within Amps and a Volt or two of the Lincoln Foundation recommendation ("Procedures Handbook" (it's more like a door-stop!)). So and observant welder going with what Nature shows arrives at what Lincoln recommended for Ali-GMAW maybe 60 years ago.

[@ArnoldsDesign]

That's about the same setup I have. I have a millermatic 210 with the same spool gun. I've never had too much luck with pushing a weld, steel or aluminum. Thanks for the tips here. Your welds look a lot better than mine, but I'm getting better. Aluminum is tricky for me. It's almost as though it is moody.

[@weldingtipsandtricks]

@mcf692001 I usually pull on steel and dont notice smoke unless my settings are off. Scotch brite helped a lot and let me reduce flow by at least 5 cfh with same results

[@smithsterj]

I used to weld B-52 aircraft towbars in the air force. We preheated the 1/2 aluminum using a torch then weld them with aluminium mig. Nice video!

[@KillDozer44]

Your videos are the best I have an interview tomorrow need to do MIG aluminum for a test and you help me alot !!

[@hendrikhanso]

Hi, I consider myself a proffessional aluminum MIG welder and I have a few comments. First of all, what a pain in the butt to set up these welders for AL. At work we use Fronius VR 2700/4000 welders, the wirefeed cable is 10 meters long and the aluminum wire is on a bigger spool and in the machine itself , like you have steel, its a push and pull system.pretty hard to get it to wind up. secondly, whenever possible, DO NOT use pull style welding, with AL, always push.

[@KeithFenner]

I have allways used 25% heli mix, kind of curious to see the 50% mix... I haven't tried it, but a good friend says, that he grinds an angle on the end of the contact tip and that allows him to break free a burn back off and keep right on trucking...

[@spelunkerd]

I learned how to do this years ago, and it was instinct that showed me the way. But looking back, it was the sound that told me we were right on with our settings. Once it was working well, we didn't want to mess with it, because a slight change caused no end to problems. It's very frustrating to have your puddle drop right onto your shoe, ha ha.

[@JBattler]

As an instructional, it would be helpful to give some numbers and related comparisons. All this shows is that you got in the end. I am a beginner with Aluminum and have a millermatic 180, but all my welds are very porous and mixing and matching all sorts of variables hasn't produced a good weld...they look alright, but can be torn apart and are very porous.

[@10000rambos]

I had to pull aluminum mig a lot at my job. A good technique is an exaggerated cursive J, where I pull the bottom of the J out in front of the puddle and go back into the weld and kinda fill in the “belly” of the J.

[@weldingtipsandtricks]

@GameFishermen When things are set right, pushing is cleaner.

[@islanduni]

Hi Jody,I have a Ironman 250 with a 3545 spool gun just for aluminum and getting ready to weld on my boat. Some of the welding is on 1/2" plate. I've been running some 4043 .035 on 3/8" scrap plate with good results but wondering when the need to run .047 wire would be needed. Also do you have any heat/fpm starter settings you could share with pre-heat temps for thick aluminum. Great videos

[@FRUNTCASTER]

I'm really surprised you're not sponsored with a nice push-pull setup.

[@docpete7922]

Jody, From the stock settings, "what were the changes you made so I have a ballpark to do the same? IOW, more or less gas, more or less wire speed, and more or less voltage. Thanks a bunch. Pete

[@kochroy]

I was at the strong hand booth today and noticed they were using one of your videos for there demos. Too bad you could not make this year. Maybe in another two years.

[@islanduni]

BTW,,,I sometimes run into dirty aluminum as well as 5086 alloy and find 50 series hard to run being a beginner. Can you please tell me anything you know about Rockmount/Nassau wire? The Rep told me it runs great on 50 series and has superior tensile strength. Going to be welding motor mounts on 50 series with it. Cheers!

[@loansharky]

Good video! I hope you do more with this spool gun...

[@chuckccfd9]

wish i could get mine to run like that cant keep it from splatering all over the place you sure make it look smooth and ez

[@Sawdust65]

When I weld 1/8" it starts out very cold looking then finishes way too hot! What causes this? Millermatic 210 spoolmate .035 settings 3 amperage and 65 wire. !/8" 5051 al t joint.

[@Stummel01]

Can't find a real answer but is it possible to weld Aluminum with a older dc mig? No inverter/pulse or something. Just plain dc alu wire teflon liner 4wheel pusher argon 4.6. Tried 2h from 30A to 240A and Wirespeed from min to max and i could only get black blobs that drop onto the Aluminium... Would like to use the mig for some coarse stuff on Aluminium because it is way faster than tig but could not get it to work... Clouldn't see any cleaning action from the arc at all... any hinds to look after? Thanks and great vids

[@bishop1212able]

Would the Iron Man be suitable for thin aluminum tubing like they use for back pack frames or metal conduit? I will use it for steel and stainless more but also aluminum tubing. I need a welder that is a general purpose welder for the materials. Thanks for your videos.

[@badass98kx250]

@weldingtipsandtricks COULD YOU PLEASE DO A VIDEO ON HOW TO TIG WELD 2 POP CANS TOGETHER. YOUR VIDEO ARE THE BEST ON YOU TUBE. THANKS

[@billdlv]

Good video. We used to have a spool gun on one of our miller 212 welders. It never worked as good as your setup. We have a miller 350P pulse machine now, it's hard to dial in but it works well for material 1/4 or less. I'm still having trouble with thicker material, say 3/8 to 1/2. I'm wondering if its a gas flow issue?

[@cybv7]

Love the video's you make... Very interesting and helpful... you would make a very good instructor... cant wait for the next video... Thanks,

[@DSCKy]

I've got the same gun. I've actually had a little luck, just getting it started in the rollers and hitting the trigger and it hit the hole? Maybe an accident, but I've done it 2 times in a row now. :)

[@keimo2007]

i would like to hear experiences, how ironman 250 handles 5083/5086, when thickness is 3/8. Is it enough powerful?

[@weldingtipsandtricks]

@sk8er51472 Sadly, no. this is the first one I have missed in a while.

[@MIKELWILSN]

adding helium reduces pre heat time on thicker metal, especially tig, i use 351 from machine and weld which is 75-25, argon, helium.

[@pusherpilot]

Thanks for the video. I have an iron man 230. Still trying to figure out my settings for 1/8 inch aluminum. What were your final settings that you obtained to weld 1/8 inch al?

[@deereboy8400]

How do you weld cracks in 30 yr old pitted aluminum? I can make welds as good as yours on new 6061 gussets that I'm adding, but can't make the puddle flow into the old pitted aluminum, even after wiping with lacquer thinner and brushing with a stainless cup wheel on a die grinder.

[@mrgreenswelding2853]

deereboy8400 try some 4043 wire. weld it grind it almost out the weld again. tig welding would be best as you can flow out the impurities.

[@TETOCHIHUAS]

HI, I AM NEW WELDING ALUMINUM, JUST GOT THE IRONMAN 230 ON MY HANDS, I WAS TRYING TO SET UP THE SPOOL GUN TO WELD ALUMINUM 1/8 THICKNESS. BY THE SOUND OFF THE WELDING I WAS GETTING CLOSED TO THE RIGHT SETTING, BUT STILL MELT THE ALUMINUM, MY QUESTION IT IS HOW TO SET THE ARGON ? HOW FAR NEED TO OPEN THE REGULATOR? I RUN OUT OF TIPS, BURNED ALL....THANKS FOR ANY ADVISED....GOOD VIDEOS.

[@MrAbhc91]

My machine doesnt want to weld without porosity cant tell what it is....ive checked the gun and the regulator

[@tiorobot]

Anyone know if you could get the same results using a Hobart 187 with a teflon liner and straight argon gas? For now all I'd like to weld is 1/8" aluminum

[@juanm.castillo1135]

How to do .100 alloy on BOATS from under or over head with that same spool gun, simi dirty but no ox;

[@CraigArndt]

Too bad this had to end, great stuff. Hey Jody, still selling shirts? Need to get a couple more.

[@GameFishermen]

Is there really any advantage or disadvantage between pulling or pushing with aluminum wire feed?

[@richardrupert4461]

You did get what settings?

[@guruflorida]

Wow! Great video.

[@billjones6124]

Nowhere, did I see you show us what is that the flow rate on the shielding gas??!?

[@TheFarmallboy1206]

hey jody i need help. my century 140 mig it won't feed wire. my gas is working fine i was welding 1/8 inch and then it stoped feeding. it sounds like the motor that pushes the wire is froze can you give me a clue or an idea of what heppen. thanks

[@bensmith9260]

say what the settings changes are please

[@PANTYEATR1]

great video! i was against spool guns until now. i was getting negative feedback from ppl and that stopped me from even getting familiar with the thing also the fact that everybody didn't have a spool gun to work with. i'm school trained to weld and from what i learned, pushing offers more penetration than pulling, i don't know the truth to that nor has it been proven to me or my eyes. i woul dreally like to see a video on how to get better at fitting up parts and reading blueprints. thanks

[@hipez1192]

Thanks

[@Takuan66]

I hate spoolgun!!! Greath vid!

[@moto9ll]

do they make a spool gun for a hobart 210 mvp?

[@Importssuckass]

Yes they do www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200476040_200476040 $219.00. You're welcome!

[@jadeduet3791]

Yes, the hobart spoolrunner 100 fits the 210 MVP

[@hendrikhanso]

thirdly, the work would be so much less efficent and worse quality, if each welder had to set the parameters all the time. Fronius has special software and you can change amps while welding , there is a button on the gun so when you change it, it automatically changes wirespeed and other parameters like voltage etc ( English isn't my first language HARD TO EXPLAIN ) , but usually the only setting I have to change on the welder, is how much spray or deep penetration I want.

[@ArcticRain]

And how much does your Fronius VR 2700/4000 welder cost? After 10 years of it doing everything for you, will you forget how to set up a welder and have to come back to this vid and re learn?

[@johnc.wunscheljr2873]

Thanks' for the scotch barite tip

[@0mgi]

Coooooooold roooooooool

[@can1981]

Fronius is the best

[@lancemciver1971]

You don't have to weave to make a mig weld...just a stick weld. If this was the case there would not be a such thing as a tig weld.

[@scottcarr3264]

I beg to differ on that.

[@seoilkim]

You must weave when mig welding aluminum to prevent crack.

[@BlowItLikeTroutMan]

push mig pull arc