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View Full Version : Anyone wire weld with CO2?



CurtP
09-04-2005, 11:25 AM
I just went to the Farm Progress Show (www.farmprogressshow.com) with my dad and stopped by the Lincoln and Miller displays. I have been in the market for a new welder and wanted to see what they had and what kind of deal I could get. At the Miller tent, they had a fairly new machine - the Millermatic Passport; a self-contained portable unit that runs off of 110v or 220v and has an internal CO2 tank. Granted the internal tank is small, but it can be hooked up to an external tank as well, which can be CO2. I was just curious if anyone had used this particular model. They had a very cool display set up and I should have welded with it - but I did watch them demonstrate it - it put down some very nice welds. Supposed to have the power of their 210 in a small, portable form factor. Definately would be great to grab it to go do a job somewhere and I can use it in my garage right now instead of having to wait until I get 220v run out there (life without an air compressor is teh suck).

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/mig/millermatic_passport

Bon&JohnsWJ
09-14-2005, 10:50 PM
CO2 with a GMAW ( wire feed w shielding gas) welder usually has more spatter and less penetration then a mix of 75% argon and 25% CO2.


Found a link to the owners manual here at Miller website.

http://www.millerwelds.com/images/products/millermaticpassport.jpg


http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o1328l_mil.pdf

It appears to be a "suitcase" style welder ( compact and portable) with nowhere near the capacity and duty cycle of a MM210. It looks to need a compensation in the settings to run straight CO2 at the same thickness as 75/25 mix, but one neat thing is it has a setup for a small onboard bottle of CO2, but it can only be used at the upper end of it's capacity when hooked up to 230V AC power. Probably a good unit for sheet metal and light metal fab ( 1/4 in and below) but not the best choice for heavy, structural fabwork like suspension components and frame welding.

John

Mtn WJ
09-16-2005, 01:03 PM
I use C02 for my mig at home. It works ok but as stated not as clean as with argon mix. Definately cleaner than with flux core and will do a better job with thinner materials than with flux core. Some shops use it when ultra clean welds are not important to save money on gas. When I filled my bottle the welding shop told me I would be surpised how many people use CO2 to save money.

Kraqa
09-16-2005, 02:26 PM
CO2 also burns hotter.

i use argosheild 25% 75% argon CO2

CurtP
09-25-2005, 10:03 AM
This is supposedly the first welder designed around CO2 and the vendor did a very good job of showing what it can do - I don't recall seeing much splatter and the 1/8" and 1/4" plates he was welding on had looked pretty good.

The downside is that it's expensive - cheapest I can get a new one is around $1300. I've considered looking for a a refurb w/warranty to curb the costs. I don't need a huge welder - as long as it can handle 1/4" I'm set. However, for that kind of money, I know I can get a bigger welder with a greater duty cycle (but not so portable) so it's a tough choice. My order of preference for a new welder is Miller, Hobart then Lincoln, but it will be a tough sell to get me to buy anything other than a Miller - I just don't know which one (Passport or 210, prices are close with the 210 being slightly cheaper).

gearhead313
10-21-2005, 10:46 AM
Straight CO2 does burn hotter and has better penetration than agron mix. Although, straight co2 on a 110v setup would seem to be the hot setup to have around. Id like to try it someday.