outside mig welding

[Alistair Hosie]

My friend has asked me to weld something on his boat trailer. It will not be able to be brought into the shop , so I will have to attempt to do it outside with mig welding will this work as long as I shelter it from the elements wind etc ok?Alistair

[jacampb2]

Yes, it will provided you do not have to much of a beeze blowing your shielding gas away. If you can't shield the area enough and are haveing porosity problems, you can always pick up a small spool of flux core wire and weld it with that. Just remember to switch polarity if you go the flux core route.

Later,
Jason

[Willy]

Alistair you should be fine mig welding outside as long as you can screen off any undesirable drafts near the weld area so as not to disturb the envelope of shielding gas.
If possible try to pick a time of day when the wind is calm, early morning or evening usually works for me. Although I must admit that usually while setting up and preparing for a job, I can put a candle on top of the house and it will not flicker but as soon as I hit the power switch on the welder, all hell breaks loose!
Don't forget if all else fails there is always flux-core wire, although I prefer solid wire whenever possible.

[Tinkerer]

If your regulator is an adjustable type just crank up the flow and go for it as long as the winds not gail force. If not just hang a piece of duct clothe or whatever you have or place it so the winds at your back. You'll be fine. But if in doubt grind it out and do it again.

[jacampb2]

If your regulator is an adjustable type just crank up the flow and go for it as long as the winds not gail force. If not just hang a piece of duct clothe or whatever you have or place it so the winds at your back. You'll be fine. But if in doubt grind it out and do it again.

While adjusting the gas flow/pressure (depending on whether regulator or flowmeter) can help in a breezy situation, you can have too much shielding gas, and that can cause porosity problems of it's own.

[HWooldridge]

I do not like flux core and will do everything possible to use shielding gas and solid wire. I once owned an engine driven, Linde 300 amp MIG that was intended for pipeline welding. It had 150 feet of cable/hose, which went to a small control box that used 10 lb spools of .045 wire. The gun only had about 8 feet of lead cable but it was always easy to get close to the work. It also had a large flowmeter and 3/8" hose to provide high gas flow. The company I got it from said they used small shields that the weldor hung in the vicinity of the work to cut down on the drafts or portable curtains if the job allowed. I used this machine outside for many years and simply hung a tarp near the work if the wind was high. A light breeze would not affect the weld. I think you can set something up with relative ease and get good quality welds.

[aboard_epsilon]

they have flux core at your local aldi this week two rolls for £9

be quick though .

all the best.mark

[wierdscience]

Do it all the time,I just stad a sheet of plywood up to block whatever breeze is blowing and go at it.

If you do resort to flux core you can still run shield gas over that and get a cleaner weld.

[oldtiffie]

While adjusting the gas flow/pressure (depending on whether regulator or flowmeter) can help in a breezy situation, you can have too much shielding gas, and that can cause porosity problems of it's own.

Dead right.

If you think about it, increasing the gas flow-rate can actually create a sort of a vortex that can suck in the air that it is supposed to be shielding the job from.

And that applies to a "still air" job as well.

Check the Miller welding site.

And if you suck air in, it is - perhaps to a lesser extent, the same as either not having enough shielding gas or having it blown away.

And so the porosity problem re-emerges.

Its either better shielding or flux-cored wire.

I don't like flux-cored as it raises problems as regards inclusions etc - similar to "stick" welding.

In a breezy area there is the "wind chill" or additional cooling effect of/on the metal being welded - so it probably requires an increase in amps and perhaps open-circuit voltage as well.

Same situation applies to TIG and oxy-acet welding.

Any effective shield from breezes etc. from should do the job.

[oldtiffie]

My friend has asked me to weld something on his boat trailer. It will not be able to be brought into the shop , so I will have to attempt to do it outside with mig welding will this work as long as I shelter it from the elements wind etc ok?Alistair

Alistair,
further my previous post and that of others, I suggested going to Miller Welding.

It is at:
http://www.millerwelds.com/education/library.html

There is a free *.pdf file called "Guide to MIG welding" that, while necessarily brief, is free. It is very much to the point and has some very good guidelines and "Rules of Thumb".

Hope it helps.