discomikey Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 my mig welder is a SIP Weldmate T150P 150amp gas mig welder which uses disposable bottles, ats a nice protable mig welder and very useful but its decided to start using loads of gas to weld with, the welds are very good to start with but it seems to use a whole disposable bottle within 7 or 8 inches of weld. maybe a little more but not much. i have already used 2 bottles today within an hour or so, i have 4 bottles left but im not going to waste them cos gas is quite expensive. the bottle is not leaking where it screws onto the regulator thing. the reulator thing isnt leaking where it goes to the pipe. there is no guage for the gas flow or pressure so i assume it does this automatically in the regulator, but why is it using so much gas. i need my land rover back on the road monday morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Hi, I know when I had my SIP 90 amp welder there was a 'regulator' that you screw onto the disposible gas cylinder which you manually regulated yourself by unscrewing it a certain amount of turns. You may have the flow set too high. How much welding have you done with this welder, has it been fine before? Has it just started? Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 its been fine before, always been a little quick to use gas but thats probably just the size of the disposable bottles. ive used it about 10 times before, and used about 4 bottles how do you know how to set the flow on them then? as there is no guage when is not enough and when is too much? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushwhacker Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Hello there. Everything depends on everything else, ie working in doors or out, calm day windy day, clean material and gauge. Do a test piece, start with gas off and a low power setting and adjust until you get the weld you want. This may sound silly but check for leaks. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 outdoor calm day, so you just suggest that i slowly add gas till the weld stops going porous? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I'd suggest buying a bigger bottle & regulator, it will very quickly pay for itself. I trust you always turn the bottle/reg off when you've finished welding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 yes i always turn bottle off wen ive finished welding. but with a bigger bottle it would still drink gas wouldnt it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 with a bigger bottle it would still drink gas wouldnt it? If it's got a fault, yes. But if you're lunching 4-10 bottles on a regular basis then I'd suggest it'd be well worth looking at renting a proper size bottle from BOC, the disposables are insanely expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 thats why i got a disposable one, the times i need to mig weld are MOT time and occasionally every now and then, not worth the cost of renting a big gas bottle. what im saying is it shouldnt have used 2 disposable bottles to weld around a foot of weld. thats not just a bit funny theres definately something wrong here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Train Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Can you buy a regulator for the small bottles? My old Clarke mig used the little bottles but it did also have a cheap plastic regulator that showed the flow rate. Without it there was no other way to control the gas flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 i wouldnt say it controls the flow rate, more that theres just a "blind" tap on the cheap regulator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longlandy Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Check gas solenoid in welder, also diaphram in regulator could have hole in it venting to atmosphere,if its delivering too much gas you should be able to hear the excess coming out of the torch. I had a brand new lincoln mig (not a cheapo either, though made of chinese junk inside) and the solenoid wasnt closing fully, losing gas all the time and nearly imposible to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted August 6, 2011 Author Share Posted August 6, 2011 thanks guys ill have a few checks tomorrow, if i go through another bottle quick itll be 3 bottles for a patch about 6inch long lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I've got a migmate 130 and have just done probably over 100 inches of weld over the last two weeks on a single bottle, so I'd say you have a problem. The bottle top regulator on mine is a bit poxy and doesn't seem to make much difference how far open the valve is - I just keep mine fully open, but on another welder I've had there was much more adjustment and fine tuning made a big difference to consumption, optimum being only just open a tad. I did have an unexplained leak in the torch a couple of days ago, from the air pipe fitting where it connects to the brass valve, could just hear the gas escaping - I took it apart, fiddled and put it back together again and it stopped it - have a listen to yours, might be something similar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Halfords used to sell regulators for the little bottles. Failing that, you could just squash the pipe from the bottle to the welder to limit gas flow. In general, when the gas is coming out the torch, you should only just be able to hear the hiss. Increase the flow when necessary, but in still air, more than that is a waste. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisHu6 Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 thanks guys ill have a few checks tomorrow, if i go through another bottle quick itll be 3 bottles for a patch about 6inch long lol If you check all gas pipes and regulators with diluted washing up liquid you might find where the gas is escaping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 There are a couple of companies offering larger no contract bottles. You pay a deposit which is a returned On returning the bottle, plus they deliver! I'm going to change when my boc bottle runs out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 I had a leaky torch cable. It was coming out of the welder set end. Its a sneaky fault with no loud 'hissing' sound. I rammed the thing full of silicon. I reconed the only place it could come out then was the weldy end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smego Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Am I missing something here? A small halfrauds type gas bottle normally only lasts about 20 minutes as they are only designed for amateur use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Am I missing something here? A small halfrauds type gas bottle normally only lasts about 20 minutes as they are only designed for amateur use? In this case, he is saying a bottle only lasts six inches of weld. 6 inches in twenty mins would be rather slow! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smego Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 He also says 2 bottles within an hour. Its flow time that matters he may just be a poor welder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted August 7, 2011 Author Share Posted August 7, 2011 now i managed to get my chassis all welded up, played about with the connections, and very carefully slowly turned the gas up a little bit each time till the weld started to look right. finished the patching in 2 bottles which is about right thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted August 10, 2011 Share Posted August 10, 2011 Adams Gas do no rental bottles that are about 1/3 the size of a BOC size Y. You pay a £50 deposit (refundable on return of bottle) and then £32-ish for a fill of Argoshield. It's a good compromise for low volume users that hate the cost of disposable bottles, but don't want the extortionate rent of a BOC bottle. I have no affiliation with Adams, but a bunch of us in my home town just got together on a bulk order from them. Other than this, if you have a leak - fix it. If you have no regulator - get one, they're not that much £. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruuman Posted August 11, 2011 Share Posted August 11, 2011 The SIP hobby regs are complete carp, I went through 3 in my bad old SIP ownership days. Leaks and shoddy springs. Going to a proper bottle pays for it's self very quickly, I also think the gas is a better quality, I know when I swapped I noticed a huge difference. The Adams bottles are a great compromise between BOC and the hobby bottles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve200TDi Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 I went to my local welding place (SPA welding in Shoreham) to get a BOC refill and they now hove these cylinders, I think from a different company other than Adams, but they said they were only filled to 130 Bar, not the 200Bar you find in BOC cylinders and so it make it a little more expensive. I just checked the Adams website and there cylinders are also filled to 130bar. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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