welding question MAYDAY!! ;-)

[liberybell]

Have any of you weld ss of 1/16 thickness?
I am planing to use a 3/32 rod at a very low voltage. But since I have zero experience welding (I am one of those that like to try anything ;-) I thought that some tips from you guys may very well save me from a disaster.

As we all know the conductivity on ss is not near as good as in other metals like aluminum or copper. So I think it is crucial for our setups to weld the joins between plates and the connection to the threaded rod that acts as terminal in order to improve conductivity and reduce possible heat. Opinions?

One thing it has been going around in my head is what would happen if we use copper terminals (well insulated) instead of ss threaded rod. Anybody has experience with copper terminals?

Thank you guys.

[BAD MEDICINE]

Stainless Steel is easier to weld than aluminum. If the two pieces of steel are welded together you wont have to worry about them making a good electrical connection to each other.

Since you should only need small tack welds, i think even an inexperience welder could pull it off.

[Wako216]

be careful im assuming your using a tig welder practice practice [practice then practice some more before you burn through on your cell, and try to grind down your electrode as thin as you can if you can use a 1/16 dia one that would be best as for the rod your stuck with what you have but try to use a 1/16 rod too also if its pedal operated (power adjustment) start low you can always turn the dial up people are alot heavier on the pedal than they think i once watched a kid burn through 3/16 a2 (tool steel) plate, thinking he was laying a bead all he did was slice it in half then he looked at me and said "i only had the pedal a quarter of the way down" he had that thing about an eight inch from being floored so start low and if its not enough work your way up, also one more thing and ill stop, start your arc on which ever piece is thicker or can afford to burn through (just in case) its easier to fill it in if theres a piece behind it already also its easier to walk your bubble around on a thicker piece. god speed and good luck

[liberybell]

Thanks for the tip.
I'll see if I can find a 1/16 rod.
Besides using the tig welder, is there some other type of welding that may be easier that tig welding?
(no much knowledge on this as you can see)

Thanks again.

[Meat]

I see a lot of oxy-acetylene welds on the stainless foodservice equipment here at work, and I once saw a shop guy welding on a SS table with a MIG welder. He said you have to use 3 different gases; CO2, Nitrogen, and Argon, I believe. That was a while ago, though, so don't take my word for that.

[dhho]

That thin I think tig is the only way to go and if you haven't done it before I would find someone to either do it for you or at least teach you how.I have done a fair bit of tig welding and can still stuff it up sometimes.
Regards
Mos

[TreyNC]

if you are tiging it, and you can get your inside edge of your open corner together or close you don't really need any rod for the outside corners. You can simply fuse the two pieces together. This is the easiest way if you are not used to Tig welding, you only have to control your heat with the pedal and not worry about the rod. It gives you both hands to use.

[liberybell]

Thank you so much for all the great responds.
I keep hearing that doing tig welding takes time and experience. Most of all to weld something as thin as my plates.
I was wondering what you guys think of wire-feed welding (or whatever is that type of welding call)? Would that hold? Would that keep the conductivity in the plate? Would the weld resist the electrolysis?
I just wondering if any of you have try the wire welding for this purpose.
Thanks!

[Meat]

Wire feed is MIG welding. MIG stands for Metal Inert Gas, whereas TIG stands for Tungsten Inert Gas. I think. If you are going to weld your plates together, you will have to use welding rod that is the same kind of metal as your plates. Methinks a roll of Stainless wire for a wire feed welder would cost big dollars. Maybe you should just drill holes and bolt your plates together where you want them joined. I hear the plates don't last forever, so after a certain point, time invested in them would become a waste.

[dconger74]

A good TIG welding machine cost big bucks. When you said 3/32" rod you were talking about stick welding were you not?

[liberybell]

A good TIG welding machine cost big bucks. When you said 3/32" rod you were talking about stick welding were you not?

Yes, but I am depending on a good friend that knows how to TIG weld and has a TIG welder. So I was thinking that if MIG welding works, which it seems to be easier, I may be able to learn faster and do it myself for future projects without having to bug my friend (no that he minds though. It is just that I would prefer to do it myself.)
Also renting a MIG welder is much much cheaper than renting a TIG welder.
Anybody knows if the wire is available on ss or if the standard wire would provide the proper characteristics to stand the electrolysis?

Thank you!

[dconger74]

You can get SS wire. The problem is going to be that where ever you have a weld it is going to corrode during the electrolysis. The welding of the the two together will burn the oils from the metal and it will begin to corrode.

[liberybell]

You can get SS wire. The problem is going to be that where ever you have a weld it is going to corrode during the electrolysis. The welding of the the two together will burn the oils from the metal and it will begin to corrode.
I am confused. Are you talking about any welding or just MIG welding?
I thought that what it prevents ss from rusting is the chromium on the SS mix.

[TreyNC]

I'm not sure about the corroding thing, where I used to work we had some applications where we had to use 316L instead of 304 due to prolonged exposure to harsh environments and the 316L lasted just fine no problems with the welded areas. But MIG welding is easier than TIG welding to learn anyway. A small MIG with five pound spools of ss wire, maybe around 30-35$ a spool, will work for you. Probably a max wire dia of .030". If you are looking to buy a nicer welder, you can get some that MIG, TIG, and stick weld. Stick, for your purposes would be my last choice. I am not sure I under stand what you are doing though, are you tacking your electrode plates to together instead of running wire from plate to plate or are you welding a container together?

[liberybell]

I'm not sure about the corroding thing, where I used to work we had some applications where we had to use 316L instead of 304 due to prolonged exposure to harsh environments and the 316L lasted just fine no problems with the welded areas. But MIG welding is easier than TIG welding to learn anyway. A small MIG with five pound spools of ss wire, maybe around 30-35$ a spool, will work for you. Probably a max wire dia of .030". If you are looking to buy a nicer welder, you can get some that MIG, TIG, and stick weld. Stick, for your purposes would be my last choice. I am not sure I under stand what you are doing though, are you tacking your electrode plates to together instead of running wire from plate to plate or are you welding a container together?

I am trying to weld a ss strip of plate that can be use as a bridge between the + plates and between the - plates.
Have any of you use copper solid wire to connect the plates and to connect to the terminals?
Thanks!

[dconger74]

Just any welding. Are you using 316L or 304? 304 will corrode after awhile in a harsh enviornment. I work in wastewater treatment and I have seen stainless steel eat up by chlorine. Its not instant but it will eat it up.

[TreyNC]

My first one is still in production, but one a friend has done uses 14ga braided wire connected in small holes in the top corners and then plastic dipped. I personally like the ss strip idea.