Ran out of Argon,.. still a decent looking weld ?,... What happened ?

Alright,... This is really kind of a lame thread,... but this has been on my mind for a few days now,...

This happened last week, and I have talked to a lot of friends about it,.... And it's driving me nut's,.. (well,.. that's a relative phrase )

I was welding away down at the shop, keeping an eye on the argon because it was getting low,... everything is going good. I look up and zero argon tank pressure,... and zero line pressure. And still the weld is looking pretty good.

I get to thinking about this,.. so I disconnect the regulator from the bottle,.. And just for grins,.. I lay down a few more beads,... This is the last one I did, without any argon !

I looked at the spool of wire, and it said it was solid core .35 wire to be shielded with Argon/CO2,... The only thing I can think of is that some flux core wire got put on this spool ?,...... But I'm not sure. Anybody else have this happen ?????

Sorry about the ****py cell phone picture.

 

Better go get a lottery ticket ….. When that happens to me it looks like im making lava rocks.

 

you would have slag if it was flux core

 

pretty good weld for fluxcore either way.

 

When this happened in the past,.. the welds got a lot of porosity, and looked like Pigeon poo.

 

Your hired!

 

It doesn't look like flux core. This one has me stumped. Just wondering if you were using argon or mix.

 

The bottle was totally disconnected at this point,.. regulator sitting on top of the welder,.. and this was the end of about 7" of weld that way. ( All we get is Argon/CO2 75%/25% Up here)

 

There isn't slag with flux core, but there is a brown dust that gathers around the weld. That brown dot in the center of your "dimes" is similar to what you could see with flux core. If there is no wind, and this is in an enclosed area, I would say, there was enough oxygen exclusion remaining in the air. Either way, you got some luck on your side there.

 

i say someone is trying to pull the wool over our eyes.....i dont see how its possible unless you do it in front of me.

 

There isn't slag with flux core?
What have you been smoking?

 

Come on over !,... I'm asking the question,.. not trying to convince anyone of anything,.. If I had the answer, I wouldn't have asked the question..... This is why this has been bugging me.

 

My welds look just like that...but I use JB weld!!

 

your propane heater has been on so long it added alot of CO to your air, over concentrating the amount of CO2 in the air...add to that your elevation over sea level...all that makes for good welding! Its a chemistry thing.


Do you believe that one??

 

Thanks,...,.. But that was absolutely NO help,...

 

Ah,.... I dunno,.. sounds good,.. The atmosphere was still and cold,... I was welding inside the shop (no air movement) and it was cold and damp,..the temperature was probably 22-25 degrees. Do dat mean sumptin' ????

(other than that I need heat in my shop ?)

 

Only thing I can come up with is this ... your breath was soooo bad, it completely cleared the weld area of any oxygen. Doesn't make any sense, but I can't think of anything else. Did your pet bird collapse when you spoke to it just before welding?


(I guess I should clarify after having hurt some peoples feelings in the past .... this was a J O K E ... NOT a good one, but still ... just a joke. Here are the obligatory "happy faces" that absolutely MUST accompany any attempt at a joke).




To be honest, I really have no idea how you were able to create such a fine looking weld without gas ... but, being that you know the weld wasn't correctly shielded, I wouldn't trust it.

 

I did have Cod in garlic ****er for lunch, with a side of baked beans,... So you might be on to something !

RYAN !!!!!!!,... He hurt my feelings !!!!!!

Because I was curious what would would happen, it was on some s**** 3/16" steel that is now in the steel piece bucket,... so I trust it 100%

 

Little known fact that Global Warming is putting extra Argon into the air along with CO2. As you live in Michigan this is especially intense because of all the car factories going full blast all over the place.

Al Gore told me and he would never lie. After all he invented the internet.

 

And here we are discussing it on "THE INTERNET",.... Coincidence?,... I think not !!!

 

That is amazing!

...and not like any flux-core weld that I have ever seen!

 

I donno, when mine runs out its easy to tell what happened. It will leave a sooty residue around the weld too

 

Was thinking the baked beans helped, but that would be methane....

 

Reminds me of a page in Cartoons magazine when I was a kid. Guy gets a carb from the junkyard. Turned out it used to belong to some genius scientist type guy and now his '57 Chevy runs on water!

Seriously though, how long is your gun cable? Must've just been running on what was in there??

 

I am (Navy Certified) welder for all types of welding..... Welding now for 45+ years.. I will say that this weld quality is imposable to achieve without shielding gas ... Better check your guages or fess up to the joke

 

Seriously, no joke,.. regulator was off the tank. I taught my sons how to weld when they were young,. They are both better welders than I am now, My older son teaches metal shop at the local High School, Machining, CNC, Fab, Gas/Fusion, Arc, Mig & Tig,.. I told him and showed him, and he said "yeah,...ah-NO!" and laughed,.. He also thought I was messing with him.

Honestly guys,.. I'm confused with this, That's why I asked,.. I didn't know if the humidity and cold air could have something to do with it,... I'm just as stumped as you guys are.

I think it's 10 ft. But with the regulator off the tank,.. there was no pressure pushing what was in the hose.


OK,..

Guys, just so were on the same page. I am not messing with you on this, I am perplexed as you are,... Just thought there was a answer that my pals and I missed,.... But apparently, it's official,.........

​

 

Sorry about the tone in my last post. The welding for forty years in me said that is impossible. So I went to the garage and put on my forensic hood and tried to recreate the condition. I tried several scenarios and the last thing I tried was turning up the heat and turning down the wire. I ended up with a weld very similar to the one in your photo. I would not have believed it if I hadn't done it myself. I didn't bend it so I have no idea if it was a good weld. This may not be what happened but it is possible.

 

I think it's just a really weird alignment of conditions, I too had the amps cranked and running about 40-45 on wire speed,.. single p***. I put one of the s****s in the bench vice and pounded it with a hand sledge,... It bent on either side of the weld,.. but no sign of fatigue, cracks or failure.... Honest guys,.. this is a freaky deal.

So back to my original question,.... What Happened ???

 

Still dont belive it is possable even in the twilight zone. Something stinks here. my grandfather told me (quote) If it smells like **** don't pick it up without a glove on Hhahahahahahahahaha I wouldnt pick this one up even with a glove on. Sorry man just ain't buyin it.......

 

Read the thread,... I'm not trying to prove it to anybody,.. And I frankly don't care if you buyin it or not,.. This is what happened to me,.. just looking for the answer,.. "why?"