I have a 1.5" OD cast aluminum thermostat housing. turns out the upper radiator hose is for earlier 1.75" OD housing. The housing I have can stand to be a bit longer too. So I have some 1/8" thick, 1.5" wide mill bar aluminum that I'm going to heat up a bit, bend into a loop, and slip half way over the cast aluminum nub. weld a seam, weld the collar, and maybe put a bead around for a lip for the hose clamp. Diversion AC TIG with pure argon. I expect it will be pretty clean before the burn. I'll brush it with ss brush too. But... I'm a novice with TIG. Think even more novice than you already are thinking. I'm comfortable enough to attempt this, but not sure about the cast deal. The mill bar stock says "excellent forming and welding characteristics". Not sure exact what which aluminum it is. Q: wondering what rod to use, and any tips on pre-heat or?
Preheat enough to see that all the moisture is out of the whole part. 4043 rod will be friendly for this application,it has a high silicon content.
Yup, we use 4043 on damn near everything. We also use the orange tungsten as opposed to the green. On heavier stuff we run a bit of helium along with the argon. It really helps bring the heat. We preheat occasionally but more to make sure all the **** is burnt out.
your part is so small it will be preheated 10 secs after you start welding. Use a 3/32 green tungsten, 3/32 4043 rod, a gas lense if you have it, tack it and wire brush the heck out of it, Then run the weld around it. Im not familiar with a diversion, but if you can tell me what switches it has i can tell you where they need to be. probably around 120 amps on ac. tip number one, make sure to push the tig weld, dont pull it around the filler neck. i have welded many filler necks and they are usually some real trash mixed in, but your aluminum stock will mix in and help
Ha. Miller diversion 165. There are no knobs. On/off and ac/dc and amps. Inverter style very basic but ****ery. Thx for help. Left a bit confused on tungsten. Whats differences?
Your diversion is an inverter machine you don't use pure tungsten with an inverter. You can use most other tungsten lanthinated,thoriated,zirconated etc but not green pure doesn't like inverter machines,transformers yes its required but you have an inverter.4043 filler rod 1/16" or 3/32" 3/23 tungsten.Sharpen to a point and have at it,the tungsten does not form a ball on an inverter.Hope this helps Read your manual its all in there. Tig
The following: We like it for the heavier stuff because it will handle more current than the green will. We have a syncro 250DX. I also weld in Aluminum in DC reverse, a lot. Its one of the techniques I was taught and I like it. Not many people do. The kid that does most of our welding is a hell of a welder, but he can't get the hang of doing it in DC. He does everything in AC
Hmm. The aluminum I have done before was 1/8" material with 3/32 red tungsten. Worked okay but it did form a ball. Manual said aluminum should flatten tip after sharpen not a point. Manual didn't say anything about cast aluminum tho. Thx again for suggestions.
I have always ground to a point and grind along the length of the rod. Not around the rod. Like so many things, there are as many opinions as there are people welding. But I'm going with Tigmaster for two reasons, first off, his name is Tigmaster, and secondly, because so far he has said exactly what I was taught. And I was taught by a couple of guys that are definitely tig masters in their own right I am interested in hearing his opinion on the DC welding though
DC alum welding is done usually with pure helium and very expensive sometimes is required as in N.A.S.A. "lol" not really required in the layman's world needs lots of hp..That is why we have 10,000.00 ac/dc welders out there that are quite hi tech and weld like a dream. Just go to the Miller site and surf around you will spend a great deal of time there learning. http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/dynasty_350/ I have a dynasty 200dx real dream to weld with,kind of spoils you after a few wears with an old transformer machine but technology moves on.I have owned 2 transformers and 2 inverters. That's my 2¢ Tig.
DC welding (TIG) was done long before anyone even thought about using AC. Extremely efficient process for heavy material. Not as viable for thinner material do to the high heat/penetration involved. Biggest negative is the cost of covering gas. With the higher flow rates of helium (40-50 CFH) and the cost of the gas, it works out to be about 7 times as expensive. NASA facility where the cost of "shielding gas" is NOT AN ISSUE. Arc starts in helium are more difficult than they are in argon, but at the higher amps involved for welding heavy material, it's not really an issue. Pre weld prep is also more critical for DC welding as you get no "cleaning effect" from DC. Tig.
thanks for help. sounds like no real special considerations for cast aluminum (except for be more cautious about cleaning, and use 4043). i'll try 1/16" 4043 rod with 3/32 tungsten at a point (but will flatten the needle point - tungsten sharpener gets it wicked sharp).
You want to weld, have at it. The best thing to do is buy a hose diameter adaptor, it is a short piece of hose that'll act as a bushing to go over your thermostat housing neck to take up space for larger 1 3/4" hose. Those hose adaptors are made or sold by gates i think. I wouldn't even try to weld that piece unless it is brand spanking new, welding thru antifreeze contamination is miserable at best and the mystery materials that thermostat housing are made from will give you pause and reaching for different aluminum rod materials.
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