Tim, I think just about any new-ish MIG machine will be great for you.
Definitely find one that you can change the polarity on so you can use Flux Core wire. Flux core doesn’t need gas and you can keep a reserve of it for when you run out of gas in your tank.
@Bobmac might be the closest to you? A few hours drive to Wenatchee where he lives. If nothing else I do plan a road trip in my dodge at some point to my brothers place in east central idaho which his wife was saying there is a small woodgas group on facebook over there?? I cant verify as I dont participate in that social media but may be something to look into if we dont have a member closeby that can take you for a ride along in a woodgas truck
This welder will do what you need. There are many others as well. This is on sale right now and there is an additional 15 percent off, code on their site. You will need a gas bottle as well and a welding helmet. Pay for a decent auto-darkening helmet, not an HF. I bought one and then relegated it to the back shelf. If you are going to do this, get your equipment ASAP. All these machines are coming from China. Maybe.
You can also order full bottles of Argon and Argon CO2 mix gas on Amazon. MIG you can run 75% Argon 25% CO2, some guys use 100% CO2 but the penetration is deeper so bear that in mind.
Once you have a bottle it’s cheaper when refilling. Even if you buy an old one they will swap you out for a new one full of gas. I recently got an 80 cubic feet sized bottle which brand new would cost me probably 300 bucks if I got one pre-filled. My welding supply store swaps out your bottle for a full one, so they can certify your old tanks and refill them and not take up your time. Not sure how others do it.
I paid 200 dollars for a used welder with the bottle, and paid an additional 40 dollars to get it swapped out. Guy told me it would only be 30 dollars next time. Prices probably vary depending on the area.
been watching that guy for sometime, he is a Oregon local and a real nice fella and can learn a lot watching him work
Hi TimS,
Welcome to the DOW.
Important questions you are asking. All of the info put up will now be searchable by others in the future.
Here is a link to show your we are recommending good brands; but not necessarily the specific model that would be best for you to consider:
The Hobart is made in USA. The Forney’s are made in Italy. The other made in mainland China.
I went with a closeout Forney model. 3-in-One capable displayed stocked at a local regional large Hardwares chain store.
The USA/European brands you will pay a bit more for, with a bit less packaged supplied accessories. The mainline China one’s the suppled accessories are sometimes non-standard. So when needing replacement consumables, difficult to find.
The best brands to buy will have manufacturers use support videos and users support groups.
A member Tom Collins recently put up an excellent verbal outline of setting up for thin barrles steels welding:
The actual using woodgasers I know of in Idaho are farther north of you.
Keep talking. Be reasonable. Discrete. And they may individually contact you.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Forney is carried by Blain’s Farm and Fleet here. I don’t know if they are a national chain. As proven by my recent purchase of a Echo chainsaw that was a dud, it’s good to buy local if you can. I took that saw back and exchanged it and the new one was fine. If I would have bought it off Amazon, which I normally would have, It would have been a huge hassle getting it sorted out.
Forney is sold at Johnson’s hardware store here in Washington, along with tractor supply. Think I saw some of their product at bimart as well
On their welding suppies they are sold in a lot of places. My welder is not their top of the line, but it welds really good. It will weld everything you need to do to weld up a gasifier.
Bob
HI bob are you welding with a yes mig welder, that 3 in 1 machine welder price, looks too cheap, have you had any trouble with those welders. can you get 0.35 rollers for that machine.
I just exchanged my c02 tank here in michigan, it was 30 bucks, for regular size tall tank,about 5 feet tall, not sure what size they call that one. some tanks are slittly bigger than mine, but not much.AND like you said ,a mig welder that will weld flux core and gas mig would be nice, and i think the flux core wire works better outside welding, as the gas dont blow away from the weld like mig with gas.
I almost exclusively weld outside since I almost burned down the shop. It’s a hazard to weld in there until I clean it out. Might have to make a wind brake for MIG
My welder with weld flux or gas weld . It will weld .023 and up to .045 wire. At the low setting it will weld thin 20 , 18 gage metals nicely like thin barrels . It handles the bigger spools which is nice. On the high setting it will weld 1/2" very nicely.
It is a 230 volt welder.
Bob
Ok thanks bob, i was just wondering if anyone had good luck with the yes welder chinese welder, it looked like a good DUTY CYCLE, for price i seen the 3 in 1 welder for 399.00$ maybe an old web page or sold out add,not sure. My mig holds 30 or 44 pound rolls,I replaced the wire feed whole unit, as i had another unit from an auction house.Old one was slipping on rollers, I might have bought one on amizon from china too, not sure what unit i used, i am building a hobart 220 amp full size mig welder,bought at auction cheap, think it just needs wire feed fixed or replaced.
I usually weld outside too , just on the windy days would be nice too have flux core mig setup, mine only welds with the gas. At leiste i think flux core works good out in the wind,not sure, Can you weld outside on windy days with fluxcore welder, without air bubbles in weld.?
I haven’t noticed any issues on windy days, but I live in a holler surrounded by trees so it might not get as windy.
Maybe its just on the windier days, it was clipping good two days ago here and i had too wait for wind too stop too weld, i put a piece of tin too block the wind, that helped a little here and there, really windy a chilly today, dropping down too 29 f in the late morning.Probbly weather changing back cold stiring the extra wind energy.
Not really an issue for these discussions but keep in mind that you are dealing with heat and cold; expansion and contraction. Radical changes either way are not good. Welding on railroad bridges, like overpasses on a highway, we had a guy with a rosebud torch head and he preheated the joint to a very dull cherry red ahead of the welder. A state inspector for each team also watched to make sure it was being done according to spec. Of course this was late 60’s , early 70’s when I was doing that kind of welding. I’m sure it’s much different now but the principles are the same. Eliminate as much as you can temperature differentials between the metal and the weld. If your weld is going to fail it will usually be where you strike your first arc. As you continue, the weld itself will provide sufficient preheat.
I worked in a fab shop years ago, had to preheat every weld to 400 degrees
Well, I got some welcome news today. I was accepted to the Wounded Warriors Welding Class for sometime in 2023. A great organization and looks like a great 6 week class: https://www.wwfs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Veterans_Welding_Class.pdf
From all accounts, MIG welding will probably be my go to method in doing a gasifier. If during the course, we are allowed to concentrate on or practice something in particular, besides MIG or when doing MIG, are there things you would suggest I particularly work on while there to hone my skills for a gasifier build, or for general farm repairs?