Hi Chuck / Deb, I am a little confused. I have heard of flux "cored" SS Tig wire but never flux "coated".Is it a new product or was it just a typo. If it was flux cored (TGX) we used it quite a bit in the Pulp and Paper industry for closure welds on long sections where it was impractical or impossible to purge the lines. It contains some nasty carcinogenics so all the weld procedures I wrote contained the requirement that welders must wear a half face respirator. As Chuck has mentioned it is probably not recommended for certain applications, the root run forms a really hard flux coating that is a nightmare to remove if you have no access to the root. Hope this helps, Regards, Shane
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I used that flux-coated tig wire on 316L stainless steel piping (Schedule 10) about 14 -16 years ago for 1 (One) week at a paper mill, a really big job where we were running miles of ss pipe. Putting in a root pass was difficult as you can imagine the flux floating up in the weld pool is like welding inconnel on a bad hair day. There were 6 or 8 of us who happen to get to try that product. IF things went right.....and you kept the flux on the inside of a joint after the root pass< the weld will look like a stainless stick rod in that there is flux on the weld which can easily be removed after welding. I think a welder could get good putting in a root if you gave him/her enough of a chance to perfect it.
Is it ( a weld done with this product) mechanically sound????? Who can tell? Even if you purge a joint and use an O2 meter tho make sure you got rid of all the oxygen you will likely have some failures using only argon as the purging source especially if you have miles of pipe to run.
As a welder, I thought it was a good idea (Flux-covered tig rod) and maybe if i had been able to use it for a much longer period of time, It really would have been cheaper than an argon purge. I don't know. AS far as weld integrity goes.........the mechanical properties are what they are in any stick of pipe or fitting so you would think that the welding wire regardless of what process is used to join something is closely matched to the base material, enough so that a weld is good enough for the materials that are welded.
Welding Stainless Steel
In TIG welding of stainless steel, welding rods having the AWS-ASTM prefixes of E or ER can be used as filler rods. However, only bare uncoated rods should be used. Light gauge metals less than 1/16" (1.6mm) thick should always be welded with DCSP using argon gas. Follow the normal precautions for welding stainless such as: Clean surfaces; dry electrodes; use only stainless steel tools and brushes, keep stainless from coming in contact with other metals.
3/16" - 4.8mm
BUTT 2.4mm 3.2mm 5, 6, 7 Argon 13 (6) 20 - 250 12" FILLET 2.4mm, 3.2mm 225 - 275 10" 1/4" - 6.4mm BUTT 3.2mm 4.8mm 8, 10 Argon 13 (6) 20 275 - 350 10" FILLET 300 - 375 8"
Welding Low Alloy Steel
Mild and low carbon steels with less than 0.30% carbon and less than 1" (2.5cm) thick, generally do not require preheat. An exception to this allowance is welding on highly restrained joints. These joints should be preheated 50 to 100°F (10 to 38°C) to minimize shrinkage cracks in the base metal. Low alloy steels such as the chromium-molybdenum steels will have hard heat affected zones after welding, if the preheat temperature is too low. This is caused by rapid cooling of the base material and the formation of martensitic grain structures. A 200 to 400°F (93 to 204°C) preheat temperature will slow the cooling rate and prevent the martensitic structure.
3/16" - 4.8mm
BUTT 2.4mm 3.2mm 7, 8 Argon 16 (6.5) 20 210 - 260 10" FILLET 210 - 260 10" 1/4" - 6.4mm BUTT3.2mm
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4.0mm 8, 10 Argon 18 (8.5) 20 240 - 300 10" FILLET 240 - 300 10"
Welding Aluminium
The use of TIG welding for aluminium has many advantages for both manual and automatic processes. Filler metal can be either wire or rod and should be compatible with the base alloy. Filler metal must be dry, free of oxides, grease, or other foreign matter. If filler metal becomes damp, heat for 2 hours at 250°F (121°C) before using. Although ACHF is recommended, DCRP has been successful up to 3/32" (2.4mm), DCSP with Helium shield gas is successful in mechanized applications.
3/16" - 4.8mm
BUTT 3.2mm 3.2mm 7, 8 Argon 21 (10) 20 195 - 220 11" FILLET 210 - 240 9" 1/4" - 6.4mm BUTT 4.8mm 3.2mm 8, 10 Argon 25 (12) 20 260 - 300 10" FILLET 280 - 320 8"
Welding Titanium
Small amounts of impurities, particularly oxygen and nitrogen, cause embrittlement of molten or hot titanium when above 500°F (260°C). The molten weld metal in the heat-affected zones must be shielded by a protective blanket of inert gas. Titanium requires a strong, positive pressure of argon or helium as a backup on the root side of the weld, as well as long, trailing, protective tail of argon gas to protect the metal while cooling. Purge chambers and trailing shields are available from CK Worldwide to assist in providing quality results.
3/16" - 4.8mm
BUTT 2.4mm 3.2mm 6, 7, 8 Argon 21 (10) 20 220 - 250 8" FILLET 240 - 280 7" 1/4" - 6.4mm BUTT 3.2mm 3.2mm 8, 10 Argon 25 (12) 20 275 - 310 8" FILLET 290 - 340 7"
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