Welding irrigation pipes and Fittings

[jimmyriddle]

I have no end of irrigation pipes with small holes in that need patching or filling. I also have some fittings that need modifications... I have a mig welder but this won’t weld the aluminium I believe I need a tig for this... does anyone know about he fittings ? They look like cast but I am unsure if I can weld this with a mig or not...

 

[Will 1594]

Same here jr. not too far from you. If we had a tig set , looks like going to have to get one . Have a mate who tig welds for a profession , and some one else who retired who could weld you any thing . timeserved and 45 years doing nothing else
how many have you to do , we have about 50 that need repair

 

[jimmyriddle]

I probably don’t have as many as you but I think the labour cost would kill it to pay someone to do it... pipes are about £90 each new so s small sip welder at £400 would soon pay for itself if I can learn how to do it... I am quite good with a mig and a stick but tig welding is a completely different thing as I think you melt the metal and just add the rod as needed.
Some of my pipes the end has completely blown of with the pressure.

 

[rob h]

We bought a tig to repair the ally booms on our sprayer .never used one before but watched loads of video on line.its a handy thing to have and keeps being used as cracks apear. You need a ac.tig we got one of eBay 250amp.transformer welder from a dealer with warranty for £600

 

[tomlad]

Utube may b ur teacher?

Doubleboost does a bit with tig

Weldmonger , codey is it weld.com ?? A god also

 

[davieh3350]

You need an ac tig with a bit of power, aluminium likes hot and fast, takes a fair bit of power to get it melting as it conducts so well. Argon. a new wire brush only for alu. Some green scouring pads to give the rods a quick rub down with, some acetone to give the pipe and rods a clean with. Cast aluminium welds no problem, it's not like cast iron. Somewhere draught free. cleanliness is the key.

 

[Mc115reed]

You can get a aluminium mig set if you already know how too mig weld could be the better option... they’re pricey though

 

[tomlad]

Used alu mig at college, wire feed gun / spool gun ? Forget what its called, was good , did a job , never used tig.

 

[tomlad]

Watching the utubers id go tig set , possibly may one day .

 

[jimmyriddle]

You need an ac tig with a bit of power, aluminium likes hot and fast, takes a fair bit of power to get it melting as it conducts so well. Argon. a new wire brush only for alu. Some green scouring pads to give the rods a quick rub down with, some acetone to give the pipe and rods a clean with. Cast aluminium welds no problem, it's not like cast iron. Somewhere draught free. cleanliness is the key.

What sort of amp machine would your recommend ? Currently all migatronic welders but they are a bit pricey for a learning machine for Tig

 

[davieh3350]

What sort of amp machine would your recommend ? Currently all migatronic welders but they are a bit pricey for a learning machine for Tig

Depends on how thick the material is you need to weld. Works out roughly at 1 amp per thousandth of an inch (0.0254mm) My 165 amp machine struggled to weld brackets in the middle of a large 3mm sheet, as it conducted the heat away and took a long time to melt, the brackets got too hot as they were less material. How thick is the pipe?

 

[jimmyriddle]

Maximum 1.5mm thick but they all tend to pin hole near the cast fittings.

 

[defender]

Could you not just use the gas and aluminium filler rod ?

 

[davidcardiff]

Get a bottle of pure argon
A roll of 1.2mm 5356 alu wire and try it with your mig

 

[Classichay]

R tech do some good offers I’m just looking at one of there’s at the moment we have a 450amp mig here but I don’t want to mess with a spool gun just the argon gas isn’t cheap (x2 the cost of 75-25%)

 

[davidcardiff]

You don’t need a spool gun to mig weld alu
Your goin to need argon anyway whether you buy a tig or just mig it
I run 1.2 5356 through a 15ft mig no problems
You might have to get a set of U groove drive rolls but there not that expensive
What welder do you have

 

[davidroberts30]

Get a bottle of pure argon
A roll of 1.2mm 5356 alu wire and try it with your mig

Need to change the mig torch liner to a teflon 1 first..

 

[Exfarmer]

They will weld with mig. Must have correct wire, pure argon and best a spool feed gun. If not a very short hose with teflon liner.
to be honest I never got on well , but used to have a guy in A workshop, did a lot of car repairs and he had no problem with it. Like everything practice makes perfect

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I probably don’t have as many as you but I think the labour cost would kill it to pay someone to do it... pipes are about £90 each new so s small sip welder at £400 would soon pay for itself if I can learn how to do it... I am quite good with a mig and a stick but tig welding is a completely different thing as I think you melt the metal and just add the rod as needed.
Some of my pipes the end has completely blown of with the pressure.

trying to remember, but I think to weld aluminium, you need the more expensive type of TIG, with a high frequency start, rather than the stainless steel welding which can have a "scratch" start, once you get going, it is just like oxy acetylene welding, but with a foot pedal to control power far more control over the molten pool do easier to do.

 

[davidroberts30]

trying to remember, but I think to weld aluminium, you need the more expensive type of TIG, with a high frequency start, rather than the stainless steel welding which can have a "scratch" start, once you get going, it is just like oxy acetylene welding, but with a foot pedal to control power far more control over the molten pool do easier to do.

need ac/dc tig
high freq isnt essential