Re: Bad slag coverage in flat horizontal position
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 3:06 pm
If you want to get rid of smoke but have less gas issues then set up the fan to blow away. So it’s sucking the fumes away not pushing them.
The Forum
https://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/
https://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15633
awesomeleanangle wrote:Hey all, brand-new welder here. Not really qualified to be handing out advice, but since I had this same problem recently and think I have it figured out, I thought I'd chime in. I've only been able to find this question asked two places in all of the internet, with no definitive answer, so hopefully this helps someone in the future. I'd also appreciate input anyone might have regarding the root (pun totally intended) cause of the observed behavior.
In my case, my first-ever stringer beads had plenty of problems, but slag coverage wasn't one of them. That changed, however, in the next couple days of practice. As everything else about my beads got better, the slag coverage issues got worse. I experimented with every parameter I could, to no avail. Then I realized that the one thing different between my first-ever beads and my nose-to-the-grindstone practice is that I set up a fan blowing across the work to keep me from breathing in the fumes! So I turned off the fan, and whatdayaknow... no more slag coverage problems. Now, without a fan, I notice that the only times there's a break in my slag is in spots where the wind temporarily kicks up, and can predict where the breaks will occur based on that. I'm guessing maybe the reason the op & others are having this problem only in flat position is that in vertical, the work itself is shielding the weld from the wind?
I guess (this is the part where I'd love to hear what y'all think), the cause is either (or both): The wind physically blowing off the compounds that would otherwise cool & solidify over the surface of the weld, or the weld cooling too quick to allow the same compounds to bubble up to the surface. Does either make sense?