Welding Tips and Tricks

Wondering about cost difference of the two. Given 2 same size cylinders, both filled to capacity with each, will CO2 cost much less? Also will either one give you more welding mileage given similar settings ? Thanks

I'm not a master of welding, but from the physics side of it, an equal physical size bottle of CO2 will have far more gas in it than a CO2/Argon bottle, since CO2 is stored as a liquid.
Doing a quick search turned up information from Air Liquide claiming a 1:845 expansion from liquid to gas.

That said, I haven't welded with it, but heard that it is much more prone to spatter and that it tends to burn hotter, causing a deeper weld puddle.

hey_allen wrote:I'm not a master of welding, but from the physics side of it, an equal physical size bottle of CO2 will have far more gas in it than a CO2/Argon bottle, since CO2 is stored as a liquid.
Doing a quick search turned up information from Air Liquide claiming a 1:845 expansion from liquid to gas.

That said, I haven't welded with it, but heard that it is much more prone to spatter and that it tends to burn hotter, causing a deeper weld puddle.

Inductance control will help control spatter.

hey_allen wrote:I'm not a master of welding, but from the physics side of it, an equal physical size bottle of CO2 will have far more gas in it than a CO2/Argon bottle, since CO2 is stored as a liquid.
Doing a quick search turned up information from Air Liquide claiming a 1:845 expansion from liquid to gas.

That said, I haven't welded with it, but heard that it is much more prone to spatter and that it tends to burn hotter, causing a deeper weld puddle.

Inductance control will help control spatter.

I run straight co2 at home. 20# steel cylinder (beverage carbonation size)$60-80 for tank and $10 fill. lasts about me about 5# of .035 wire @25 cfh. C25 is $30-40 for M size bottle fill (125 cubic foot) tank is $210. I have used both gasses extensively over the past couple decades and I think the notion of spatter is greatly over exaggerated. As Jody describes in some of his videos, the voltage range that co2 runs well in is narrower than c25 so it may be easier to have your machine set up poorly. Co2 is generally considered to produce better penetration.

I think co2 is liquid vs c25 mix is gas so that might make it difficult to compare volumetrically.

[quote="maker of things" As Jody describes in some of his videos, the voltage range that co2 runs well in is narrower than c25 so it may be easier to have your machine set up poorly.
[/quote]

I've had my MIG for almost 20 years, and was pleased with my hobby welding skills I learned myself
until I saw Jody's videos mentioned above. Turns out I had NO idea how to set up my welder I "knew" how to use.
His methods eliminated 85% of the spatter I used to get using straight Co2

Another consideration: because it runs hotter it doesn't work well on thinner materials such as auto body panels.

Also, if you already have an argon-co2 flowmeter, you'll need an adapter to fit it to a co2 cylinder. But they're easy to find and not expensive.

you should check out the welding gas costs thread. It has pricing from all over the country, and world

Co2 will last the longest. It's burns a bit hotter and a bit more splatter. C25 is nice and makes smoother welds.