Gas less mig to gas conversion

The main thing I noticed on my 90EN is that the connection polarity is reversed for gas vs. gasless welding. Not sure if it's the same on the 100EN.

ETA - looks like it is. I've got a PDF of the manual that covers the 90, 100, 105 and 151 if you want to PM me your email address.

Your local motorfactor will do gas most likely, locally we have SGS which do a no rent bottle, just a deposit for the bottle and a fee for the fill.

would 100% recommend an argon/co2 mix not straight co2, you'll need a regulator as well.

the conversion is detailed in the clarke manual which you can download on their service website and off the machinemart site, I think its something along the lines of swap the polarity and fit the gas tube.

Machine mart do (or used to) the conversion kit for proper bottles.

I used BOC Argoshield Universal, i had a bottle given to me,so just used to pay for refills,but last yr my supplier stopped doing it.

In the end i used ‘Hobby Gas’ they have agents that do their gases.
£60 deposit on Argoshield cylinder ( refunded if you want to stop having it) just pay for refills.
No other supplier round here willing to deal with an ‘as and when’ cash punter.

Cheers droopsnoot I have that manual for them, it seems I can, have only had it a year and got it as payment for work done so haven’t messed around with it much. I am welding more and more and the cost of the gas less wire is outrageous compared to standard mig wire!

nomad that regulator is exactly what I need - come payday I will be investing in one - not much more expensive than the eBay cheap Chinese ones and probably a lot safer.

If I order that do all fire extinguishers share the same thread?

Do not use pure Argon for MIG as it does not work very well.


www.mig-welding.co.uk/welding-gas.htm

I reckon pure CO2 would be easiest to get hold of for their DIY market?

Pure C02 is the cheapest welding gas available, Yes you get better penetration for amperage rate with an Ar/C02 mix, it all depends on what your wanting to weld and what your set up is.

I'd suggest that Ar/C02 mix would give you margianally better results on a Clarke 100EN mig, but enough to warrent going down that route if your only ever going to do small mild steel work (thin panel work, exhaust repairs etc)?

Possibly not,

You'll notice you have to use more amps to get the same level of penetration as C02 has a cooling effect on the weld pool, (hence in industrial applications of Olde before Ar/C02 was readily available some mig sets would have a C02 gas heaing element..)

Allthough Ar/C02 does allow greater flexibilty in which materials you want to weld, Alu / Stainless.

The Co2 and Ar/C02 regulator fittings are different, although you can get an adaptor from one to the other.

if you do go down the gas conversion route, be careful with all the gas connections, you may need to upgrade the quality of the pipes & fittings, a quick squirt with soapy water will show up and gas leaks.