buckeye -carefull with that zinc coated stuff, it can make you real sick, just like having a bad flue, chills and all that. If you have to weld it and I won't, drink lots of milk, that gives you some protection. Cast fitting often have impurities in the metal, welding them makes for a poor jont. I'm not saying it can't be done, it's very much easier to get the right product. Tom the welder X 40 years
" I don't know what I don't know until I know" 1994 GMC 6.5 Tubo 2005 Dodge ram 3500, 3 VW's 2000, 2002, 2005.
Location: Manitoba Canada | Registered: 24 March 2009
Originally posted by buckeyebiodiesel: Fabricator, you can weld the cast couplers cut in half, you just need to remove as much of the galvanized coating as possible in the weld area. It can create a bunch of nasty gas and screws the weld up a bit (there is a spider web looking stuff left behind if you didn't clean it enough)
Its not the same as the castings you see in things like engine blocks so it can weld up pretty good with a MIG and straight CO2 (flux core can do it too) if you take your time and remove most of the galanized coating.
I have been welding since I was eight years old, cast fittings will weld, but, they are never as strong a weld as welding forged steel couplings, there is no way to know if you have a good weld apart from x raying the joint, the best way to fasten a cast coupling to steel is brazing, the bronze filler metal flows into the pores of the cast far better than mild steel wire will. Also, in bio applications you really dont want to use galvanized fittings, black iron is what most folks use.
Location: West Michigan | Registered: 26 April 2006
Great thread. I have a similar situation and looking for some experience-based advice.
I have a clean steel 55 gal drum. I have a 110V wire feed MIG welder with Argon/CO2 shielding gas. I have drills and a 4" grinder. I don't have access to a band saw.
I'd like to cleanly mount a couple of ports to the barrel. Adding a cone bottom to the barrel would be fantastic. I have access to black iron pipe and various ordinary parts from my local Lowes. I want 1" fittings on my barrel.
Can this be done with the tools and parts at hand? Any tips, tricks, or advice?
Thanks.
Location: Little Elm, TX | Registered: 12 December 2007
Originally posted by PwrStrk6spd: Great thread. I have a similar situation and looking for some experience-based advice.
I have a clean steel 55 gal drum. I have a 110V wire feed MIG welder with Argon/CO2 shielding gas. I have drills and a 4" grinder. I don't have access to a band saw.
I'd like to cleanly mount a couple of ports to the barrel. Adding a cone bottom to the barrel would be fantastic. I have access to black iron pipe and various ordinary parts from my local Lowes. I want 1" fittings on my barrel.
Can this be done with the tools and parts at hand? Any tips, tricks, or advice?
Thanks.
All it takes is practice, you need a hole saw to make a hole for the fitting, sand the paint off the area to be welded and go for it, it would be a good idea to get some metal about the thickness of the barrel and practice on it so you know how hot you can get without burning through.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: fabricator,
Location: West Michigan | Registered: 26 April 2006
That weld was made with an old AC stick sticker fed through an old Westinghouse rectifier box to a TIG handpiece with argon. I have no training in welding but what I've picked up along the way, and would encourage guys to give it a go.
Location: New Zealand | Registered: 15 August 2006
Originally posted by Paulus: That weld was made with an old AC stick sticker fed through an old Westinghouse rectifier box to a TIG handpiece with argon. I have no training in welding but what I've picked up along the way, and would encourage guys to give it a go.
Yeah, what he said
Location: West Michigan | Registered: 26 April 2006
The "Anvil Company" builds tank fittings and all types of steel fittings. They sell through distributors nation wide. Look up distributors in your area. They mostly only sell to commercial pipe supply companies or large buyers. I bought some weld in tank fittings and then bought a band saw and now cut couplers in half instead. Here is a supplier who has tank equipment. They have double tapped bushings cheap. www.JMEsales.com from Milwaukee, WI.
Location: Wilmington, Illinois (Chicago) | Registered: 16 August 2007
Tom
