Bottle size for Tig ?

[Lennyzx11]

I picked up a small inverter Yes Welder a few months ago in trade that does Tig and stick.
It’s the Tig-205DS.

What size bottle do you guys recommend to get with it?
I have 2 bottles of 40 cf of C25 and a smaller 20cf bottle of pure argon for my spoolgun with aluminum.
But internet says I need argon/helium for Tig welding so I’m looking at buying a bottle for that now.
Do I need an 80cf for homeowner use? I plan on welding aluminum eventually with a better TIG also but want to learn on steel this winter with this little welder.

I plan on using 3/32 2% lanthanated (blue) electrodes to start with but open to suggestions.

Why I ask is with the post flow/pre flow requirements I’m reading on, it seems like you’d go through gas a lot faster so may need a larger bottle to keep from running out fast.

Thanks for tips

 

[Dirt Guy]

I use the 80 cf bottles. I have two .one on the welder and the other for a spare. Cost to fill the 80"s is a little less then your smaller bottles. Also on your pre flow and post flow, turn it down to 10 to 12 cfh as you are learning, gas will last a lot longer. I use 100 per cent Argon for all my Tig welding . No need for argon/ helium mix for welding steel. Also cost a lot more than pure argon. Your choose of 3/32 tungsten will work fine, also try 3/32 purple tungsten, good all around tungsten . Welcome to the Tig welding world, Do a lot of practice, you will get the hang of it.

 

[Lennyzx11]

Thanks for the tip on being able to use pure argon. I had thought I had read that somewhere but couldn’t find it again. I’ll order some purple electrodes also per your recommendation.

 

[Lennyzx11]

Well, I got my tungsten and filler rods in the mail.
I have the standard regulator on my Mig and little oxygen acetylene setup but this Tig welder calls for a flow meter.
I’m off to find one of those as I remember that is supposed to be better than a regulator anyway for mig.

 

[Dirt Guy]

Flow meter is what you need, much more accurate than a regulator, Just make sure it is a flow meter that is made for argon . The argon scale will be marked on the tube the steel ball rides in. I bought mine online at Cyberweld.com, good meter and a good price. Lots of other online places too, Just google argon flow meter and you will see. A few months ago I bought one from Eastwood.com. Nice chrome flow meter, works good and looks great.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you plan to do much TIG welding, go for the 125 minimum size. Even that size will run out quickly. You need 15-20 CFH for the gun to include the pre/post flow so you can see that an 80 CF tank is only going to give you about 4 hours of weld time at most. Unless you live 5 minutes from the LWS you will be going there often. If you plan to do stainless or chrome alloys, plan on a purge on the back side of that as well so then double the argon usage per hour. Sometimes even aluminum (especially when welding cast aluminum) benefits from a back purge to help float out the impurities.

 

[Lennyzx11]

Just wanted to say I did get the Yes welder up and running this week. Some practicing and a handful of YouTube videos have been reviewed has been the last few days Main topic.
It’s a dc only machine so no aluminum.

Currently practicing with
1/8” wall rectangle tube 1x3
Argon Gas at 15cfm
Amps at 125( using the 1 amp per .001 thousandth guideline)
Blue 3/32 tungsten
3/32 filler rod for steel

It’s been fun to play with though I don’t see any dimes stacking up, the welds look like they would “farmer pass”.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Just wanted to say I did get the Yes welder up and running this week. Some practicing and a handful of YouTube videos have been reviewed has been the last few days Main topic.
It’s a dc only machine so no aluminum.

Currently practicing with
1/8” wall rectangle tube 1x3
Argon Gas at 15cfm
Amps at 125( using the 1 amp per .001 thousandth guideline)
Blue 3/32 tungsten
3/32 filler rod for steel

It’s been fun to play with though I don’t see any dimes stacking up, the welds look like they would “farmer pass”.

Not to be sarcastic or anything, but many farmers where I grew up were pretty good welders. Many of us (me included) would work construction during the winter months for some extra income and some of us were certified pressure piping welders in stick and TIG welding. I practiced the same quality of work on the farm, so when I welded something it stood the test of time in both visual and strength.

Dont put too much into the stack of dimes look. It is mostly for looks and doesnt add strength, in fact it could be a very weak weld if not properly done.

 

[kpsp50]

I have a (htp) tig welder with water cooler I do a lot of aluminum welding and have a (k)tank 220 cu ft argon also a (s) tank 150 cu ft of stargon gauge set 20 cfm works out well for me. I use 2 percent laminated 3/32 and mostly 4043 rod. I had an opportunity to use a (primeweld) tig machine was very impressive. Just refilled the k tank was just under $90. Bite the bullet now get what you want the prices are not going down. Hope this helps. Good luck, Merry Christmas to all and GOD BLESS

 

[kayco53]

Stacking dime seems to be a internet thing. Smooth welds are what you see on boilers etc. Get the biggest argon bottle you can easily get as little ones are always empty. Cheaper in the long run. The big one is to remember to shut the argon off when you finish welding. Easy to forget.

 

[charliehcrew]

Get the largest bottle that you can move and afford. Look at different sites for best price, Weldmonger, Cyberweld, Bakerweld are some to look at. Also the exotic mixes are for stainless, titanium, thick aluminum. You do not seem to be wanting weld that like me, just use argon not mixed.

 

[Old Irish]

Just wanted to say I did get the Yes welder up and running this week. Some practicing and a handful of YouTube videos have been reviewed has been the last few days Main topic.
It’s a dc only machine so no aluminum.

Currently practicing with
1/8” wall rectangle tube 1x3
Argon Gas at 15cfm
Amps at 125( using the 1 amp per .001 thousandth guideline)
Blue 3/32 tungsten
3/32 filler rod for steel

It’s been fun to play with though I don’t see any dimes stacking up, the welds look like they would “farmer pass”.

Stay with the vids when you can, Welding Tips and Tricks on Ytube has some great vids.
My personal opinion is to get a 300cf bottle if you can, cost less per cuft and fewer trips to get a new bottle.
I like tig welding but am not to good at it and rarely get the pretty stack of dimes look. Another ability of the tig machine is brazing so the Thor hammer would be a good practice project for you. It doesn't require much material and you can do it nice and comfy on the bench.
Good luck, if you like your YesWelder as much as I like mine your on your way, it is a good little machine.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Stay with the vids when you can, Welding Tips and Tricks on Ytube has some great vids.
My personal opinion is to get a 300cf bottle if you can, cost less per cuft and fewer trips to get a new bottle.
I like tig welding but am not to good at it and rarely get the pretty stack of dimes look. Another ability of the tig machine is brazing so the Thor hammer would be a good practice project for you. It doesn't require much material and you can do it nice and comfy on the bench.
Good luck, if you like your YesWelder as much as I like mine your on your way, it is a good little machine.

A few months back, I was going to bite the bullet and get a larger tank from my LWS. They informed me that they would only lease 300 CF tanks due to shortage of stock nationwide. He did give me a price though, $600 for the 300 CF and $300 for 180 CF (YIKES). At those prices, it would be best to buy a second 180, a bit more gas and if you forgot to close the valve you wouldn't loose all of your argon (just half).
I did some internet searching and found out that everyone else already knew of the shortage I suppose since all the used tanks were priced accordingly.

 

[Old Irish]

A few months back, I was going to bite the bullet and get a larger tank from my LWS. They informed me that they would only lease 300 CF tanks due to shortage of stock nationwide. He did give me a price though, $600 for the 300 CF and $300 for 180 CF (YIKES). At those prices, it would be best to buy a second 180, a bit more gas and if you forgot to close the valve you wouldn't loose all of your argon (just half).
I did some internet searching and found out that everyone else already knew of the shortage I suppose since all the used tanks were priced accordingly.

WOW, is that 600 bucks a year just to lease the tank? I have been paying a little over 100 per year and felt like that was too high. My bill to renew is on the bar, I guess I should open it. If it has gone up that much they will get it back. I own all my bottles except one 300cf oxygen bottle but I have been told the day will come when airgas wont exchange owner bottles bigger than 180. I am lucky enough that we have a mom and pop shop here that plans to put in a filling station and they will fill any companies tanks, the down side is that after building up the previous business they sold out to airgas and I suspect that is why he chose the current location as well.
I don't know what a 180cf cost now but the last time I knew 180cf bottles were going for around 200 bucks for an outright sale and 300cf before they quit selling them were around 300 bucks.
I got most of my bottles from a guy who was having a moving sale for 50 bucks each.

Can anyone explain why most welding supply companies don't sell the large tanks outright anymore?

 

[Gary Fowler]

I dont lease, that was the cost to buy if they were selling which they werent. A good thing with my LWS is that they take just about any bottle as trade. They will even hydrotest one that is out of date for a small fee.
I would buy all the bottles I could find for $50 each. I did some searching on Craigslist and every where I found bottles for sale, they were $300 each. I guess the word got out about the cost of new ones.

 

[Gary Fowler]

WOW, is that 600 bucks a year just to lease the tank? I have been paying a little over 100 per year and felt like that was too high. My bill to renew is on the bar, I guess I should open it. If it has gone up that much they will get it back. I own all my bottles except one 300cf oxygen bottle but I have been told the day will come when airgas wont exchange owner bottles bigger than 180. I am lucky enough that we have a mom and pop shop here that plans to put in a filling station and they will fill any companies tanks, the down side is that after building up the previous business they sold out to airgas and I suspect that is why he chose the current location as well.
I don't know what a 180cf cost now but the last time I knew 180cf bottles were going for around 200 bucks for an outright sale and 300cf before they quit selling them were around 300 bucks.
I got most of my bottles from a guy who was having a moving sale for 50 bucks each.

Can anyone explain why most welding supply companies don't sell the large tanks outright anymore?

My LWS said they dont sell 240 CF bottle because they cant get them anymore so they save the large cylinders for commercial rentals. This info is from last year during the pandemic so that may have changed by now, but you know everything is still being blamed on Covid.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Stacking dime seems to be a internet thing. Smooth welds are what you see on boilers etc. Get the biggest argon bottle you can easily get as little ones are always empty. Cheaper in the long run. The big one is to remember to shut the argon off when you finish welding. Easy to forget.

Always open the cylinder gas valve all the way and close it all the way when finished, never part way either way. There is a rubber seal at the top and bottom of the valve on the bottle.

I own all my bottles except my oxygen and acetylene I own but exchange them. All my other bottles I own outright and have them filled and not exchanged ever. Because I own multiple bottles (2 for my TIG machine and on the cart together, when one gets empty, I just switch the regulator and when I get time the empty goes to my Air Gas shop to get filled. Just so happens they have a compressor station there.

I have 2 argon, 2 75-25 MIG bottles, 2 O2 and 2 acetylene, all big ones.

Buy my bottles initially filled from Weldfabluous. The ship for free, nice folks to deal with as well and you can buy them filled or empty, except for acetylene which has to be filled locally and remember with acetylene, it's 'dissolved' which means it's in suspension in a medium inside the bottle so NEVER open the valve when the bottle is anything but vertical and it has set for at least 30 minutes vertical.

 

[SidecarFlip]

My LWS said they dont sell 240 CF bottle because they cant get them anymore so they save the large cylinders for commercial rentals. This info is from last year during the pandemic so that may have changed by now, but you know everything is still being blamed on Covid.

Still the same. My O2 bottle is a 240 but they will still exchange because I have (own) it but you cannot get one now. Everything else is 180 but the acetylene