4 ms·

what's the cheapest gas I can buy for Tig welding shielding as a hobbyist on razor thin budget?

corty 6y ago
Nitrogen or CO₂. But you will not be happy with it, there is a reason more expensive mixtures are preferred. Also, the required protective gear against the NOx and added postprocessing of your workpiece more than make up for the gas price... The cheapest way overall is actually the commonly used Argon. Its just not cheapest if you just stare at the price of the gas alone.
- exabrial 6y ago
  Interesting. It is the third most abundant gas in the atmosphere,; more than water vapor and carbon dioxide actually according to Wikipedia. It is produced via fractional distillation. We really should be using this stuff instead of helium where possible. I'm guessing it's density makes it more of a renewable resource than helium.
  - corty 6y ago
    We do use it where possible. But at higher temperature like for welding, Nitrogen is no longer inert. And liquid nitrogen is too warm for the things you need liquid Helium for. Other alternatives are usually even more expensive or dangerous. You would never use liquid O₂ for cooling if you can avoid it...
    - corty 6y ago
      Ah, maybe you meant CO₂, it is similar to N₂ in all those aspects. Just even more reactive, warmer in liquid form than even nitrogen. And in addition never liquid at atmospheric pressure and actively poisonous to humans. So usually worse than N₂. There are just a few applications where its used that I know of: Dry ice, environment-friendly coolant, sparkling drinks and killing lifestock.
      - BenjiWiebe 6y ago
        Actually, I'm pretty sure exabrial was referring to argon.
        exabrial 6y ago
        Yes I was referring to argon. Rereading my comment made more sense in my head.
zxcmx 6y ago
A lot of times the supplier matters as much (more than?) the gas. Ask around in your area. Avoid bottle rental at all costs if you can... buy your own or bottle swap are the best. Agree with sibling poster; just get argon for mild, stainless or alu. It is absolutely the standard for the tig process. Most times gas is not an appreciable cost, usually time or materials but I guess it could be a factor if you're welding up a lot of scrap and count your time as free. I haven't added it up but I think I spend more on grinder discs than gas :p
donavanm 6y ago
Argon. Unless you’re specifically doing something really abnormal there’s a reason it’s the most common shielding gas. Compared to the rest of the process the shielding gas shouldn’t be much of the total cost. If you want to minimize cost don’t rent your cylinder. You can usually find a cheap one used and just exchange it on your first refill if it’s within test date.

Nitrogen or CO₂. But you will not be happy with it, there is a reason more expensive mixtures are preferred. Also, the required protective gear against the NOx and added postprocessing of your workpiece more than make up for the gas price... The cheapest way overall is actually the commonly used Argon. Its just not cheapest if you just stare at the price of the gas alone.

exabrial 6y ago
Interesting. It is the third most abundant gas in the atmosphere,; more than water vapor and carbon dioxide actually according to Wikipedia. It is produced via fractional distillation. We really should be using this stuff instead of helium where possible. I'm guessing it's density makes it more of a renewable resource than helium.
- corty 6y ago
  We do use it where possible. But at higher temperature like for welding, Nitrogen is no longer inert. And liquid nitrogen is too warm for the things you need liquid Helium for. Other alternatives are usually even more expensive or dangerous. You would never use liquid O₂ for cooling if you can avoid it...
  - corty 6y ago
    Ah, maybe you meant CO₂, it is similar to N₂ in all those aspects. Just even more reactive, warmer in liquid form than even nitrogen. And in addition never liquid at atmospheric pressure and actively poisonous to humans. So usually worse than N₂. There are just a few applications where its used that I know of: Dry ice, environment-friendly coolant, sparkling drinks and killing lifestock.
    - BenjiWiebe 6y ago
      Actually, I'm pretty sure exabrial was referring to argon.
      - exabrial 6y ago
        Yes I was referring to argon. Rereading my comment made more sense in my head.

zxcmx 6y ago

A lot of times the supplier matters as much (more than?) the gas. Ask around in your area. Avoid bottle rental at all costs if you can... buy your own or bottle swap are the best. Agree with sibling poster; just get argon for mild, stainless or alu. It is absolutely the standard for the tig process. Most times gas is not an appreciable cost, usually time or materials but I guess it could be a factor if you're welding up a lot of scrap and count your time as free. I haven't added it up but I think I spend more on grinder discs than gas :p

donavanm 6y ago

Argon. Unless you’re specifically doing something really abnormal there’s a reason it’s the most common shielding gas. Compared to the rest of the process the shielding gas shouldn’t be much of the total cost. If you want to minimize cost don’t rent your cylinder. You can usually find a cheap one used and just exchange it on your first refill if it’s within test date.