Welding Tips and Tricks

How much, if any, can one expect to save/reduce on Argon usage, if I switch from (say) a regular Alumina #7 cup, to the equivalent in a gas lens ? or large diameter gas lens ?

History

• I'm a newb / wannabee / hobbyist welder
• typical 1/16" or 3/32" tungsten
• #20 Weldcraft torch, with #7 Alumina cup
• carbon steel only, for now
• I'm working thru my 3 x Ps.... practice, practice, practice
• I find I'm going thru an extraordinary amount of Argon gas @ 20 CFH. For now, I'm hesitating to reduce this much. I might try 17-18 CFH and see what new problems that introduces for me.
• the largest Argon cylinder I can purchase is 55 cu ft. It doesn't last long Maybe 2-3 days & it's done. At $70 CDN per cylinder, it adds up.

Which brings me back to my initial statement.

What kind of savings can one expect by switching to a gas lens ? or large diameter gas lens ? Would either allow me to reduce the 20 CFH to (say) 10 CFH ?

And if there's threads out there that already beat this subject to death..... a link to them would be good enough. Thx for your time.

Quite the opposite likely. The gas lens is about turbulence control. Same CFH better distribution. A large lens wants even more CFH. What you will get is better welds no two ways around that. And that is priceless.

In my opinion 10 > 12 CFH flow is perfectly adequate in still air ( no draughts ) for practice on carbon steel if your not massively over heating a large area by going to slow - or splitting the flow on outside corners.

what you can do is run a gas lens with a smaller cup with lower gas flow and get the same coverage.
however many simply keep the same gas flow and cup size, and get better coverage.
gas lens is not called a gas saver for nothing. however don't expect it to drop your gas bill in half.

i would run a gas lens and then dial back the gas until you get problems, then bump it up a bit.

While some gas savings might exist under some situations, it's not enough that you'll be buying an extra pound of filler at the end of the month because of it.

What you will gain is better gas coverage(and that's a good thing) for a given flow rate, if you jump up to a large gas lens because of a particular weld joint then you may use more gas, but in that situation there isn't an option (usually) because the weld joint (or material) requires it.

The best thing you can do is keep an eye on your flow rate, be sure you're not using too much for the setup on the torch.

Good question.

Good feedback / comments, gentlemen. It's an education

Many thx from this wannabee welder.