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Nitrogen...?
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 6:36 pm
by Welder2008
I have not had the chance to try this out for myself, but, I would like to see a video done showing an attempt to use pure Nitrogen as the primary shielding gas on various base materials... I know it's used in addition to other gasses for a "hotter" or more stable arc (up to approximately 2%-3%) for the plasma arc and some laser-type welding processes. This, along with other videos showing the effects/"dos & don'ts" on using the different types/mixes of shielding gasses for the tig process on different materials.
Thanks.
Re: Nitrogen...?
Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:27 pm
by Otto Nobedder
Nope...
Don't waste your time. It doesn't work with MIG, because nitrogen is not inert. It doesn't work with TIG because it won't ionize and carry the current.
If a gas as cheap as N2 were effective in any process, it would be used every day, all the time, because corporations will take any measure to save money.
As a back-shield gas, it's acceptable for a number of applications, including 3XX and 4XX stainless steels. The jury's still out on it's use as back-purge for cryogenic applications below -320F.
Welcome to the forum, and great question!
On a side note, A co-worker and I experimented with pure helium as shielding gas for MIG stainless, just out of curiousity. It does not work worth a damn. The other gasses in tri-mix (and other mix-gasses) are there for a reason.
Steve S