Tig Welding Stainless Steel Pipe Purging

Any welded stainless steel pipe application requires shielding the back of the weld as well as the front when tig welding.

Tig welding stainless steel pipe purging. Tig welding stainless steel is performed by using a non disposable tungsten electrode with a tig welder for striking up the arc. Crevice corrosion of the pipe. Prepare the pipe ends for welding. Most weld purging is carried out on joints made by the tig or gtaw welding process.

Purging during tig welding is a process that envelopes the weld area with a non reactive gas such as helium or argon minimizing oxidation of the base weld area. If you re welding stainless steel pipe with a traditional process like tig or stick it likely requires a back purge with argon gas. Purge gas backing fluxes fight off oxygen purging stainless steel pipe with ar gon or nitrogen for 300 series alloys with less than 10 percent nickel re quires the purge gas to flow long enough to displace the air from the pipe and create an atmosphere of less than 1 percent oxygen. There are six basic steps to purging a tig weld.

They are able to be placed within close proximity of the weld zone thereby increasing efficiency of the entire welding process. I take it your talking about tig welded root runs. But the cost of the gas and the setup time for the purging process can be significant especially as the pipe diameters and lengths increase. Solar flux is one flux cored wire is another.

Purging the weld is the best way to protect the inside of pipes from oxidation. Aquasol water soluble paper provides an excellent barrier used to retain noble gases such as argon and helium within the weld zone during tig welding of stainless steel and aluminum pipes. Solar flux is a powder that is mixed with methanol to form a cream like paste which is then painted onto the inside of the pipe plate. There are a couple of ways to weld stainless steel without purging the back of the weld.

At first you re required to appropriately configure your welder. This process also uses shielding gas against contamination but you can weld thinner metals more efficiently with it.