Welding "black Iron" pipe

[unkle spike]

Can standard water pipe (black iron) be MIG welded?

Water Pipe from Home Depot etc.

[carl_stevenson]

Can standard water pipe (black iron) be MIG welded?

Water Pipe from Home Depot etc.

I've never done it, but from what I've read, "Yes."

However, I've also heard reports that "home center" pipe may not be of the same quality as you'd get from a plumbing supply wholesaler or steel supply company ... so it may not have the same sort of yeild strength.

I'm sure that others with direct experience will chime in. (And I'll be watching, as I have a pipe bender and one of my next projects will be a set of racks for my F-150 4x4 pickup to carry long lengths of tubing, lumber, and (occasionally) my 14' 6" touring kayaks.)

Regards,

[Zrexxer]

Oh no... not this one again... please read through these couple of threads before the "battle" starts again

http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/showthread.php?t=8318

http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/showthread.php?t=18508

[unkle spike]

Sorry

OH OH I started another stupid thread........


All I want to do is make a mailbox post out of something round, doesn't need to be DOM or anything.

I will try to weld it, experience and humiliation are teachers that are best kept seperated....

[Old Man Stick]

TO put it easy Yes I can be welded. Clean it up a bit first. Wire wheel or grind off area that is to be welded. I have used "black Iron" gas pipe on a few things. A front bumper .. Made a hoop from the cross tubes ( 1/4 " thick X 3 1/2 OD Was part of a Over Head 10 Ton craine ) the hoop came up to the top of teh hood and back down. And I have used a bunch with solid bar stock to make large hinges.

[returnsludge]

I don't weld, but I looked into this before I bought some black iron pipe to fabricate some supports. It really is steel and calling it iron isn't quite accurate. It's usually ASTM A53 pipe and that ASTM grade is used for well casings here in Florida all the time. The casing joints are almost always welded. A friend welded up the supports using the pipe with no problems at all.

[Broccoli1]

Can standard water pipe (black iron) be MIG welded?

Water Pipe from Home Depot etc.

Uncle,

I have used the exact Pipe from Home Depot you speak of and it will weld up just fine for your application.

Carl,

If you get your needed stock from a real Pipe shop, you should be good to go. I think the horror stories of Rack Failures are more due to operator error than material failure

[enlpck]

A53 is welded every day. TIG, MIG, stick, whatever. It is meant to be welded.

Clean the joint area well (inside as well as outside) as for any weld, payig close attention to removing all of the coating from the pipe in the weld area. Bevel the edge if needed, and weld away.

The quality problems can show up in pipe purchased from ANY supplier. The pipe HD and the other box stores carry usually comes from a local supplier, but if you supply HD as well as commercial outfits, and you know that you have a lot of pipe that has been problematic for the shops that weld it, where will you send the rest of the lot? What are the problems? contamination in the stock metal (ony a sample of sticks are tested at the factory, so it happens that a bad run gets out), poor quality at the seam (incompete welds and contamination in the weld), and dimentional issues are the ones I have seen recently.

[Broccoli1]

and dimentional issues are the ones I have seen recently.

Should be perfect for me then

[jbmprods]

i weld black pipe with mig and stick all the time and never a problem. just wire wheel it clean were it is to be welded.

[eddie]

A53 is welded every day. TIG, MIG, stick, whatever. It is meant to be welded.

Clean the joint area well (inside as well as outside) as for any weld, payig close attention to removing all of the coating from the pipe in the weld area. Bevel the edge if needed, and weld away.

The quality problems can show up in pipe purchased from ANY supplier. The pipe HD and the other box stores carry usually comes from a local supplier, but if you supply HD as well as commercial outfits, and you know that you have a lot of pipe that has been problematic for the shops that weld it, where will you send the rest of the lot? What are the problems? contamination in the stock metal (ony a sample of sticks are tested at the factory, so it happens that a bad run gets out), poor quality at the seam (incompete welds and contamination in the weld), and dimentional issues are the ones I have seen recently.

Any suggested starting settings with an HH140 using flux, for example?

[Broccoli1]

The Chart in your manual will get you in the Ball Park

.030 3/40 1/8"
.030 3/45 3/16"