I haven't used Propane in small portable tanks for many years as I prefer the higher burning temp MAPP gas. It must be nearly 15 years ago at an auto show that I bought a pack of Low melt temperature Aluminum welding rods after being impressed with a vendor's showmanship demonstration.
The rods were committed to the back of my toolbox as I never had a use for them until this weekend.
There are rather large Aluminum gates at the entry of my property and they suffered storm damage a few years back. I need to replace some damaged pickets and noticed they have a minimum amount of TIG welding in a couple of spots (I'm assuming it's TIG welded as the welds are thin and very neatly done).
I don't feel like dragging out the generator and all the welding equipment to the site nor do I want to disassemble the gates and take them back to my shop for such a small fix. Some stainless steel screws could do the job but that seems like a "hack" job in my opinion.
So my remaining choice is to grind out the few original welds, clean, prep and use those LT Rods. All information about these rods say to use Propane, but can I use MAPP Gas instead?
I know I'll have to be careful not to melt the Aluminum. The real question is about MAPP gas itself. I would bet the average DIY'er doesn't realize that MAPP Gas hasn't been produced in the U.S. Since 2008 and what is still called MAPP Gas is really a substitute (in fact several different substitutes). MAPP Gas produced prior to 2008 had a combination of chemicals that would introduce too much Hydrogen into the weld and make it brittle - certainly when using steel. The original gas used acetylene which burns a bit dirty, the latest formulas not so much. There are completely different chemical compounds between the early Dow recipe and the current formulations.
All this is not exclusively for my pissy little job but rather for several upcoming repair projects, some of which I'll most like try to chrome or cad plate (and redoing failures can be costly), so I'm looking for potential problems using MAPP.
I did manage to talk to one of the rod manufactures and they wouldn't comment. Surprisingly, these makers change ownership quite often and are difficult to contact. The welder supply houses seem to turn their noses at these rods and offer no answers - of course I get assumptions when asking dealers.
PS: I'm quite sure I've read most all your links on theses low temp Al rods.
The rods were committed to the back of my toolbox as I never had a use for them until this weekend.
There are rather large Aluminum gates at the entry of my property and they suffered storm damage a few years back. I need to replace some damaged pickets and noticed they have a minimum amount of TIG welding in a couple of spots (I'm assuming it's TIG welded as the welds are thin and very neatly done).
I don't feel like dragging out the generator and all the welding equipment to the site nor do I want to disassemble the gates and take them back to my shop for such a small fix. Some stainless steel screws could do the job but that seems like a "hack" job in my opinion.
So my remaining choice is to grind out the few original welds, clean, prep and use those LT Rods. All information about these rods say to use Propane, but can I use MAPP Gas instead?
I know I'll have to be careful not to melt the Aluminum. The real question is about MAPP gas itself. I would bet the average DIY'er doesn't realize that MAPP Gas hasn't been produced in the U.S. Since 2008 and what is still called MAPP Gas is really a substitute (in fact several different substitutes). MAPP Gas produced prior to 2008 had a combination of chemicals that would introduce too much Hydrogen into the weld and make it brittle - certainly when using steel. The original gas used acetylene which burns a bit dirty, the latest formulas not so much. There are completely different chemical compounds between the early Dow recipe and the current formulations.
All this is not exclusively for my pissy little job but rather for several upcoming repair projects, some of which I'll most like try to chrome or cad plate (and redoing failures can be costly), so I'm looking for potential problems using MAPP.
I did manage to talk to one of the rod manufactures and they wouldn't comment. Surprisingly, these makers change ownership quite often and are difficult to contact. The welder supply houses seem to turn their noses at these rods and offer no answers - of course I get assumptions when asking dealers.
PS: I'm quite sure I've read most all your links on theses low temp Al rods.
