MIG welding floor pans to frame - how to get enough heat into frame rail?

[dsd1967]

I'm putting a trunk floor into my belvedere and was trying to get the sheet metal to stick to the frame rail and can't seem to get enough heat into the frame rail before the punched sheet metal hole is filled with filler.

My welder is an older off brand "Century" 110v welder. I'm using .035 wire at the highest heat setting and matching the wire speed to get a good "sizzle". The hole in the pan is about .300 in diameter.

Should I switch back to a .023 wire with a high heat setting and fast wire speed

Should I back off the heat setting and slow down the wire speed on the .035

Any expert advice?

Thanks

 

[Coronet 500]

Be sure your 115 volt circuit is only for the welder without a long extension cord. When I did this the weld had more "bite".

 

[Fervantmender]

Yes switch to the .023

 

[rumcustom]

I'm putting a trunk floor into my belvedere and was trying to get the sheet metal to stick to the frame rail and can't seem to get enough heat into the frame rail before the punched sheet metal hole is filled with filler.

My welder is an older off brand "Century" 110v welder. I'm using .035 wire at the highest heat setting and matching the wire speed to get a good "sizzle". The hole in the pan is about .300 in diameter.

Should I switch back to a .023 wire with a high heat setting and fast wire speed

Should I back off the heat setting and slow down the wire speed on the .035

Any expert advice?

Thanks

————————-
I would use .023 wire for this application. Done it many times

 

[threewood]

Agree on the .023 and mix gas. I start in the very center of the hole and spiral out catching the pan on the outer spiral if that makes any sense.

 

[hoover]

I would also slow the wire speed a little

 

[1967coronet]

Also with the 110/120 power you need to be hooked up right on a 20 amp plug fed by 12 gauge from the panel and if using any extension cord it has to be a heavy cord 12ga. minimum.
Low voltage will make a decent welder weld like crap.

 

[Dodge33]

Change your wire back to .023.. and slow down your speed down some Dave. We have the same welder, 130 amp, 115v at the wall, and we have to mess with ours at times. All the above posts, are excellent advice.. just have to mess with your welder. Dodge33

 

[dsd1967]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I’m on grandson duty most of today but will be able to try these suggestions tonight.

Dave

 

[dsd1967]

What size hole do you recommend for the hole in the sheet metal?

 

[tom jaffeux]

I used a 3/16 hole to weld though worked great , did over 500 welds that way no issues

 

[tom jaffeux]

Eastwood MIG Spot Weld Kit

Plus I also used a Eastwood spot weld kit that helped a lot

 

[Demonic]

A helper to hold down the sheetmetal firmly on the rail helps too sometimes.

 

[Mike67]

Just replaced my whole floor pan so it's all still fresh in my mind....
, Are your frames very clean and coated with weld through primer? Did you punch your holes or drill them, anything that might raise the panel off of the rail will cause problems. Did you grind the DTM coating off of your replacement panel?
Rreduce the size wire, slow down feed , start in the middle work out are all great suggestions, I think the most important one is the extension cord consideration. If you have to use one make sure it is off good quality #12-10 and short as possible. Try to use a circuit that does not have anything else on it like a deep freezer or refrigerator...lol!
Best of luck!

 

[BeepBeepRR]

Don't forget to skip around to not over heat the floor pan. Don't hop from one to the one right next to it.

 

[dsd1967]

All great tips. I am using weld through primer. The holes are punched and not puckered. I did not remove the coating from the panel at the hole....I will do that. Where I can't get the panel down by my own means....I'll use a self tapper screw adjacent to the hole and then just fill that hole in.

I think my biggest potential downfall based on the above posts is the wire size and feed. Grandson duty took longer than anticipated....but I'll take that tradeoff any day. It looks like I get to try the above suggestions tomorrow.

Thanks guys....I knew the crew here would have a lot of good suggestions and save me a lot of frustration.

Dave

 

[gdrill]

You can also drill a smaller actual hole or an inset depression into the rail and start your weld within it. With the hole you know you have full penetration.

I should mention, when I do a floor pan, I screw it down with self tapping screws. I then remove a screw and drill the floor pan hole larger. This how I get my hole into the frame to begin with. I got this hint from a friend and it works great.

 

[WileERobby]

Good suggestions all, here. I might add, do not over-apply the weld-thru primer. Just enough is enough.

 

[steve from staten island]

.035 is to heavy for a 110volt mig welder. You will never get proper penetration, added in anything less then a 12 gauge extension cord on the welder will reduce the output of that welder even more. DO what the other guys said, .023 is the way to go

 

[dvw]

I agree .023" wire. Concentrate the heat biased towards the tubing instead of the floor pan. No need to run a continous bead. Stich it with 1/4" tack welds. Keep the heat turned up and watch for the tack to start to flow and flatten out, then release the trigger. Wait for the color to go away and hit it with th next tack. It will look similar to a Tig weld when your done.
Doug