keep the hot tip of the filler rod shielded in the argon
use a filler rod one size smaller than what works best for carbon steel
only 2/3 the amperage is required on stainless as compared to carbon steel ( on this job the thickness was .120 and amperage was set to 120 but only full pedal for the first few dabs)
use only new stainless wire brushes or wire brushes that have only been used on stainless steel
purge the back side when required.
an argon purge is sometimes required by code or welding procedure but sometimes aluminum or copper backing works fine.
if the hot tip of filler rod gets oxidized, snip it off with wire cutters /dykes.
use matching filler metal...if the part is 316L then use 316L filler wire
dont keep the part too hot for too long.
Check out this stainless steel manifold video
The Stainless Steel manifold welded in this video is a great example of purge requirements.
Sometimes an argon purge is completely needed.
other times, a copper or aluminum backing is the way to get the job done.
This stainless steel manifold did not really required an argon purge so I used aluminum for backing to prevent distortion as well as severe oxidation also known as sugaring.
The final welds were purged in case I accidentally penetrated all the way thru.
Outside corner welds were made using an aluminum angle bar.
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