| Author | Message | ||
     Beatx1 |
I need to weld a steel plate to the outlet of a cast iron exhaust manifold. Because I know there is a vast pool of knowledge here I decide to ask here first. Is there a special rod for arc welding or wire material for mig welding? Do I need to preheat the cast iron first before welding and how much? Has anybody done this before and does the weld survive? Thanks in advance for any help offered! | ||
| Rocketsprink |
I know you can braze cast, but not too sure about welding it. | ||
| Birdy |
I think Rocketsprink is right I've never heard of welding Cast Iron not saying it can be done. | ||
| Ducxl |
Braze...but not weld,yup | ||
| Cowboy |
I have only welded cast to cast dont know about steel to cast, but cast to cast is Ok if you pre heat both to max and use stainless rod. | ||
| Xb9ser |
I work at a machine shop where castiron is welded on almost dayly, not sure what they use but it machines very well> I do know it is mig welded.I wont be back at work for 2 days but will try to remember to ask our welder what wire he uses. | ||
| Xb9ser |
I know he does not preheat as the castings weight between 2000 and 4000 lbs. but this is welding just castiron to be remachined not steel to cast | ||
| Buellnuts |
Cast irons are alloys which typically have over 2% carbon plus 1-3% silicon and are difficult to weld. Electrodes with a high percentage of nickel are commonly used to repair cast iron. Nickel is very ductile, making it a good choice to weld on cast iron, which is very brittle. Softweld® 99Ni and Softweld 55Ni are the Lincoln Electric electrodes designed for welding cast iron. Us this rod and arc weld. Pre heat the area and alow it to cool slowly. It works fine and Cast iron is welded and repaired every day. Bob | ||
| Etennuly |
I have done cast welding to repair cracks and broken out chunks. Stick weld with the nickel rods as Buellnuts mentioned above. I preheated the parts and then buried them sand to let them cool over a long period so that it wouldn't become brittle. I never tried welding steel to cast though. If it isn't an expensive hard to get piece where you have little to loose, why not try it. Or maybe on some scrap pieces. I have used the nickel rod on some steel alloys successfully. My brother owns a welding supply store and he has the stuff for all of the methods for welding most everything. If you need more information PM me and I can call him tomorrow to follow up. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
http://www.messerwelding.com/ I work for MG welding products. Visit the cast iron section of our web page. | ||
| Ironken |
Buellina can probably guide you better, but here's my .02. Alcam makes a product, Alcam#61 that is for this purpose. I have not used their product and don't know how this weldment will hold up to heating and cooling cycles of exhaust (because of the dissimilar metals and the rates at which they expand when heated). I can't remember the product that I have used in the past for this type of situation. What process are you planning on using? GMAW,GTAW,SMAW? If you're using SMAW, don't be afraid to experiment with polarity (within the mfr recommended settings and polarity. DC+ =Reverse and DC- =Straight). I would consider getting a little even heat in the part before welding because of the thin manifold. A lot of cast electrodes recommend that the weldment be, "lightly," peened during cooling to relieve internal stresses. Don't forget that some cast iron repair electrode are machinable and some are not. Some/all of this crap you may allready know, hope this helps....Kenny | ||
| Reepicheep |
I tried gas welding what I think was a cast brake drum with normal mild steel rod. It welded badly, but the weld was strong. The cast material right next to the weld however snapped a perfect little full length crack as it cooled. Tink. Doh!! I kept the drum... I'll wander by my local welding supply shop and get some high nickel material and play around. I have to use up an almost exhausted tank of Actylene gas anyway... | ||
| Beatx1 |
Thanks everyone for the help! Buellinachinashop I went to the website and it seems that there is a rod/wire made just for what I want to do. I was hoping to get away with simply MIG welding or stick welding my manifold together. I have a friend that's going to weld it for me, I can weld but I'm not skilled like he is. Thanks again guys! | ||
| Swampy |
A friend of mine(one who I will never ride with again)welded a cast hydraulic jack part. We used some "Snake Oil Salesmans" cast iron welding rod. We preheated the part, welded it then wrapped it in some unfaced fiberglass insulation. 24 hours later the part was still warm and the part is still working! | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"Buellina can probably guide you better, but here's my .02. Alcam makes a product, Alcam#61 that is for this purpose." Alcam is our private label customer. If you need cast iron help, call 800-558-8524 and ask for Jason Kushner. He's our best tech. | ||
| Ironken |
I jotted that number down Buellina. Thanks. It is nice to have tech assistance at my fingertips here on the Badweb....Kenny | ||
| Beatx1 |
You guys are the best! Thanks again! |
