copper and mig welding?

[Default]

will mig weld copper together? will it be water tight?

 

[Bender]

I don't know about mig welding. Using a torch to solder the copper makes it quite easy to seal up a block water tight. What exactly did you have in mind?

 

[Tecumseh]

Are any commercial WBs welded? I thought they were
all soldered. I don't know about mig welding, but I
do know ultrasonic welding works for copper and
aluminum.

 

[Szech]

With the right wire, I would think so. At my old work, we used a TIG to seal cans that would be put on a Hot Isostatic Press. Since MIG tends to put more filler in the weld than TIG, I would expect the weld to be stronger than TIG (although not as pretty). And if the weld can stand the pressure that the HIP puts on it without leaking, I'm pretty sure it can handle your little Eheim.

 

[Diggrr]

If your looking at that nice shiny copper looking wire in the mig welders at work, think again. It's just copper coated steel wire to improve it's conductivity for welding so that the wire isn't welded inside the feeder where the current is added to the wire.

Honestly, a good solder joint on a waterblock done with a propane torch can withstand near 1000 psi. Even the joints on an air compressor line or refrigerant line are stronger than the tubing. It's also easier to get it leak free.

 

[Spartacus51]

I wouldn't try to MIG weld copper. Your heat would need to be turned to low. TIG ought to work, and certain low wattage arc welding would also work, with the right electrode. Welders normally come with a list of materials they can weld, and what special changes need be made. I agree though that torch soldering is best.

 

[Crash893]

only thing i know is that when you put the flux on the joints and solder them together work from the bottom up so the solder is drawn up by the change of temp and the top one is done by gravity.