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Old 01-15-2019, 06:17 AM   #1
cmwr
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Default Wire welding a drum

I have access now to a good 220 Miller wire welder and I may want to weld on a drum. How easy is it to weld a 55 gallon drum without warping and curling the steel? Thanks

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Old 01-15-2019, 08:13 AM   #2
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You'll need to turn the machine down and skip weld it, but it works fine.
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Old 01-15-2019, 08:16 AM   #3
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Do you have 220v or 440v wired to the unit as they can be wired for either. You want 440 if ever switching over to mig welding aluminum.
Your main problem is getting the current setting and wire speed low enough to not burn thru the steel. If you are not used to welding with a 220 mig.
Even the 120v units are set around 50% power and 40% wire speed to weld a cast iron fitting on a drum.
Welding just steel, 30 -40% power and 30% wire speed on a 120V
Depending on the mig you have access too. You might not be able to dial the power/speed down low enough.
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Old 01-15-2019, 08:30 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ebijack View Post
Do you have 220v or 440v wired to the unit as they can be wired for either. You want 440 if ever switching over to mig welding aluminum.
Your main problem is getting the current setting and wire speed low enough to not burn thru the steel. If you are not used to welding with a 220 mig.
Even the 120v units are set around 50% power and 40% wire speed to weld a cast iron fitting on a drum.
Welding just steel, 30 -40% power and 30% wire speed on a 120V
Depending on the mig you have access too. You might not be able to dial the power/speed down low enough.
It’s a millermatic 210. I used to be a welder and I have welding experience but these days I don’t weld a whole lot so my welds don’t look as good as they used to back in the day LOL. But I can still get the job done typically. I just remember about eight or nine years ago trying to weld a patch on a 55 gallon drum and it wrinkled really bad and didn’t turn out very good. That was with a 110 wire feed that my cousin had.
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Old 01-15-2019, 08:36 AM   #5
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Was that welding with gas or flux where you had that problem.
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Old 01-15-2019, 08:41 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ebijack View Post
Was that welding with gas or flux where you had that problem.
If I remember correctly it was with flux wire.
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Old 01-15-2019, 09:18 AM   #7
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That was your problem.
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Old 01-15-2019, 09:27 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ebijack View Post
That was your problem.
Does flux wire weld hotter than using solid core and gas?
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Old 01-15-2019, 09:49 AM   #9
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Without going into all the details. In most cases, Yes.
Some 120V migs max can weld 1/4" using flux. 3/16" using gas. Single pass.
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Old 01-15-2019, 10:07 AM   #10
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I've done a lot of welding on drums to make my smokers. Haven't seen much warpage except when welding exhaust vents on drum lids, hard to keep them from distorting if you weld on them. I've used 220 VAC and 120 VAC machines. Have welded drums withe Millermatic and Lincol 210's and 140's

Mig weld with gas
Sand and clean areas to be welded thoroughly
Good ground
.025 - .030 wire
Spot - stitch weld - kind of like welding in a patch panel on a car body

Overall, there isn't really anything that is so large that you'll warp your drum. I've welded in a few fire box access doors in my day and they wouldn't warp the drum, had some burn throughs though.

Believe it or not, I've used heat resistant RTV and heat resistant JB Weld to fill in between the areas where I didn't completely fill in the seam with weld.
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Old 01-15-2019, 10:17 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SmokerKing View Post
I've done a lot of welding on drums to make my smokers. Haven't seen much warpage except when welding exhaust vents on drum lids, hard to keep them from distorting if you weld on them. I've used 220 VAC and 120 VAC machines. Have welded drums withe Millermatic and Lincol 210's and 140's

Mig weld with gas
Sand and clean areas to be welded thoroughly
Good ground
.025 - .030 wire
Spot - stitch weld - kind of like welding in a patch panel on a car body

Overall, there isn't really anything that is so large that you'll warp your drum. I've welded in a few fire box access doors in my day and they wouldn't warp the drum, had some burn throughs though.

Believe it or not, I've used heat resistant RTV and heat resistant JB Weld to fill in between the areas where I didn't completely fill in the seam with weld.
My stubby used a ring cut from the top and I pop riveted the two halves together. I used red rtv before sliding the two pieces together. I grill with this also and have had temps around 450 on up and rtv is holding up fine. So you were saying to go around the entire drum with spot welds? I figured I would tack weld to hold in place then go around entire drum with a continuous bead. Maybe that’s too much heat?
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Old 01-15-2019, 10:34 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cmwr View Post
My stubby used a ring cut from the top and I pop riveted the two halves together. I used red rtv before sliding the two pieces together. I grill with this also and have had temps around 450 on up and rtv is holding up fine. So you were saying to go around the entire drum with spot welds? I figured I would tack weld to hold in place then go around entire drum with a continuous bead. Maybe that’s too much heat?
What are you welding to the drum?

Once you get a bead started, you'll burn through the drum. I built my first fire door access using spot welds until the entire perimeter of the door frame was welded in. No warpage, but I didn't do a continuous bead.

For small pieces that I weld to the drum, yes, small beads. Large pieces, spot weld and ffill with RTV or JB Weld.

In some cases, bolts or screws are options.
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Old 01-15-2019, 10:37 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SmokerKing View Post
What are you welding to the drum?

Once you get a bead started, you'll burn through the drum. I built my first fire door access using spot welds until the entire perimeter of the door frame was welded in. No warpage, but I didn't do a continuous bead.

For small pieces that I weld to the drum, yes, small beads. Large pieces, spot weld and ffill with RTV or JB Weld.

In some cases, bolts or screws are options.
I’m planning on building another stubby. I cut a section out of the drum and put the two pieces together. I built my first stubby a couple years ago and I used a shim out of the scrap piece to pop rivet the two pieces together.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/s...d.php?t=245694
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Old 01-15-2019, 12:49 PM   #14
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My cheap flux core wire welder burns holes in drums. I can do small tacks but can’t run a bead - plus I don’t know how to weld............
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Old 01-15-2019, 02:31 PM   #15
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No way you can run a bead. You will blow right through it. You're going to have to do tac-tac-tac method and skip around.
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