Aluminum Welding rods

[geeco1]

Hello All, I have seen several ads and youtube videos where folks are using the aluminum welding rods to make repairs of things. I also searched on this site and found a few hits, but they were about 8 yrs old. The rods that I have seen, you melt with a propane torch at around 725 degrees.

My question is.... is that too hot for the hull material of my boat? Has anyone successfully used them to repair small holes, etc? I didn't know if they have been improved since the old posts that I found. Can they be used to repair my skeg? I am not talking about using them for real "structural" joints, just to fill-in some holes left behind by some old screws, etc

I found some at Harbor Freight that didn't seem to be too expensive.

 

[KellyC]

Re: Aluminum Welding rods

I have tried some out but cannot remember the name of them for sure. I will say that I am NOT impressed with them. I had a prop that I had to cut off and so I decided to mess around with it. I cut a blade as the add said that you could use them to repair props, well it did not work. It seemed that the larger section of the prop was absorbing all the heat and would not all the rod to flow, I was using map gas which is a little hotter than propane. I did do some very thin stuff and that worked as long as it was a flat surface. If it is curved it just flows down into a puddle on the lower part. I am not really experienced with this kind of stuff but thought I would just let you know what I did learn.

Kelly

 

[Ozdog]

Re: Aluminum Welding rods

TIG weld it, if you can't do it find somebody that can. The rods are junk! You'll just make a bigger mes than you already have.

 

[eavega]

Re: Aluminum Welding rods

TIG weld it, if you can't do it find somebody that can. The rods are junk! You'll just make a bigger mes than you already have.

+1. Difficult to use especially if you have limited experience with welding. Try it if you must, but note that if you use MAPP gas torch, you can melt the aluminum you are trying to repair.

Rgds,

 

[wifisher]

Re: Aluminum Welding rods

Aluminum dissipates heat too quickly to use a propane torch. The heat needs to be delivered more quickly to melt the area being worked on, and not the entire piece. TIG welding or heliarc (mig welder with a spool gun) are the only ways that it can be done correctly. There are plenty of welding shops around if you don't have your own welder to do it.

Trying to use "welding rods" will just destroy the piece you are trying to fix. Even if the ad says it will work.

 

[geeco1]

Re: Aluminum Welding rods

I did find some of these rods at Harbor Freight. I used them on the aluminum diamond plate that I used as a cap on my transom. I must say that I had mixed results. First off, I did this before putting the aluminum on the boat as I didn't want the heat buildup to damage the new wood in the transom. On areas where I had to bend the alum together, it seemed to work better. Sort of like soldering the joint together. However, it didn't work to well on areas where I had to bridge a larger gap. When installing the alum cap on the transom, any bending or flexing would cause the weld to crack. I ended up using 3M 5200 to seal those cracks. So I would say that it would be fine to use to fill small holes, but I wouldn't trust it to be drilled etc.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Aluminum Welding rods

Do yourself a favor and take to a welder and have it done right the first time. I charge double to repair people?s home remedy messes.