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Can you Tig Weld without Gas

Wednesday, 15th July 2020
Graham (Tech Advisor)
The Welders Warehouse Online Shop

Simply put, NO, you can’t Tig weld without Gas!

Gas is required to protect both the Tungsten Electrode and the weld pool from Oxygen. Most Tig Welder torches are also cooled by the gas, so not using gas would risk burning out the Torch.

It’s theoretically possible to use a Flux, in the same way as Gas Brazing, but this would leave the Tungsten Electrode unprotected from Oxygen, so it would go black and burn away REALLY quickly. Plus, as previously mentioned, you risk overheating a gas cooled torch.

So sorry, but you need Gas to Tig Weld properly!

For most Tig Welding Applications, Pure Argon Gas is ideal, although more exotic (and expensive), gases are available for specific applications.

View our Disposable Pure Argon Gas Cylinder

You might also find my article Can you use the same Gas for Mig and Tig useful.

Conclusion

Can you Tig Weld without Gas – NO

I hope you found this article answering the question “can you Tig Weld without gas” useful, if a little short 😀

Please let me know what you thought of this article by leaving a comment.  

Don’t worry, your email address won’t be added to a database or shared and you won’t receive any unsolicited email.

Regards

Graham

12 comments

  1. WeldingPete says:

    why is there an “d” in Fridge but no “d” in Refrigerator?

    1. Graham says:

      No idea, try contacting Oxford English Dictionary 🙂

  2. Donald Stephens says:

    Not sure if it posted my comment properly so again can I use a plasma torch on my Mig welder?

    1. Graham says:

      I think I got the meaning of your first comment, so hopefully the answer I gave will fit 🙂

  3. Donald Stephens says:

    Mig not mug so sorry

    1. Graham says:

      🙂 we’ve all done it 🙂

  4. Donald Stephens says:

    Can I use my mug welder for tig welding and can I use a plasma cutter on my mug machine

    1. Graham says:

      Hi Donald
      Some Mig Welders can be used for Tig Welding, usually DC Only and Lift, or Scratch Start. It all depends on the machine, so you would need to check with the manufacturer, or supplier of your machine.
      Same would apply to Plasma Cutting, although this is much less likely to be possible, unless the machine was specifically designed for Plasma Cutting as well, and I would have expected this to be indicated on the front panel of the machine.
      Cheers
      Graham

  5. Andre henderson says:

    Can I tig weld a small piece of metal with no gas ?

    1. Graham says:

      Hi Andre
      Not really!
      The Gas prevents oxidisation of the weld and the Tungsten electrode.
      Whilst you could, theoretically, use a flux to prevent weld oxidisation, I can’t see how you would protect the Tungsten.
      Cheers Graham

  6. my question is can the arc of a tig welder be used to heat a loctited bolt .

    1. Graham says:

      Hi Richard
      Theoretically, Yes, but It’s not something I would do!
      Cheers Graham

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