New aluminium "welding" rods.

I have recently noticed a plethora of adverts for the above. The rods originate from China. The aluminium rod has a central core of flux.

The melting point is quoted as 320 Centigrade in some adverts and up to 690 Centigrade in others! I suspect the Chinese are getting their Centigrade and Fahrenheit mixed up or they are not temperature savvy people!

Welding rods they are certainly not. They seem to be a step improvement of the longstanding "aluminium" rods that need a stainless steel scraper that scratches the oxide from the aluminium to be soldered.

They claim to "weld" copper and even steel, they also claim an intermix of the material to be welded and the aluminium rod, sounds dubious to me.

The soldering rods work for me, but it is an awkward three handed job. Anyone tried these rods? , If not I will get some on order to try them out.

Andrew.

Please Do! Enquiring minds and all that.

Hm ! I would be cautious -- what do they contain, are they "approved' to our standards ? many solders and the like can give off noxious fumes when heated. Think about the solders of not too many years ago available here and now no longer due to H & S

Any more thoughts ?

John

They are probably zinc based like the old Lumiweld sticks. They worked quite well for me back in the 70's.

Can you post a link to the supplier?

Edited By old mart on 22/07/2022 21:34:07

Plenty of sellers on Ebay, Just look up Flux cored aluminium welding rods. Although I saw the first adds elsewhere. I suspect the flux is similar to that sold by CuP alloys. However they can't post that because of H&S requirements,so it is collect only. Presumably these flux cored rods are safe (or maybe not). The ends appear to be sealed with the (aluminium) outer material.

I will order some and see if they are easier to use than the old Lumiweld type of material.

Andrew.

Edited By Andrew Tinsley on 22/07/2022 22:05:45

Edited By Andrew Tinsley on 22/07/2022 22:06:51

CuP sell the flux cored solder which they can post better to get from someone who sells it with the correct description and can answer questions ( I'm starting to sound like Keith ! ). They can posyt the flux cored one just not the individual flux.

Ends are not sealed just where they are cut into short lengths for cheaper postage and called rods not short lengths of wire!

Edited By JasonB on 23/07/2022 07:03:43

Presumably it's a zinc based alloy with a flouride based flux.

My link gives the solder's make up.

Not sure what you're looking at Andrew. There are lots of variants on sale ranging from high temperature products mostly made of Aluminium down through various alloys, with or without flux, to solders containing no Aluminium at all. Some are Tig, others work with a torch, and the low temperature type should work with an ordinary soldering iron. What they are for, and how they are used, is in the small-print.

Which particular rods are you thinking of buying and how do you intend to use them?

Dave

Dave,just put in "flux cored aluminium welding rods" into Ebay search. There are pages of the stuff all identical by the looks of it.

I have ordered a pack with the Ebay listing 234005835548 I shall use them to solder up some aluminium tube and then try some copper and then steel. I expect them to behave exactly like Aluweld and Lumiweld of old, except that they don't need the stainless steel "scratcher" to initially remove the oxide layer beneath the solder.

If I have done my sums correctly, then they seem to be a lot cheaper than the CUP alloy prices, assuming they are the same material.

I will report back when I have tried them out.

Andrew.

Edited By Andrew Tinsley on 23/07/2022 15:42:39

AS Andrew said in his original post, the ones with the flux core are certainly not welding. Apart from the truth in advertising aspect, that does not matter too much until it comes to corrosion resistance. What you have is two dissimilar metals in close contact, otherwise known as a battery. So it would be best to avoid using this sort of thing anywhere that might get damp. Probably better to acquire some TIG gear, or buy some beer for someone who has.

John