Let’s flux about it…
 
You’ve decided to make a repair; you have your soldering gun or brazing torch ready to go, but it hits you! “I don’t have any flux!”
Not to worry, we will help you choose what flux is right for you, but first you will know the difference between the applications.
 
 “What’s the difference between soldering and brazing?”
The American Welding Society (AWS) defines brazing as a process which involves a filler metal that turns to liquid above 842 degrees Fahrenheit (450 degrees Celsius). Brazing applications are a mechanically strong joint. You would typically see this application being used in the automotive industry, for jet engines and in HVAC. You may not know, but your cookware and utensils are also put together using this application. Did you ever wonder how your cookware was so durable? Probably not, but it’s still good to know!

Soldering also involves a filler metal but turns to liquid below 842 degrees Fahrenheit (450 degrees Celsius). This makes the joint electrically strong and can withstand any electric currents running through. If you are soldering any type of electronics, you will need to keep in mind that the temperature needs to stay below 842 degrees Fahrenheit so that your electronics don’t burn up. Yikes! 
Since soldering has a lower processing temperature, the joint is not as strong, compared to the brazing application. This is sometimes the most desirable application, because it has a lower liquidus state compared to brazing.

Of course, always follow your procedure or spec sheet for the proper application for every job!
 
Now we know the difference between the applications, but we need something else to complete the job. “We need flux!”

“What is flux?”
Flux is a chemical cleaning agent, flowing agent, or purifying agent. Flux is used in extracting and joining metals and is crucial to promote melting of the filler metal.
​
“Do I even need flux?”
Yes. It is imperative to use flux for the following reasons:

1. Removes oxides from metals to be joined (you will still need to clean your metals prior to application).
2. Prevents oxidation after completion.
3. Improves “wetting out” characteristics and heat transfer, which allows the filler metal to flow and not ball up.

“What type of flux do I need?”
There are many options available, but they all have their advantages and disadvantages.  You will have to take many variables into consideration, before you grab the nearest flux on the shelf. Not all flux is created equal!
Here are the things you need to know, in order to find the right flux for the job:

• Application
• Process
• Type of metals to be joined
• Filler metal
• Thickness
• Diameter of filler metal
• Desired appearance/cleanliness
• Any additional information that is relevant for the job

​You will have choices when it comes to the type of flux you will need. Here are some types that are out there:

• Flux coated filler metals
• Rosin core solders
• Powder
• Liquid
• Paste
• Gel
• Flux that is “injected” into the flame from the fuel supply

 
 Solder Fluxes:
No Clean Flux- Residue, if any, is minimal and will “vanish” from the heat produced. If residue needs to be removed, it will require solvent cleaning. It’s very hard to remove and could become an issue because it can interfere with electronics. The residue left behind from the flux is conductive.                  Typical primary ingredient: Isopropanol

Rosin Flux- The reaction between the flux and the metallic oxides on the joint metals make the flux flow easily and provides the cleaning required to “wet” the joint. Rosin flux becomes inert when cooled and solid. If electronics heat up enough to make the residue liquid, the acid can start deteriorating connections. Residue can be removed with alcohol. Typical primary ingredient: Rosin (tree sap)

Water Soluble Flux/Organic- Highly acidic and corrosive. Residue should always be removed when complete. Clean with water, steam, or water-based cleaning product. Typical primary ingredient: Isopropanol
 
Brazing Fluxes: 
General Purpose Powder Flux- Active range 1400-2200 degrees Fahrenheit. Use with low fuming Bronze, Nickel Silver, Copper base alloys, Steel and Cast Iron. This is the same flux that is coated on flux Bronze. Typical primary ingredient: Boric acid, Borax

White Flux- Low temperature (1050-1600 degrees Fahrenheit) silver brazing. This flux is used with most ferrous and non-ferrous metals and not recommended on Aluminum, Magnesium, or Titanium. Typical primary ingredient: Boric acid, potassium fluorohydroborate

Black Flux- High temperature (1050-1800 degrees Fahrenheit) silver brazing. Used on heavy parts where overheating or prolonged heating may occur. This flux is recommended when brazing stainless steels. Residue can be more difficult to remove.
​Typical primary ingredients: Boric acid, potassium fluorohydroborate.

Aluminum Flux- A powdered flux designed for use with aluminum alloys (915-1115 degrees Fahrenheit). You can apply this by sprinkling on dry, mixed with water or alcohol to form a paste. Typical ingredients: potassium chloride, sodium chloride.

Flux Injected in Flame- This flux is introduced into the fuel gas and passed through flame. This increases strength, reduced filler metal consumption, minimal post braze cleaning, quicker braze times, increased penetration, and can cut costs by 40%.
Typical primary ingredient: Trimethyl borate.

Hybrid Fluxes- Some manufacturers have hybrid fluxes available for difficult applications. Brown fluxes have been tested to work like black flux, but easier to remove residue.
 
Although there is no “silver bullet” when choosing the appropriate flux, you may find that multiple types of flux are needed but testing and evaluating may be required for best results. Please contact an Earlbeck Gases & Technologies Representative to help determine the best flux for your job!

We're 100 years old! Yes- we do look good for our age, right?

​Earlbeck Gases & Technologies is so proud to announce that we are celebrating our 100 year anniversary. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who has helped us reach this milestone.

Earlbeck Gases & Technologies dates back to 1919, when it when it was formed as the T.A. Canty Company, a wholesale welding products distributorship. It has been owned and operated by the Earlbeck family since 1952. 

Though time has changed many aspects of our business, and expanded our offerings, the core of our business remains the same. Al Earlbeck's creed has been the foundation for our continued success and it still holds true today. 

This philosophy will continue to guide our service for years to come, as we transition to our next generation of leadership. We are committed to remaining an independent family owned business so that we can best serve our customers and employees.

​To our customers: We are grateful for the opportunity you've given us to serve you. As our 1956 mailer best said, "Our customer is not the interruption of our work, they are the purpose of it. We are not doing them a favor by serving them, they are doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so." Thank you for your business.

To our employees: Thank you for being part of our history. Congratulations on achieving this anniversary with us and your commitment to this company that will continue to bring us new milestones. The hours and effort you put into helping this company grow and keeping our customers satisfied does not go unnoticed.

Happy 100 years, Earlbeck Gases & Technologies! May the next 100 be as fun and exciting as the first. 

When it comes to TIG welding, the most commonly asked question is “What tungsten do I use?” As we know, welding equipment is constantly evolving. At one point in history, the most commonly used power source was known as a rectifier machine. Today, equipment is more commonly inverter based, which gives the welder more control of the arc.

There are a few things you must determine before selecting a tungsten electrode such as:

• Type of material being welded
• Type of weld
• Welding output (AC or DC)
• Material thickness
• Amperage range
• Type of welding power source, transformer/rectifier or inverter

Metals such as carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium, chromoly, brass, and copper will be welded using Direct Current with the electrode negative.  Generally, aluminum alloys are welded using Alternating Current (AC).

Pure tungsten (green stripe), for years was the best choice for AC welding, but with the industry shift to invert based machines, with advanced squarewave technology, rare earth tungsten such as Ceriated (gray stripe) and Zirconiated (brown stripe) are an option.

The most commonly used electrodes today are 2% Thoriated (red stripe).  Thorium has great arc start characteristics and allows for higher current carrying capacity. Although, if thoriated tungsten is used in the AC mode, the tungsten tends to split and get nodules around the electrode instead of a nice round ball. In return, this gives you an unstable arc and inconsistent heat input. It can also cause tungsten spitting giving you impurities in your weld. 

Also, choosing the proper grind angle, constant current range or pulsed current range will affect the electrode current range. Example .040 has range from 2 to 60 amps, .093 has range from 12 to 250 amps and .125 has range from 20 to 350 amps.

Type of Tungsten
Pure

Ceriated


Thoriated 1.7 to 2.2%


Lanthanated 1.3 to 1.7%
​

​Zirconiated  .15 to .40%   

Color Code
Green

Gray


Red, Yellow


Gold, Black, Blue
​

​Brown

Remarks
Good arc stability for AC.  Least expensive.

Easy arc starts, and long life.  Replacement for thoriated.

​Higher current capacity, greater arc stability, difficult to maintain balled end on AC.  

Easy arc starts, high current carrying capacity, similar to thoriated.
​
Excellent for AC, good arc starting, limited contamination of weld.

On July 17, 2018, the Earlbeck Technical Center was evaluated by an American Welding Society representative in order to have our Accredited Test Facility status renewed. Each ATF undergoes an audit every 3 years to determine that the quality system is effectively implemented and maintained. Here's what the AWS auditors had to say...

Congrats to the Earlbeck Technical Center staff! To learn more about Welder Certification or to schedule an ATF test, please visit our Weld Testing page.

Let’s begin by understanding duty cycle. We all know what it is, but just for a quick refresh:  Duty cycle is a rating measurement of 10 minute increments using CO2 gas.  So, if we take a 350 amp gun as an example – that means at it’s maximum it can weld 10 minutes at 350 amps with a constant current using CO2 gas. 

Now take into consideration factors that affect duty cycle.  Argon base gas – which mixes Argon at 75% and CO2 at 25% won't cool a gun like 100% CO2. Many other gas mixes are used in welding beyondf those two mixes, such as Argon 90/10 and Argon 95/5. Pulse is yet another factor that lowers your duty cycle.

There’s also the consideration of constant voltage. Constant Voltage, or Current,  is used in MIG welding.  Polarity – the direction the current flow goes can be either Straight or Reverse in nature. In MIG welding, you use Reverse Polarity Constant Voltage. In this process, the heat produced is created on the ground side of the work, while the nozzle and the contact tip are exposed to reflected heat.  In this welding process, CO2 acts as a cooling agent, with smoke acting as the filtering agent – shielding the reflected heat.

Pulse welding is the process of pulsing your weld current  several times per second instead of holding it constant. Pulsing causes the arc to act like its welding hotter than it actually is.  However, the torch will react like the current is at the peak of the pulses rather than the “average” as read on the current meter of the power source. That’s because the arc is starting and stopping constantly, which takes more power.  Also, pulse welding creates less smoke, considerably less, in fact, and doesn’t filter the reflected heat to the nozzle and contact tip.

So, how does that lesson on welding actually affect the torch you may want to use?
Well, it’s all a matter of the heat you’re generating. Air cooled torches depend on thermal transfer to conduct the heat from the contact tip through the handle and into the power cable before radiating into the air.  This is where the duty cycle becomes important – how much heat is generated and how fast it can be conducted and radiated? For example, aluminum power cable guns are a little better at radiating heat than copper, but are also less capable of conducting current.  The nozzle is insulated, electrically and thermally from the gun and radiated heat on its own.

Water cooled guns act differently. With water-cooled (or gas or liquid-cooled…. they all mean the same thing), these depend on water (or liquid) to transfer heat into the power cable, contact tip and the nozzle. Systematically, it is a more efficient system for cooling.  Heat in the water is transferred to a radiator, into a holding tank and circulated back to the welding torch.

Looking back at the break down of gases welding styles, consider that an air cooled torch rating is reduced 40 to 50% using Argon based gases, and another 20 to 30% when pulse welding is used.
Water cooled guns, on the other hand, get a duty cycle reduction of 10% for Argon base gas, and a negligible reduction for pulse welding.
​
There are ample pros and cons to both welding gun types, but let’s break them down here by category, and you can decide whether you’ve fairly considered each:

• Air-cooled Pros: Simple, power cable, handle and neck. “Plug and play” in every sense.  Less ancillary equipment costs or chemical use to keep the gun running.

• Air-cooled Cons: The longer or hotter the weld, the bigger and heavier the torch. Nozzles and tips are always hot, and depending on the delay between welds to cool, wear due to heat overexposure.  Once maximum duty cycle has been reached once, the duty cycle next time is reduced. So you’re always spending less time welding than you could be just because of the design of the gun. 

• Water-cooled Pros: These guns are always cool. The water system will remove heat from your tips and nozzles anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes after you finish welding any length of time to the point of touch. (don’t recommend welding bare handed, though!). Your nozzles and tips will also last longer – sometimes at low amperages, too long, tips may reduce ability to conduct when used too long, to the point it could damage gun. It’s always recommended to change tips on days you weld or amount of wire used. Water-cooled guns are also surprisingly light weight; the liquid and the pressure flowing through the cable makes them somewhat buoyant. A water-cooled gun that’s 500 amp, for instance, is about the same as 350 amp air-cooled gun. 

• Water-cooled Cons: Water cooled gun is more expensive to manufacture and needs the added expense of a cooling system. Connections and fittings on the gun are easier to damage and break – mostly because there is just more opportunity to do so.  Water leaks in the welding area can be messy.  The thermal transfer for the nozzle is a pressed ceramic and can be broken if abused, which will reduce the efficiency of the gun.  Cooling systems that are not maintained or improperly setup can also damage the guns. Lastly, while water-cooled guns can reach amperages air-cooled guns could only dream of, it is difficult to reach that full duty cycle for 500 amp, 600 or 650 amp guns. 

Water cooled guns have received a bad reputation of being maintenance problems, unjustly.  With operator training and the proper set up they’re more comfortable for the operator, increase arc on time and increase productivity.

Contact tips are highly misunderstood components in a welding gun setup. Choosing the correct contact tip for your welding application and understanding how to keep it performing at its best are just as critical as anything else needed to produce a quality weld.

Using a contact tip that is too big or too small can create problems such as microarcing, overheating, friction, and wire jamming—all of which can lead to wire burnback.

Contact tips are one of the most frequently misunderstood and most often replaced components of a welding gun setup. The contact tip is responsible for guiding the wire and transferring the current from the conductor tube—sometimes referred to as a swanneck or gooseneck—through the filler wire and ultimately to the workpiece. Its critical functions include current transfer and wire targeting.

Contact tip size determines what wire size you can use and the amount of filler material that will be distributed during welding. When a contact tip begins to wear, the through-hole elongates and loses electrical conductivity, which greatly affects the gun’s ability to transfer current to the welding wire. Additionally, the tool center point (TCP) begins to fluctuate as the wire dances around inside the now oversized tip. These conditions lead to poor arc starts, lower penetration, and decreased weld quality.
​
Choosing the correct contact tip for your welding application and understanding how to keep it performing at its best are just as critical as choosing all the other components and parameters needed to produce a quality weld.

Common Contact Tip Types
Four types of contact types are most commonly used in welding applications, and each has its pros and cons:

#1: Standard Copper Contact Tip (E-Cu)
A standard copper contact tip has a relatively high current transfer rate at greater than 55 S/m* electrical conductivity, and it is used mostly in hand-held welding applications.
Although standard copper offers the highest conductivity of all of the standard alloys, it is more susceptible to mechanical wear than other materials. As a raw mineral, copper naturally is relatively soft, which means it makes current transfer easier, but it also means the material has a lower melting point. As the temperature rises in an E-Cu tip, it becomes softer than the wire that is being fed through it. As the copper softens, the wire wears and deforms the internal diameter of the tip. This prevents the wire from contacting the tip correctly, which decreases conductivity and leads to arc-start issues, burnback, and poor welds.
The E-Cu tip is usually the most affordable, so it’s generally an acceptable trade-off to frequently replace it when precise wire targeting is not critical.

#2: Copper-Chrome-Zirconium Contact Tip (CuCrZr)
A copper-chrome-zirconium tip generally is used in automated and robotic welding applications where precise TCP is needed and high duty cycles occur. Although there is some decline in electrical conductivity compared with the standard copper tip (50 S/m), it is sufficient for most steel applications.
However, since CuCrZr alloy softens at a much higher temperature, it tends to have a longer life span than standard copper tips. Generally speaking, the tip maintains its shape up to approximately 932 degrees F versus 500 degrees for E-Cu. Therefore, the higher-density material leads to a lower wear rate and increases the tip’s performance and productivity.
For hot wire feeding processes in laser optics,  copper chrome zirconium are must-use because of their ability to hold up to hot wire feeding processes.

#3: Silver-Plated Contact Tip
Over the years technological advancements in contact tips have revealed that silver plating the interior and exterior of a contact tip further enhances its overall performance.
When a contact tip begins to wear, the through-hole elongates and loses electrical conductivity, which greatly affects the gun’s ability to transfer current to the welding wire.
Silver is more conductive than copper (62.1 S/m), which reduces micro-arcing, extends contact tip life, improves arc starts, and provides consistent weld quality. Silver is approximately 17 percent denser than copper and it has a higher melting point. Silver’s shiny surface helps to reflect heat. As a result, spatter doesn’t adhere to the tip as easily and it doesn’t wear down quite as quickly. In fact, the life span of a silver-plated contact tip can be nine times longer than that of a standard precision-drawn copper tip.
With significant improvements in material, a silver-plated contact tip can cost up to 50 percent more than the standard non-plated CuCrZr tip. Welders who choose to use a silver-plated contact tip usually do so for one reason—less welding downtime. The more the welding robot welds, the greater the throughput. Based on the overall longevity, current transfer, and quality of material, the silver-plated tips are an excellent choice for automatic and robotic welding applications.

#4: Heavy Duty Silver-Plated CuCrZr Contact Tip
Using a process called dispersion-hardening, which basically keeps the properties of metal from dispersing at elevated temperature, the Heavy Duty Silver-Plated Contact Tips can last even longer than the Silver-Plated contact tips noted above.
This make of contact tip carries a hardness value of 180, and won't experience wear until the contact tip temperature reaches upwards of 800 degrees Celsius. Because of it's conductivity, it will also experience a lot less spatter adhesion than copper or non-plated copper chrome zirconium.
Heavy Duty Silver-Plated are always made using CuCrZr contact tips as the base because it combines the better hardening of the copper chrome zirconium with the superior conductivity of the silver. This produces an overall better electrical conductivity profile while still being harder. They are more expensive than the standard ones, but have a low cost of ownership in right application - typically heavy amperage robotic processes.

#5: Stainless Steel Contact Tip X8CrNi18-9 
These types of contact tips only really have an application in laser optic processes. Stainless is good to use for Cold Wire Feeding processes. Steel equal poor electrical conductivity, but it does have good wear resistance. Stainless steel is also harder than copper, so there's usually less wear experience in the contact tip bore.
Stainless steel contact tips are recommended when using copper wire in laser optic processes. If you use Aluminum, it would be better to look to copper or copper chrome zirconium, because this contact tip profile is often too hard for a soft aluminum wire profile.

​Earlbeck Gases & Technologies signed an agreement with Johnson College on Monday, May 14th. The partnership will provide prospective students with industry recognized certifications. Trainings to be offered starting in June 2018 include hourly certificates that allow the student to gain basic, entry-level knowledge of welding principles and provides existing welders the opportunity to upskill. Class sessions will be conducted at Johnson College and will also expand the College’s footprint as they will be offering the same classes in York, PA at the Earlbeck facility. This is a true collaboration between higher education and industry.
 
Industry partnerships are of utmost importance to Johnson College’s recently appointed president and CEO, Katie Leonard. “We have never had a partnership in the past that was this collaborative and formal which means we are both in this together, to train the welding workforce together.” Through a similar partnership with a two-year college in Maryland, and by utilizing its current welding curriculum, Earlbeck has successfully trained thousands of students.

Jim Earlbeck, president of Earlbeck Technologies said, “This new partnership brings together education and industry in a new way by blending Johnson’s traditional curriculum with desired industry skills.” With Earlbeck as a respected industry leader, President Leonard said this collaboration is “The perfect marriage for industry training” because according to an article in the Wall Street Journal, skilled welders have the potential to make up to $150,000 due to a large shortage of qualified workers. According to the American Welding Society, the welding industry will face a shortage of about 400,000 welders by 2024.

For 99 years, Earlbeck Gases & Technologies has been an industry leader of welding supply distribution. Technical support and customer education have always been its priority.  The business provides manufacturers in Maryland and Pennsylvania with welding process optimization and it prides itself in its ability to provide customer education and technical support.
​
The alignment of education and industry not only benefits potential students with job skills, but also provides local organizations a facility to utilize to train skilled workers. This new agreement provides job-ready training to those seeking employment or those currently employed seeking to upskill. Local businesses can connect with Johnson College and Earlbeck when seeking a skilled workforce, and also has the opportunity to seek assistance with consulting, training, and certification testing for other facets of business.
 
President Leonard said she hopes to see a “Continued pattern of sustained growth for many years to come” when it comes to the Earlbeck Technologies relationship. 
​

Do you think bulk gases are only for the major companies and you're too small to have a bulk tank? Maybe not. Let’s look at this topic a little closer.

​Bulk storage systems come in many different types and sizes. Bulk systems can also be tailored to fit your specific needs. The average size high pressure cylinders contain 250 standard cubic feet of gas. If you use 10, 20, 30 cylinders or more of the same gas in a month’s time, you might be a candidate for a bulk system.

Bulk systems come in several convenient sizes. They range from 40 gallons to 11,000 gallons, depending on the need. A 40-gallon tank is commonly referred to as a liquid can or dewar. They come with the same gas fitting that's on a high pressure cylinder. The liquid product in the dewar converts to 3724 standard cubic feet of product or almost 15 high pressure cylinders.

As the need increases, so can the size or number of the liquid containers. The conversion factor is 1 liquid liter of liquid Nitrogen converts to 695 liters of gaseous Nitrogen. It is common practice to take liquid Nitrogen and convert the liquid into a gas through a vaporizer, which is then used in a process. The demand of product dictates the size of the bulk system needed.

Some of the common sizes offered are:
40, 60, 250, 525, 750, 900, 1200, 1500, 3000, and up to 11,000 gallon tanks. Some systems are OK to be mounted indoors with the proper atmospheric protection, but most bulk systems are located outside and piped indoors to the related equipment. Wireless liquid level technology is available to monitor tank levels, triggering re-order of additional product to prevent service interruptions. 

​If you use 10 cylinders or more of the same gas in a month, contact us for your free evaluation. 
Learn more about the benefits of bulk gas.