30 products
Stainless steel and alloy tig welding rods available in different grades including 308, 309 and 316. These stainless steel TIG rods provide excellent corrosion resistance, high strength and ductility, making them suitable for welding in applications such as food processing equipment, chemical plants, and medical equipment.
It is recommended that when welding stainless steel you weld it with the same grade of welding rod or a higher grade.
The difference between the 3 grades of stainless steel mentioned above is the composition of alloy elements. 308 stainless steel is typically used for welding base layer metals and is not as heat resistant as 309 or 316. 309 stainless steel tig rods have a higher amount of nickel and chromium, which makes it more heat resistant and also gives it better corrosion resistance. It is often used in high temperature applications. 316 stainless steel TIG rods have the highest amount of nickel and molybdenum of the three types, making it the most corrosion resistant.
For TIG welding stainless steel with rods, you should use ARCAL™ Prime.
ARCAL™ Prime is the industry standard for TIG (GTAW) applications. While other ARCAL™ gases like "Chrome" or "Speed" are popular for stainless steel, those are active gases meant for MIG/MAG welding and will damage your tungsten electrode if used for TIG.
Composition: It is 99.998% pure Argon.
Process: TIG welding requires an inert gas to protect the non-consumable tungsten electrode. Because ARCAL™ Prime is pure argon, it won't oxidize the tungsten.
Result: It provides a highly stable arc and a clean, high-quality finish on all grades of stainless steel.
Purging: If you are welding pipes or "open" joints, you should also use ARCAL™ Prime as a backing gas (purging) to prevent "sugaring" (oxidation) on the back of the weld.
Specialty Mixtures: If you are welding very thick austenitic stainless steel and need more speed, some professionals use ARCAL™ Technical blends (like Argon + 2-5% Hydrogen), but for 95% of manual TIG work, Prime is the "set-and-forget" solution.
Tungsten Choice: Pair ARCAL™ Prime with a 2% Ceriated (Grey) or 2% Lanthanated (Blue/Gold) tungsten for the best arc starts on stainless.
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