Zep & co.
Plastic welding is sort of an art, but one that can be mastered in an hour or so of practice. When done correctly, it is just as strong as the material itself....just like a properly completed metal weld.
BTW, I have the HF welding unit. It is a bold knock-off of a $450 American made unit. Having used both, I can truly say that the HF unit, while not having the expansive selection of welding tips that the US unit has, does a proper job in skilled hands.
That said, you should cut some PVC pipe to practice on. Like any weld, the seam should fit as tight as physically possible. Tack the pieces together so the hold on their own and cut a shallow channel at the weld seam with the welder's fine tip.
Next, you need a welding rod of the same material. THIS IS KEY TO SUCCESS!! You heat the seam and rod to the melting point and as you apply the rod to the seam, you will see the plastic flow from the rod and the base material will 'juice' or just slightly melt. This process is very necessary for a solid weld.
When the item is cool, it should not be able to be broken apart and in fact will break away in a different spot from the weld if done propery. After a few tries with the PVC (or ABS for that matter) practice material, your welds should be fluid and uniform and you are ready for prime time!!!
Again, selection of the proper welding rod is very important to the process. If you are not sure if the materials are alike, do a burn test. The rod and base material should react identically as to smell, smoke and burn characteristics if the are indeed the same.
The flow setting on the welder is equally important and should be vaied during the test and practice sessions to obtain the optimal air flow (and the associated heat setting)
Hope this helps a little.
(no goggles required!)
