Welding titanium chairs

[nauticalmike]

I had a weld on my tilite chair that cracked and when I attempted to weld it back together it only laste for about 30minutes before it broke again. Has anyone had any luck with repairing broken welds on their chairs or is it a one time deal meaning that once a weld fails it can never be rewelded?

[Rustyjames]

Titanium has to be welded in an inert environment, it's a specialized welding process. Welding over previously welded joints usually doesn't work out too well.

[Oddity]

You don't have one of these sitting around?

http://www.dynamicfab.com/titanium-a...lding-chamber/

[Brad09]

It can be fixed, you just need to take it to a local metal shop that has the equipment/setup to do it (TIG with argon I think).

[pfcs49]

AFAIK titanium should be usually is welded in a gas chamber.
Unless the state of the art has changed, really good welds of titanium cannot be achieved in the inert gas cone of aTIG UNIT.

[Tman9513]

You can make your own smaller Argon purge box if you want and it will help (instead of a chamber), but a good welder can do it without. I've done aluminum and steel with my TIG machine but it doesn't have all of the pulse adjustments of the more expensive machines. All of my chairs have been aluminum anyhow, so I haven't messed with titanium. You definitely need to keep more gas on it and a longer post flow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkZN8st-BM8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W51wtS0EKSg

I will say that I have definitely seen a difference when using a gas lens on aluminum for sure.

[nauticalmike]

Ya I used my largest cone with a gas lens and built a small enclosure around the joint to attempt to keep the atmosphere as inert as I could without really going all out and making something really difficult. My concern is s ar that once the metal is contaminated it must be removed and replaced so when a weld cracks you only get one chance to fix it before it becomes unweldable. I also considered silver brazing it, but am worried that it might catch on fire and not be able to extinguish it.

[Rustyjames]

I had a weld on my tilite chair that cracked and when I attempted to weld it back together it only laste for about 30minutes before it broke again. Has anyone had any luck with repairing broken welds on their chairs or is it a one time deal meaning that once a weld fails it can never be rewelded?

I thought that Tilite frames are replaced by them if they crack, did you try contacting them?

[nauticalmike]

I thought that Tilite frames are replaced by them if they crack, did you try contacting them?

No I didn't think that anyone would warranty a 6 year old wheelchair.

[Rustyjames]

https://permobilus.com/wp-content/up...d_Warranty.pdf

[nauticalmike]

https://permobilus.com/wp-content/up...d_Warranty.pdf

As per this the expected life of the chair is 5 years so that is how long they cover...

[Oddity]

As per this the expected life of the chair is 5 years so that is how long they cover...

Yeah, ain't that some shit. It's a 5 year warranty worded in a clever way so they can legally advertise their product as being covered by a "life-time warranty". It's no more than marketing bullshit.

Why be direct and honest when spin and bullshit can be made legal by a simple turn of phrase? Don't you just love it when big corporations treat us like we're idiots while trying to separate us from our money? I know I do...

[stephen212]

While the "expected" life of the frame is 5 years, TiLite warranties the frame for the life of the original owner.

A. LIFETIME

TiLite warrants the wheelchair frame (including the cross-braces, if any) against defects in materials and workmanship for life, so long as the original purchaser uses the wheelchair. The expected life of the frame is five years.

[stephen212]

Haven't done an industry-wide investigation on warranties, but Ki Mobility uses the same "expected" language.

http://www2.kimobility.com/OwnersMan...mi.pdf#page=44

[Oddity]

While the "expected" life of the frame is 5 years, TiLite warranties the frame for the life of the original owner.

A. LIFETIME

TiLite warrants the wheelchair frame (including the cross-braces, if any) against defects in materials and workmanship for life, so long as the original purchaser uses the wheelchair. The expected life of the frame is five years.

Thats good to know, Thanks for clarification. I wonder why there are 2 definitions of "life", seeming to contradict one another. How does the "expected life" language then relate to the "for life" language, and/or why include both? It's not very clear, at all.