Mig wire

[M-MAN]

Haven't had a lot of mig experience like a lot of you fellers so I was wondering if wire brand makes a difference? My old one let the smoke out so I picked up a Hobart 190 to play with. Mostly I will be using 23 wire with an argon mix but I want to play with the 30 flux core just to see what it will do on thinner metal.

I have an old Idealarc 250 stick that welds sweet for the heavier stuff. I prefer stick but for some things the mig comes in handy.

 

[Bill in IL]

I dont buy a roll of wire but every 3 years but the last one of .023 i got from tractor supply and it must have need undersized. I seemed to have to turn up the wire speed more than normal. At least its sold by the pound. Blue demon seems to me a good enough brand for what i do.

That flux core works real well if you need to stick some galvanized together or other dirty steel. That has been the only time I have used it.

 

[Den N Ms]

M-MAN,If you all ready have .023 wire and 75/25 argon mix gas that is the best setup for thin or thick steel.You just need heaver wire .030 for thicker steel. .You don't want flux cored wire so if I were you don't even waste money on flux core wire as it don't weld near as good as argon mix .

 

[da.bees]

I understood the question to be if there's a difference between wire. Some will say no and they buy wire and tools from Harbor Freight. Others will say yes and they buy wire and tools from Northern Tool. I say you get what you pay for.

 

[DoubleO7]

wire quality can and does vary from brand to brand.
Especially the made in china no name stuff versus the made any where else name brand stuff.

A really good use for fluxcore is for what needs to be welded right now, outside the shop on a breezy day.

 

[gmcdeadhead]

i buy Lincoln wire , i personally like it , i have tried others , i use the flux core wire on one machine and the argon mix on another machine , but its Lincoln for me.

 

[Texasmark1]

I'm learning too. I have a HF 151 240v and learned that .030 solid core works better than .035, even on thicker material with gas. Use the cheap TSC mix. Haven't tried .023. I started with a 115v TSC Farmhand 75 with flux wire and it's sloppy.....lots of hit and miss. The gas on thin metal just makes for a smooth job for me, nice smooth interfaces, smooth surfaces, little to no splattering, minimum slag.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

I worked in the R&D lab at Lincoln for several years and tested tons of MIG wire. There are a lot of variables. Some feed very poorly which affects arc stability. Some do not have any surface lubricant. Some use a coating that doubles as a lube and arc stabilizer. Find one you like and stick with it.

 

[jon f mn]

There is a lot of difference in wires. Buy good stuff from a good welding supply store. I made the mistake of buying from an auto parts store last time and I'm not sure that roll will make it til it's gone. I buy Lincoln if I can.

 

[RobCons]

I'm a Lincoln man. Like their machines and wire. Keep 30 on both machines, one loaded with flux core and the other straight wire. I use 75/25 gas.

 

[Oliver 500 Wa]

The house brand solid wire from the Airgas welding store is labeled Radnor and made in China. Welds exactly the same as Chinese wire from ebay that costs less than half the price.

 

[jniolon]

(quoted from post at 11:58:33 07/06/18) Haven't had a lot of mig experience like a lot of you fellers so I was wondering if wire brand makes a difference? My old one let the smoke out so I picked up a Hobart 190 to play with. Mostly I will be using 23 wire with an argon mix but I want to play with the 30 flux core just to see what it will do on thinner metal.

I have an old Idealarc 250 stick that welds sweet for the heavier stuff. I prefer stick but for some things the mig comes in handy.

one thing I'll recommend...ESAB Automation 130PS43 Spoolarc Easy Grind MIG Wire; 0.023 .. (google that phrase) it's made by ESAB and does indeed grind easier than regular mig wire... I keep .023 in my little Hobart Handler machine and .030 in my Millermatic 200... if your doing light panel work that needs finish grinding I recommend it... it also resists cracking when doing hammer work after the weld.'

john

 

[504]

If you think you are going to need some wire or rod,get it bought,price went up again this week plus the tariff surcharge. (we are at $24.00 a ticket right now.)

 

[Mutt and Jeff]

All the talk of mig flux core wire welder gas no gas and no one, not a soul reflects on the polarity requirements between the different wire feed process'

FCAW
and
GMAW

require 2 different polarities and require the big electrical connections inside the machine be switched

 

[M-MAN]

Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate it. The old mig didn't really have the ump for flux core so I never tried it. That's what I want to experiment with mainly. Just to see how it does and if it's acceptable performance wise.

Yes I know the polarity needs to be switched and Hobart made it pretty easy on this machine. (Course it would be nice if it had a switch like the old Idealarc). That welder is what got me to thinking about wire quality and performance on the mig. The difference between welding with a good buzz box and that old Idealarc is like night and day.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

There seems to be some misunderstanding about the cored wires. There is flux cored wire (FCAW) example, Lincoln's Innershield line. There is also cored wire that requires shielding gas like MIG (GMAW) where the core is made up of metal and some other chemicals but it's not flux, Lincoln's Metal Core line. Yes, different polarity and techniques. Flux core should be dragged like with stick. MIG welds better when pushed unless it's vertical down.

 

[Greenfrog]

I took an adult education class at a local community college on wire welding. I grew up with our Forney stick welder and wanted to get a little education on mig, etc....
The experienced instructor said that no matter what brand of welder, and they had well known brands in the shop as well as some donated new off brands, he said always use Lincoln brand wire. Even if it is a Harbor Freight welder. Lincoln is the hidden secret to success.

 

[JD Seller]

I have ran Hobart wire now for 20 plus years. I can not see any reason to run flux core wire. Just makes a wire weld messy like a stick weld. LOL. I guess in some windy conditions you might be better with flux core. I usually just shield the weld with one hand and weld with the other.

 

[M-MAN]

Picked up spool of Lincoln innershield and one of Hobart's just to play with and see how well they do. I want to try welding metal that isn't laboratory clean. That's one of the reasons I don't care as much about mig welding. It's great for new stuff but for repairs not so much. Reckon the old 6011's spoiled me there. They don't care what the metal looks like. I probably won't get it but I want a mig wire that will perform just like a 6011.

 

[JD Seller]

There is no MIG wire that will burn through junk like a 6011 rod will. All you have to do is take a grinder and knock off the rust/paint and the MIG will do fine., The extra speed from not changing rods and knocking scale off will make the MIG twice as fast. I rarely use my stick welder anymore.

 

[Oliver 500 Wa]

.....I want to try welding metal that isn't laboratory clean. That's one of the reasons I don't care as much about mig welding. It's great for new stuff but for repairs not so much.

I repair lots of stuff with MIG. ER70S6 with 75/25 gas. The only thing that gives it trouble is super badly rusted stuff. The worst I do are rusted out floors in wood chip trucks. Those I pretty much have to cut back to something solid or often remove and replace the entire floor because there is really nothing left to weld to.

Anything else, I just hit with the grinder till I get sparks then blow off with air. Weld up as needed and put it back to work.

 

[M-MAN]

Now you done went and busted my bubble before I even start playing with it. Lol

I do just hit it with the side grinder and go. I just don't get carried away with it so there's always some spots where it sputters and then it seems like I always notice something else that needs a bead so I have to grab the grinder again.

Just going to play with clean, semi clean, and dirty to see what it will do on thinner metal. If it's acceptable it will be worthwhile to keep around just in case I need to weld something now and the tank is empty. The old Lincoln 250 stick won't be retiring in my lifetime.

 

[Stan in Oly, WA]

M-MAN; The same thing that makes MIG (but not flux-core so much) better than stick for sheet metal is that the small size of the wire does not require as large an arc to melt the metal. Even if you compare .030 wire (larger than the .023 a lot of small wire feed welders use) with 3/32" stick which is the smallest stick commonly kept on hand, the stick has almost ten times the mass per linear unit as the wire. The arc energy it takes to melt the stick is so much greater that there is energy to burn through dirt, rust, paint, grease, etc. The energy of the wire feed is low enough that there not only is not energy to burn through those things, but it takes careful operation to prevent leaving melted metal on the surface of the work without it being fused to the base metal. The reason flux core is not as good as solid wire for sheet metal is that it runs hotter so it burns through easier.

Stan