Wire inventory?

[ArlyA]

I have used 030, 35, 40 and some duel shields long ago. At home now i just have 035 wire but wondering if I should keep a roll of 30 but l tend not to ne do thinner materials. What wire do you keep in stock?

 

[etpm]

I have used 030, 35, 40 and some duel shields long ago. At home now i just have 035 wire but wondering if I should keep a roll of 30 but l tend not to ne do thinner materials. What wire do you keep in stock?

It kinda depends on the amperage of your welder. I have a Lincoln SP125 and a Miller something or other. The Lincoln is a 125 volt powered machine with the limited amperage it output. I use almost exclusively .023 wire with gas and .035 fluxcore without gas. The miller is a 300 amp beast and I find myself using .035 wire with gas or .045 dual shield. I have used .023 wire in the Miller but like I said I use .035 mostly and sometimes .030. I do find the .023 wire very useful for work up to 3/16" when using the Lincoln.
Eric

 

[not2old]

I use .023 in my Miller 140 and .035 in my Lincoln Power Mig 250, both with argon/c02. I bought the Lincoln when I needed a bigger welder and kept the smaller one as only 120V was available when I used it to repair steel fire doors. Being retired, I rarely use either but find it very convenient to have both as it saves a lot of hassle changing the wire.

 

[5030]

Fluxcore blows plain and simple and so do any 110 volt machines, they cannot deliver amperage needed for serious welding.

I run the same wire for everything, .030 INE 70-6. I own and operate a small welding and fab shop wit 2 employees and I've tried every brand of wire made even the Chinese stuff and not one compares to INE for wet out or limited spatter.

of course that requires a 220-1 MIG and a bottle of 75-25 shielding as as well. I even use 030 INE for spray arc transfer (Globular Transfer) with a Hobart 210 MIG running flat out. Just repaired a parallel linkage for a Case extenda-hoe that each side was 3/4" thick. I multi passed it after grinding a root bevel on each side to the root, tacked it together, clamped it on the welding table and used spray arc transfer to fill in the bevel, 4 passes on each side with the 030. I don't run any other diameter and I will never use flux core, far as I'm concerned it's fuc*s core. Matter of fact I have a couple unopened spools sitting around collecting dust if anyone wants them. You pay the postage and I'll send them to you, no charge. Couple spools of Hobart and some Forney.

I mostly do TIG here in exotic metals like stainless and alloyed aluminum and yes I can butt weld (TIG) aluminum pop cans together. I like TIG because it the material conducts electricity, it can be welded. That includes copper as well. All you need is the proper filler rod. Of course TIG requires skill whereas MIG don't require much skill at all. In fact I refer to MIG welding as 'Glue Gun' welding. I cut my teeth of OA torch welding. I've stuck countless things together with the now ancient metal coat hangers and some of them are still around.

Nice thing about OA welding is it's a good primer for TIG welding. same discipline allpies. Both are 2 handed operations except with TIG you have to keep the filler rod in the inert gas envelope and instead of a flame, you have a white hot tungsten rod with an arc, heating the filler rod and making the weld puddle. Take skill to produce a strong weld with either. No skill involved with a glue gun though a glue gun is quick, But they are limited in materials welded scope. I have one of the new ESAB pulsed MIGs as well and it produces a TIG looking weld (stack of dimes) but again, limited scope.

 

[ArlyA]

I'm running co2 mix gas and my welder is the Everlast 212 (?) And it's on 230 volt. I personally don't have any urge to run inershield again. Suppose I should have gave those details.

 

[BravoXray]

I keep .023", .030" and .035" on hand, and use whichever size will work with the material I'm welding with my Miller 211. I also run C25 gas mix, except when I weld aluminum, then I use Argon and a spool gun with .030" aluminum wire.

 

[ArlyA]

If I get into that some light stuff, suppose I'll get some .030.

 

[yomax4]

I keep 023, 030 and 035. 023 for spots and sheet metal and 030 for the heavier 10 ga type of stuff with my small welder which is 120/230v 200 amp inverter.

035 and up for my pulse/twin pulse machine. There is not a lot of difference in 030/035 and I like the bead shape and size of 030 and also because many of the 200 amp inverters seem to like 030 better than 035.

When it comes to pulse or twin pulse on heavier material like 1/4" the 035 shines. Bottom line is it all depends on machine capability and project at hand. Plus I am lucky enough to not have to pay for wire or gas so I can keep more variety around.

 

[WranglerX]

Have Hobart Handler 140 and use only C25 and .030 wire ....

 

[ArlyA]

My 200es Everlast might be larger than what many of you folk have. Seems I'm usually welding in the 3/16 to 3/8 thicknesses range. I'd post pictures of past projects but I'm using my phone to post now. So you guys don't think. 030 is worth getting for 10 gauge projects?