Wire inventory?

[scootr]

I have a Lincoln 175 MIG about 15 yrs now. I would like a welder that takes a spool gun for Aluminum.
I looked at HF Vulcan 215. Reviews seem good but who knows if it is $1k better than where I'm at with no spool option?

 

[ArlyA]

So the consensus is to get a spool of 023 or 030 for lighter materials?

 

[ray66v]

It's the adjustment of the machines, not it's Amp size persay weather you can do thinner materials or not with it.

Not all machines weld the same.

Some machines weld better than others.

And some, work better on thin metal than thicker.

My dads Century 200 is a great example. I know of three of them, and no one that uses those machines likes the way they weld sheet metal.

 

[yomax4]

The 115v machines are nice for 023 on sheet metal, exhaust and body work. You just can't quite squeeze all of the output from them with 023 so 030 gets the maximum power out of them. 115/230v machines that are ran on 115v have more snort than the 115v only machines. Same with Plasma. I like 030 up to about 5/32 thick material but that's about it. 035 for 1/8 - 3/8 works great. 045 after that.
The difference between 030 and 035 isn't much but the 035 can carry more volts plus it turns down pretty well. I use 2 machines for convenience. 023 on 230v for thin stuff and 035 on my big machine for most of the crap I do. For hard surface or 1/2" I use 045.

 

[workinonit]

I have a MM 180 and 251. I keep .023 on the baby welder and run .030 and .035 on the 251 depending on needs. Both welders are easy to setup and I love running the .023 on the small welder.

 

[kevin37b]

030 will be fine with propper prep

 

[jwmorris]

So you guys don't think. 030 is worth getting for 10 gauge projects?

I don't. The thicker the wire, the less problems I have feeding it. If it is too thin for .035, I'd probably TIG it anyway.

 

[ArlyA]

I don't. The thicker the wire, the less problems I have feeding it. If it is too thin for .035, I'd probably TIG it anyway.

View attachment 841971

Thanks for posting this JWmorris. Looks to me that I can do everything I normally do with some 035.

 

[BukitCase]

I agree - I keep .035 Lincoln L56 in both my MM252 and the MM211 - I've done everything from welding field fencing (14 ga.) to a pair of 10' gates made with 1" EMT (.058" wall) up to a bending jig for making U brackets from 1/2 x 3" for a QA system for my 580B (jig was made with 3/4" x 3 FB)

Can't find the pic of the gates, but with the .035 the technique was basically to light off on the emt for 1/2 second, then flick the wire over onto the fence wire just as you release the trigger - took me a couple tries before I quit making holes, even with a low setting

The bending jig was definitely a multi-pass, and the U bracket was all my 20 ton press could manage.

I do have the 30A spool gun for the MM252, and have used .023 in the spoolgun for a couple light projects, but I'm not much into "tinfoil" work - besides, .035 wire is usually less expensive per pound so another plus... Steve