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?

 

[scootr]

I'm using 030 now - used to use 035 in my 175a MIG. I liked the added material in 035 but I loaned my machine to a best friend and they ran it out of wire and replaced with 030. Am I wrong to want to use the bigger wire?

 

[ArlyA]

Are you worried about that machines capacity or material thicknesses?

 

[scootr]

Wondering about penetration, the larger wire (pool) seems to produce better looking welds. But that may just be my limited skills. Welding is a hobby. Maybe I'm just moving too fast with the 030?

 

[ruffdog]

Wondering about penetration, the larger wire (pool) seems to produce better looking welds. But that may just be my limited skills. Welding is a hobby. Maybe I'm just moving too fast with the 030?

You can change the penetration by changing the direction of travel. If you push the tip, it will penetrate less than if you pull the tip. At work, anything small, we would TIG vs using the MIG in sizes .035, .045, 1/16, .072 or stick weld. The neighbor has a small .035 FC that I can do most small repairs with.

 

[ray66v]

I love .030 wire, it's all I use. I can do anything I want with it. It's just heavy enough to be able to penetrate some heaver stuff. Yet, still do a nice job on sheet metal.

But, I don't have the power to run .040 wire anyway. And, my limited experience with 200+ amp welders has been, that they don't weld thin metal all that well, so I wouldn't put .023 or .030 wire in the machines I have used.

I would guess though, that there are powerful machines out there, which can weld thin metal well.

It certainly isn't a big investment to try a 3lb. spool, and some tips to see what happens.

If you are used to heavy wire and steel, it is a different skill set doing sheet metal.

 

[ArlyA]

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

 

[chim]

I'm not a real "weldor" who welds aluminum foil or dabbles in monel, hastelloy, etc. I'm just a homeowner who likes to tinker. I had a chance to get a good deal on a Millermatic 175 shortly after buying the B7500 back in '02. It gets fed 030 solid with gas and 035 fluxcore without gas. The majority is welding outdoors with 035 fluxcore with that machine. I do have some 023 solid for occasional teensy stuff.

The start of my interest in welding was shortly after I married a farm girl. Her dad had some tools that included an ancient Lincoln AC tombstone. First thing I leaned after a Summer welding session was that one's belly can get a sunburn when welding without a shirt

My first project was making a mount for an 8K Bellview (early Warn, power in only) winch. Next was adding a Myers snow plow to the Blazer that came without the mounting bracketry. Had lots of fun with that Chevy and never had anything that I welded break off.

After many years of wirefeed usage I wanted a stick machine for fun. That led to an Everlast 200 STi 120/240V inverter welder. Nice smooth little machine. I've tried a number of different electrodes, but generally like 7014.

 

[ArlyA]

We need to remember that wire size used is in relation to the materials being welded.

 

[ruffdog]

We need to remember that wire size used is in relation to the materials being welded.

Yep. It is the same as hammer size. Big hammers for big jobs. Don't use a sledge hammer when fixing a watch.

 

[arto98607]

I've been using Lincoln Idealarc SP-150 MIG since 1990 and have used .024" & .030" wires for all kinds of welding from thin sheet metal to 3/8" steel.

Great all around welder for my needs.


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