Question about Wire Feed Flux Core wire?

[Fubeca]

I have a 120volt wire feed welder (no gas) and my welds tend to be fair to crappy. I have noticed that different brands of flux core wire seem to weld differently. I know there are a bunch of different sticks that have different weld properties for the stick welders, but are there different flux core wires? Most of the stores seem to only have one type. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Is there a brand people have had lots of success with?

Thanks for all your help, ya'll are great!!

 

[HarryH3]

I use the Lincoln brand wire that they sell at Home Depot and get pretty good results. I think it's the .035 size. It's VERY important that both parts being welded are clean. That will make for a much better weld. I grind both parts to bare metal, then weld. Using gas will make for a cleaner weld, but flux core wire won't look like booger welding if it's done properly. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[MJB774X]

most flux wire is close to being the same, as long as it's for mild steel thats all that matters. what kind of machine do you have? remember with a 120 you can only weld on thin metal. I use to have a lincoln 100, it welded like crap with the flux wire, but worked well with gas(only on thin metal), at work I have a miller 135 that thing works bad a$$ with flux, I've welded new spring perches and boxed in a buddys jeep and it came out clean. play with the wire speed,if its pushing the gun from the work lower the speed, if the wire melts before it reaches the puddle crank up the speed, you can tell by the sound, a stedy burn is what you want, with a 110 I tend to always have it to the highest voltage setting, fit up is important welding thin metal with gaps and flux wire, forget about it tight fit up, right wire speed and people usually tend to move the gun to fast, and moving it around shouldn't be done unless needed, let the wire stay in one spot and the filler puddle,I remember I used to draw circle, if you have to draw circle to make your bead the right size, the machine isn't hot enough, I use mc kay speed sheild .030 on the miller if you have .035 it's to big. hope this helps, let me know if you have more questions /forums/images/graemlins/usaflag.gif

 

[MJB774X]

cleanliness is also very important with a colder machine, I can't stress that enough

 

[Waxer]

I've been on both sides of the coin with wire feed welding processes. FCAW (Flux Core Arc Welding) can give you good results with practice. It's best to use splatter spray with this method and always keep your work clean. Yeah you're going to have some slag to worry about getting off but that isn't such a big deal.

GMAW (Gas Metal Arc Welding) is a lot easier to do IMHO. The work needs to be even cleaner with this method, which usually just requires grinding the work with a flap disk or scotch brite pad on a grinder and wiping it clean with acetone. Depending on the shielding gas you use will be one of the factors that determine how clean and penetrative the weld is.

With both processes I've found MJB774X's statements to be true, but there are also times where you want to run a bead pattern to get the best results.

Vertical Up welds I've found are best acheived when pushing the weld up with a triangular pattern. This is just one example. Military welding guides are available on the net which describe all situations basically and give different techniques for each. There are also plenty of welding forums out there where you can get loads of info on welding just like you do here for our K5's.

I'm by no means an expert and honestly feel I have a lot to learn, but I've seen some pretty good results with both Flux Core and MIG.

Hope this helps...

 

[tRustyK5]

Well said/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

In general the no-gas flux core digs harder than the MIG does. It does take some practice to make it look decent though.

Rene

 

[Fubeca]

Thanks for all your input. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
My welds aren't all that bad /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif, My real question was whether there are any differences in the wire that is available. It seems that the last spool I had worked great and the new one I just bought is much more difficult to work with. My technique hasn't changed...

 

[Waxer]

Well rolls of wire can become moist which can definitely affect the arc. Also the liner in your hose can get dirty and also affect the weld. I've heard of people rigging up pre-wipers for the wire before it enters the feeder. It's basically 2 pads sandwiched together inside a custom made bracket that wipes the wire down as it's fed. Sounds cheesy I know but it does work.

For my wire feed (which I recently sold) I've always used the Lincoln .035 flux core and have never had any trouble. I've noticed small differences but nothing too major.

 

[Fubeca]

Right On! Thanks

 

[bigmack]

I have a little Lincoln that uses .035 fluxcore wire. I did use the Lincoln brand wire for while and it worked good, but I tried some Esab Coreshield wire a few months ago and I will never use anything else. I know it sounds weird, but there is a hell of a difference in the two. It just seems to weld alot smoother with the Esab wire.

 

[MJB774X]

I do agree that mig is cleaner, penetration is not as good though, also when I'm done with my welds (fcaw) I use a rotary air tool with a wire wheel to clean off the flux coat, if you do this it usually knock off small spatter and you will see how clean the flux welds, in my opinion it is a much nicer weld, stronger, tighter breeding pattern, mig freezes faster,which is good for loose fit up and the ability to crank up the heat and move faster. In your case, unless you are welding thin metal (thiner then 120 wall), I'd stick with flux giving you the ability to weld thicker material, if your doing stuff like exhuast mig is way better. also if your machine isn't working well check the polarity dcep for flux and dcen for gas. good luck /forums/images/graemlins/usaflag.gif

 

[Zeus33rd]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I've heard of people rigging up pre-wipers for the wire before it enters the feeder. It's basically 2 pads sandwiched together inside a custom made bracket that wipes the wire down as it's fed. Sounds cheesy I know but it does work.


[/ QUOTE ]

It doesn't have to be anythig as fancy as that. Just get a clothes pin and a small piece of felt, or somthin similar, and clip it on the wire before it goes into the drive wheels. We use this method where I work on 15 Miller 250's. Also if your liner is dirty, it can help to saturate the piece of felt with WD-40. It would blow your mind how dirty those little peices of felt get after a 44lb spool of wire....Seeing one would make you a believer. I started doin that on my Lincoln 200 at home after I saw the ones at work.