Which MIG wire is the best.

[dex3361]

All right guys. I have stick welded for years but just recently bought a Longevity Arcmate 205P. I was using Radnor .o35 wire ER706-6, and it seemed to pop and spater a lot. I was welding on clean metal that had been ground brite. Is there a premium MIG wire that I should be using? Also I tried some .025 wire and made a few birds nests inside the spool cabinet. I need to do some 18 gauge sheet metal welding and want the advice of the TBN Brain Trust. Thanks Guys

 

[KWentling]

Turning the volts up or the wire speed down may help. What gas are you using? Straight CO2 spatters worse than CO2/Argon mix.

Kim

 

[Shield Arc]

I've had very good luck with Lincoln's L-56 Mig wire.
Mark (Everlast) says this ESAB Aristorod is hands down the best Mig wire he has ever used.

ESAB OK Aristorod 12 50 O35" | eBay

 

[dex3361]

Turning the volts up or the wire speed down may help. What gas are you using? Straight CO2 spatters worse than CO2/Argon mix.

Kim

I am using 90/10, Argon/ CO2 mix. I made adjustments voltage and wire speed wise and I could find the sweet spot of the weld but it never did settle down on the spatter and popping. The arc spatter was worse that 6010 welding rod to give you qn idea. I went high enough on the voltage and slow enough on the wire speed till the wire was retreating into the nozzle and the sped up the wire a little. I used set up charts to get me into the ball park. Thanks Kim

 

[dex3361]

I've had very good luck with Lincoln's L-56 Mig wire.
Mark (Everlast) says this ESAB Aristorod is hands down the best Mig wire he has ever used.

ESAB OK Aristorod 12 50 O35" | eBay

I may pick up a spool of the Lincoln L-56 and give it a try. Thanks

 

[rankrank1]

Do you have the polarity set for mig mode (i.e welding with gas)? Or do you have it set for fluxcore (i.e. welding without gas)? If you have it opposite from what it needs to be they will spit, spatter, and pop. Insufficient shielding gas flow can cause issues too.

As for brands of wire: I would think you should be fine with any of the primary name brands like Lincoln, Hobart, ESAB, US Forge (made by Messer), etc. Whatever you do: do not use HF wire as it plugs liners. What little savings you gain on wire is quickly lost in replacing liners prematurely. Frankly, I am not a fan of anything Radnor brand either - although I have never used it myself, I have heard way too much negative feedback on that brand for me to even consider trying it.

Do a search on this site (or Youtube): ChuckE2009 just did a mig wire shootout. If you watch the video all the big names performed pretty much the same. There was even a bargain priced wire from HTP that did well too.

 

[Shield Arc]

Why are you using C10 gas? That's a fairly hot mix. I think you'd be better off with C25.
I have used C10 for spray arc welding.

 

[dex3361]

Do you have the polarity set for mig mode (i.e welding with gas)? Or do you have it set for fluxcore (i.e. welding without gas)? If you have it opposite from what it needs to be they will spit, spatter, and pop. Insufficient shielding gas flow can cause issues too.

As for brands of wire: I would think you should be fine with any of the primary name brands like Lincoln, Hobart, ESAB, US Forge (made by Messer), etc. Whatever you do: do not use HF wire as it plugs liners. What little savings you gain on wire is quickly lost in replacing liners prematurely. Frankly, I am not a fan of anything Radnor brand either - although I have never used it myself, I have heard way too much negative feedback on that brand for me to even consider trying it.

Do a search on this site (or Youtube): ChuckE2009 just did a mig wire shootout. If you watch the video all the big names performed pretty much the same. There was even a bargain priced wire from HTP that did well too.

I was welding electrode positive and the welds with the gas flow at 20 - 25CFM for the hotter welds and down around 15CFM for the lower settings. Thanks.

 

[dex3361]

Why are you using C10 gas? That's a fairly hot mix. I think you'd be better off with C25.
I have used C10 for spray arc welding.

I need to check the bottle I gave that answer and it may likely not be the mix I am using. I will make sure of the mix though. Thanks

 

[dex3361]

I am gong to be welding in some replacement floor pans on a jeep YJ that has the normal rust issues of an 18 year old Jeep. So I need to up on welding sheet metal about 18 gauge. The MIG did not feed the .025 wire real well so I will likely try to use .030 wire.

 

[ChristianHF]

If you were using C10 gas you might have been in globular transfer which spatters a bunch even compared to short circuit. Like SA said thats a very hot mix.

A snipit from welding welb

ESAB University

and go to the "MIG Welding Handbook".

starts at

Handbook - Metal Transfer Variations

Also check out a lot of the info at the Lincoln site. Tons of info there.

But with C25, you were not doing spray transfer. C10 or maybe up to C15, you can get spray transfer going, but not C25.

And not at just 21.6V on 0.035 wire. Transition to spray transfer using 0.035 steel wire is about maybe 23V (C10 or 98-2 Ar-O2) and upwards of 165 amps (98-2) or 180 amps (C10).

Short-circuit transfer sound : frying/sizzling bacon

Spray transfer : a hissing sound and lots of heat going on

Globular transfer : in between and lots of spatter

Of course if you were using some fancy-schmancy Miller you might have been in pulsed-spray mode. Sound there is sometimes described as "angry bees" (not angry birds ).

 

[dex3361]

If you were using C10 gas you might have been in globular transfer which spatters a bunch even compared to short circuit. Like SA said thats a very hot mix.

A snipit from welding welb

ESAB University

and go to the "MIG Welding Handbook".

starts at

Handbook - Metal Transfer Variations

Also check out a lot of the info at the Lincoln site. Tons of info there.

But with C25, you were not doing spray transfer. C10 or maybe up to C15, you can get spray transfer going, but not C25.

And not at just 21.6V on 0.035 wire. Transition to spray transfer using 0.035 steel wire is about maybe 23V (C10 or 98-2 Ar-O2) and upwards of 165 amps (98-2) or 180 amps (C10).

Short-circuit transfer sound : frying/sizzling bacon

Spray transfer : a hissing sound and lots of heat going on

Globular transfer : in between and lots of spatter

Of course if you were using some fancy-schmancy Miller you might have been in pulsed-spray mode. Sound there is sometimes described as "angry bees" (not angry birds ).

Thanks these look like some good reading. I will bookmark them.:thumbsup:

 

[Shield Arc]

I've had trouble feeding .023 wire before through a 15-feet long gun. I had to make sure the gun was as straight at possible at all times! For sheet metal work you will want C25 gas.

 

[dex3361]

I checked the gas mix and it's 75/25. I picked up some of the Lincoln L-56 0.30. Then ran some wire and there was a world of difference.


This is the first practice plate that is 1/8" thick the first run. It seemed like 20V was a setting that seemed to be where it welded best on 300" a minute and 200" a minute.




This is the other side 200IPM 21V 0.30



Cranked it up to see what it would do 300IPM 24V 0.30 on the left and the right is 200IPM, 21V, 0.30


Thought I would try a little stich welding on 1/16", 16 gauge steel. Te metal I will be welding in will be 18 gauge which is just over 1/20th of an inch.

 

[Shield Arc]

The first two pictures, looks like you need to turn your wire speed down or your voltage up. Or move faster.

The one picture with all th BBs, did you change your stick out length? What length of stick out do you use?

 

[Shield Arc]

Here is some good information about Mig welding put out by Miller.
Miller - MIG Welding Tips - Intro
Miller - Making a Sound MIG Weld

 

[dex3361]

I have the contact tip about flush with the nozzle. Should it be extending out a bit? I didnt change it any time today.

 

[dex3361]

Here is some good information about Mig welding put out by Miller.
Miller - MIG Welding Tips - Intro
Miller - Making a Sound MIG Weld

Thanks I will check these out. Any word of advice on being able to see the puddle better?
I have my lens setting at 9 and I still cant see like I can stick welding.

 

[Shield Arc]

What I mean by stick out, is the distance between the puddle and the contact tip. I run about 3/8-inch.
Sometimes I move the gas nozzle back where the contact tip is sticking out an 1/8-inch or so. Other times I have the contact tip flush with the end of the gas nozzle. A lot of different opinions about this, you'll have to find what works best for you.

 

[Shield Arc]

Any word of advice on being able to see the puddle better?
I have my lens setting at 9 and I still cant see like I can stick welding.

Go to Wal-Mart or the dollar store, and try on different pairs of reading glasses. May want to measure the distance from your eyes to the conformable welding area. Then when you're at the store hold up something with small print at that same distance. That way you get the correct power of reading glasses. I went through this about 7 or 8 years ago.