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What's the consensus on these wire welders that don't use inert gas?
Are they any good?
Do they leave slag that has to be chipped?
How do they compare to traditional MIG welders?

Woody

I'm running a Hobart 175A gas MIG, no comparision to flux wire. Cleaner, less porus welds. Save your pennies and buy the shielding gas model. Of course that's just MHO :p

I like gas also, no comparo I don't use the flux core unless I'm outside

Woody,

It's the 'apples & oranges' deal! They aren't' the same process, but they are perfect for their intended use.

FCAW will produce a nice heavy slag that pops off very easily to reveal a bead that looks like it was poured into the joint.

This process inherently takes more heat to create the weld so it isn't something you would use in a body shop on sheet metal.

A MIG process with the proper shielding gas and a skinny .023 wire would be just the ticket for those rusted out cab corners and such!

These are two different animals!

Stuart

I tried using flux core when I ran out of gas.
If that ever happens again, I'll rub two pieces of metal together really fast in hopes that I'll create enough heat to weld them together before trying flux core again.
Your results may vary. (And probably will!)

-Brad

I guess that answers that question

Thanks guys!

If you change from gas to flux core wire you have to change pollaraty. I've used flux core in my ornamental iron shop instalations forever. Never used gas because it blows away when welding out side.

Beaver 53,

How interesting. I thought you might be mistaken on the polarity issue, so I ran down and looked inside my Beta-Mig 200.

I have been spewing wire with that thing for eons, both MIG and FCAW, and have never touched anything besides the HI/LO transformer taps.

Sure as heck, the little diagram from Hobart shows DCEP for all the MIG wire, and lo and behold, DCEN for the FCAW process!

I have never swapped polarity, and the flux core weld has always come out very nicely. I always use the flux core with shielding gas...maybe that makes a difference in weld quality.

Just for grins, next time I use it with the 'innershield', I will switch polarity and see what happens. Thanks for the interesting heads up..you DO learn something every day.

Stuart

I have a flux welder its 125 amps. Its good for small stuff like fenders any thing thing. Ive had good luck with mine. Im just starting out but my 3 best friends are lisends welders so thay have been showing me some stuff. Now I have used a L E with gas and its a lot better. And as far as the gas blowing away out side :confused: My friends and I have done pipe fence with a mig out in 40mph winds and we never had that problem. Any ways just my two cent

You were Lucky or you don't know a good weld when you see it, Gas shielding just won't work outside if there is any wind. Automark, I think you are wasting gas if you use both inner shield and gas. Co2 gas works well on body parts, It runs cooler because of the gas and won't warp as easily. Argon will weld hotter and give you a better penetration when welding heavier material.

mabey he had his flowmeter turned way up! if it's windy i have to turn mine up some, i don't think i have welded in 40 mps wind though. mabey stuart invinted a new combination with his polarity and double sheilding!! i still want to try the flux core with the sheilding gas like i have heard about here. i guess i am just lazy and don't want to change the wire. i have been using mig for some time but best i remember the flux cored wire was a lot more expensive. i haven't even used it in years.

I can't remember whether it has been mentioned, but fwiw just remember that flux core likes to be put on hotter than gas shielded wire. I use it for structural stuff because I like the deeper penetration. I don't like using it for welding sheet because I find that cleaning up the splatter is a pain in the butt.

A friend gave me a tip that could solve that problem, He says that he sprays the area up to about an inch from the weld with WD-40 or even Pam, being careful not to let it get into the weld. I haven't tried it, but seeing that I use the Pam to keep the splatter controlled in my MIG gun, I think it could work. I still won't use the flux core on my body work for now.