General purpose wire welding

A Miller 35 is a great old machine. I am surprised you say you can get penetration, since if you run that machine balls-to-the-wall you can switch into spray mode (using C25 gas) and weld 1" plate.

I recommend using 0.035" ER70S-6, and C25 gas (75% Argon, 25% CO2) for light gauge work (1/4" and below) For heavier plate move up to 0.035" ER71T-1 (gas shielded flux core) with a C25 gas shield.

For really big stuff over 1/2" thick, move up to 0.045" ER71T-1 with the C25.

For work outdoors go to 0.035" or 0.045" ER71T-8 (self shielded flux core)

Well, like I said, I haven't experimented much with it. Just CO2, and the .035, ER70S-6. I think the mix I tried before was either 25% Argon or 50/50, and running this wire with CO2 only, and balls out to get the penetration, you get some pretty big dill berries. I'll get a bottle of C25 this week for sure. It sounds like gas alone might cure 90% of what's ailing me.

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I would have never thought of anything bigger than 035 on a MM35, but will keep it in mind. Can't imagine ever need to weld enough thick material to justify a roll of it though. But I will try the 035 for sure.

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I'm assuming gasless here. How is this for vertical up, or a wide gap? Would another wire be better for all position?

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What would you recommend for welding the thinnest possible sheet metal with this machine?

----- Have you ever used E71T-E7 or 1M?

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Thanks for taking the time Ernie, I really appreciate it.

Jumping gaps is a balance of voltage to wire speed to travel speed. If you do a classic triangle weave with gasless flux-core you can climb fast and jump a moderate gap.

E71T-8 is all position, E70T-8 is flat only

0.030" is the thinest wire I would run in that machine, mainly due to the gun and it's liner. If you want to run 0.024" wire you would have to get a smaller gun liner.

E71T-1M is a lincoln wire and I HATE it.

My favorite flux-ciore wires are made by ESAB, Dual-Shield and Core-shield 8.

Coreshield 8, however, is not made in sizes smaller than 1/16".

Some of the dualshield stuff comes as small as .045". Most of the ESAB wire, though, seems made for bigger machines.

Grant

Thanks for the recommendations guys, I really appreciate it.

Are there an good sources for wire, especially in smaller quantities, on-line or otherwise?

Availability always seems limit someone's ability to experiment.

Getting dual-shield wires in small amounts is hard.

Harris is the only company that sells these wires in small spools.

What I usually do is buy a 30 lb spool of ESAB wire and spool it myself, if I want to use it in my spoolgun.

You can buy ESAB 7100 Ultra, Dual-Shield wire in sizes down to 0.035".

7100 Ultra is the best Gas Shielded Flux Core wire I have ever used.

Thanks!!

Greetings Ernie, Can .035 dual shield be used in a Lincoln SP125 Plus? And is it worth it? Thanks, Eric

Does it show that wire on the chart inside the door?

GWE

snipped-for-privacy@whidbey.com wrote:

No, it does not. ERS

I have the 175T and it doesn't show on my chart either. I think it's a good bet. The machine can feed .035 wire and it can supply gas. What more do you need?

Grant

snipped-for-privacy@whidbey.com wrote:

No. The machine can't handle dual-shield wire that large. That is why harris makes the tiny 0.030" stuff.

Also the gun would melt down from the welding current.

A beefier gun. Dual shield beats the crap out of small guns. It is why I have HUGE 40 amp guns on my Betamig 250 at home and the Millermatic 300 at school.

My Lincoln 175 SP Plus has varying statements on .035 wire. It depends on where you look. I finally bought a roll of FCAW wire and ran it, and it ran. On .030 rollers, too. I like to just put in a .045 liner, not in the book, not on the chart, but available from Lincoln, and even Lincoln says it will work. A .045 liner will outlast all others because of the extra diameter.

Steve

Would it be ok to use .045" dual shield wire with a M25 gun on my Millermatic 251?

In a few weeks I'm going to be putting together a power hammer out of 1/2" H-beam and was planning on using .045" dual shield. Todd

You must mean 400 amps. :-) - GWE

Thanks Ernie. You know how it is. No matter how much capacity we have we always try to push it. Eric

Only for short periods.

0.045" Dual shield is the upper limit of what a 250 amp MIG can handle. With a heavier gun it can run it more effectively and without melting as many tips and gas cups.

Personally I detest the M25 gun as it falls apart from heavy use. All 3 of the 250X's we had at South Seattle started with M25s and they all fell apart. I replaced them with Tregaskis 400 Toughguns (who also make the M25 for Miller), and was very happy.

That is what I have on my Betamig 250

At school I scored a 400 amp Miller Roughneck gun, from eBay, for our Millermatic 300. Another great gun.

Sorry, typing faster than I can spell check on the fly. yes 400 amps.