Using my Dumb Question A Month Coupon ...........

Ernie recommends Coreshield 8, made by Esab, and further suggests you avoid all Lincoln innershield wire.

GWE

Yes but I don't know if you can find Coreshield 8 in the smaller wire sizes. It is readily available in the larger industrial sizes.

For non-critical work many wires will work. Lincoln, Hobart, ESAB, Harris, all make decent Self-Shielded Flux-Core wires. The AWS designation for these wires is E71T-8.

I'm pretty sure that the 175+ will handle .045 wire; at least they say so in their literature. Whether it does it hadnles .045 well, I don't know. You may need to get another liner, though.

Petet

Please don't try to run 0.045" wire in a 175. Those machines max out on 0.035" wire.

I just looked at the door panel on my 175. There is a row there for .045" NR 211MP wire. But it does say that special knurled drive roller and .045 roller are required. It gives heat settings and drive speeds for 16 ga. to

However, I do believe that I would stick with .035 FCAW wire, and run it at about the max setting, just do welding that doesn't require a lot of filler metals, and for things thicker than that, I'd get out some rod.

I really think that thin plastic gun, and the machine in particular would be pushing it running .045" wire at max even though the machine gives settings for it. And I don't really think it would do this type of welding for very long.

I'm not psychic, but I do see a stick welder in my near future. Might even get up in the farm country I'm moving to and find a decent SA-200 if I'm lucky. I'll be needing a good machine for mobile installations and repairs. Other than that, I may just pick up a good red or blue machine that will run

I've never been a fan of FCAW, even though it's a good process with good fusion and metal deposition. I used automated band mounted bug machines to weld 36" caissons with .072" FCAW wire and an Argon shield. After a year of that, FCAW just turns me off for appearance, soot, smoke, sparks, spatter, and in general. I'd ten times rather weld a well casing with 6010 and 7018 than to set up and run a bug mounted FCAW.

I know FCAW is good for a lot of things, but I think I'll keep it to medium thickness metals, and stick to what I know - rod - when it gets past a certain thickness.

I do agree that the 175 just feels light for .045 FCAW wire even though the manual and door panel says it can be done. I think that little plastic gun would melt in about fifteen minutes of serious welding with .045" wire.

Steve

I ran a bunch of 6010 and 7018 this weekend making pipe railings. I have to confess to a soft spot for stick welding too, that Excalibur rod just burns sooo sweet.

Grant

Heck, by the time you got the bug out of the box and got it mounted on the band, hooked up the gas and the leads, you'd already be done with the

And that 7018 just looks so pretty, too. Almost like you know what you're doing, right?

Steve