Welco 20 gauge

The new Welco wire is not dual shield, it is metal-cored, for use with C-25 gas.

I tried it tonight in two different machines, an old Hobart Handler 120, and an Airco

300 Amp inverter multi-process machine. All welding was forehand.

I welded some 26 gauge, voltage at lowest setting, wire feed at 5.5 ( 1 thru 10 scale). this setting provided a soft arc, no burn-thru, and bead appearance was good. A reasonable fit-up was required. The arc was slightly softer than .023 hard wire under similar conditions, it had less of a tendency to burn-thru. I tried this wire with higher voltage and higher rate of feed speed, it appears to be a bit hotter and more energetic than hard wire at equal settings. The bead appearance was good, if a bit flat. The above testing was with the Handler 120.

The larger inverter machine with better voltage (1/10 volt steps) and wire feed control (1 IPM) really made a big difference. Dropping the voltage to about

13.2 V caused this wire to produce a very soft arc, I duplicated the welds made with the Handler. The lower voltage and moderate feed rate produced a low heat input weld, likely due to a fast travel speed. The HAZ was much smaller as indicated by the extent of the discoloration. With the lower voltage available from the inverter machine, it was very easy to produce a good quality weld with good appearance.

I believe this new wire will be a good addition to any shop if you weld very thin sheet metal. Other than for thin sheet metal, this wire will not be replacing hard wire any time soon. Body shops would be well advised to give it a try.

Luke