[pvcar]

to all the welders out there that have done flux core welding i am using a general flux core wire that u can get, i was told by a welding company that the wire does not hold up at 20c and that it may crack or such. just wondering what all the welders out there think.

 

[baz]

i was told by a welding company that the wire does not hold up at 20c and that it may crack or such.

can you explain what they ment by 20c as it is not clear ?

 

[pvcar]

well i found this out they said that when it gets down to about 20F not celsisus just befor it would be freezing whihc is around 32 or so, well they say when it reaches this tempature and then is some how either the weld gets streesd or it is struck with say a hammer the weld will just "shatter" although ive never heard of this happening, any ideas.

 

[baz]

nevr heard of that ive used flux wire and ordinary wire and used them @ below freezing and never had any problems
just wonder if they are trying to sell you a gas kit to go on your mig so they can make more cash!!

 

[pvcar]

well the guy i bought the wire from told me that he loved that wire for doing just generic welding and fabrication when he used flux cored wire, but then i conntected anthor welding supply place to obtain some other info on the pricing nad they asked what i was using the wire for and told me it wasnt the right stuff to use and to use anthor rating of flux cored wire so maybe they wanted to sell me there wire or something.

 

[jerseyopel]

welding wire

I would use 71t wire if available, you also need to find out the wire dia. you can use with your machine. I use .045 wire at 27volts with carbon dioxide shielding. Some people don't have large machines so you might have to use smaller wire. Flux core wire also penetrates extremely well so you will have to move fast if the steel is thin.

 

[Old Hippie]

If you do have a gas kit on your welder, I'd use gas, as I think it's a cleaner weld. And for most home users, the "baby" bottle last a long time. In the end, though, it comes down to personal preferences. Just my 2c's .

 

[houserc]

I'm using wire similar to JerseyOpel, but with Argon shielding for my MIG welder. Seems a little more inert.

 

[RallyBob]

I like a CO2/Argon mix personally, seems to work well for me. I also use relatively small wire, .030", but it is a nice compromise as you can weld thinner materials with more control. The bummer is you need a LOT of wire speed for welding thicker materials.

Bob

 

[Dmcbrass]

Gas is better - usually!

As a rule weld quality is always better with gas than flux core. An exception to this is when welding outside in the wind. In that setting flux core shields better because the shielding won't blow away. I have had excellent success with flux core welding on materials as light as 22 gage, though you have to be careful with material that light. It is important to have very clean material and tight joints. I am arouind industrial welding that is exposed to all sorts of temperatures and have never heard of problems with welds fracturing at cold temperatures. There is a problem with old steel and cold temperatures however. By old steel I'm talking about steel manufactured before World War II. You might remember an oil tank failure that occurred from this phenomenon in Ohio back in the 1980's.

 

[tekenaar]

As a rule weld quality is always better with gas than flux core. An exception to this is when welding outside in the wind. In that setting flux core shields better because the shielding won't blow away. I have had excellent success with flux core welding on materials as light as 22 gage, though you have to be careful with material that light. It is important to have very clean material and tight joints. I am arouind industrial welding that is exposed to all sorts of temperatures and have never heard of problems with welds fracturing at cold temperatures. There is a problem with old steel and cold temperatures however. By old steel I'm talking about steel manufactured before World War II. You might remember an oil tank failure that occurred from this phenomenon in Ohio back in the 1980's.

Titanic (1912) comes to mind too.

 

[baz]

otto wasnt the big T riveted?

 

[Old Hippie]

Nice Big Rivets! Too bad they left the space over the water doors open (as they showed on the Discovery channel).

 

[tekenaar]

Big T

otto wasnt the big T riveted?

Wasn't thinking of the welding as much as the composition of the plates (brittle, by today's standards) that contributed to the iceberg damage . . . also Discovery Channel, BTW.

Uh, didn't want anyone to think that I was somehow involved in the construction of the "Big T"!

 

[baz]

come on otto ive seen the pic of you in your files