Mig wire..

[blacksheep]

anyone use the harborfreight mig welding wire? is it quality, could i compare it to the lincoln stuff they sell at homedepot?

[Sandy]

I never have. I have seen a lot of their solid is 'weldit' brand so it should be okay. I've used quit a bit of weldit and it runs fine. I never buy a wire that isn't clear wrapped so I can see it first. I've seen a lot of HF's flux core looking already corroded (gray coated). Once I see that I don't even look at the brand.

[DDA52]

The Lincoln stuff is their premium quality stuff. Weldit is generic at best. Some will weld fine, some won't. It just isn't as good as Linc.....ever.

[tony h]

Another Quality question. Will lesser quality wire tend to be sootier?
I bought a small Miller Mig a few years back and I have bben using .030 wire with Argon Mix gas.

Just purchased .023 wire and it appears to be sootier then the .030. Is this normally seen with cheaper wire? This is my first experience with buying wire.
I bought it here: http://stores.ebay.com/welders4less_W0QQssPageNameZviQ3asibQ3astoreviewQQ tZkm

[DDA52]

It can...or it can be a gas problem. If you were running the same bottle, it may just be a wire problem.

If you want good wire, stop buying anything at HF or TSC and places like that. Go to a welding supply and pick up some premium wire. Even Lincoln's plain jane ER 70S-6 wire is better than Weldit's best stuff. Get some Lincoln L-56 or Hobart Bros. HB-28 or even BR-6 and compare it to the El Cheapo brand. You should see a world of difference.

[tony h]

Thanks, I may throw the .030 back in and do some welding to narrow it down. I was low on gas and replaced the tank . That's why I asked the question.. I had a few variables working against me and no experience.

Thanks again

[halbritt]

The big welding supply places only seem to have their house brands out. For example, the wire sold at Airgas is "Radnor" I believe. Anyone have any experience with these?

[Sandy]

I've used quite a bit of the Radnor's E71T-GS aand their E70S-6. It's okay. I don't know if they have anything comparable to E71T-11 or not, never seen it if they do. According to the airgas guy I talk to, radnor is lincolns "other wire" just like weldit is hobarts alternative.

I just recently ran out of a ten pounder of radnors e70s-6, which ran fine, went to a two pound reel of lincolns L-56, which was a dream, then to a new ten pound reel of weldits e70s-6, which took me down to 'okay'.

From the radnor to the lincoln I didn't have to change settings. It just ran noticably nicer. From the lincoln to the weldit I had to tweak the machine a tad up and watch the puddle closer.

I think I'll just move on over to Lincoln brand from now on. I really liked their 211. Problem here is all the weld shops are closed on weekends.

[DDA52]

Sandy, if you are just buying ten pounders, get them at Homey Desparate or Lowes. All they have is L-56 and NR-211. You will pay just about the same. Just a thought.

If you liked L-56, give some HB-28 a try. I like it better on one machine, and the same on another. Different machines won't necessarily like the same wires. I like the Hobart Brothers wire better, and they are not to be confused with Weldit...not even on the same planet quality wise. I have also tried Anchor Brand. It acted a little like HB-28. Seemed to wash in well at the toes. I haven't used it much. I may do that soon, just to use it up. I only got a ten pounder to try, so it won't take long.;)

[Sandy]

Sandy, if you are just buying ten pounders, get them at Homey Desparate or Lowes. All they have is L-56 and NR-211. You will pay just about the same. Just a thought.

Thanks. I'll give a look next time I'm at Home Despot. I seem to have a real problem getting myself to go there :) ... We don't have a Lowes here so Home Depot is more like a monopoly..

I'll give the HB-28 a shot one of these days when I can get to the supply on the other side of town. The Airgas here won't carry anything else but radnor in the 10lb spools. Everything else is 2 pounders which digs into the wallet pretty deep on a per pound basis.

Two pound spool would last you about what----------ten minutes?????? :laugh:

[DDA52]

I used to get the two pounders for my MM135 all the time. I paid the same per pound as the big spools. A two pounder was less than 4 bucks anyway...but that was before steel went nuts. The last two pounder lasted a LOOOOOOONNNNGGG time. I called it the bottomless spool.;) Did quite a bit with that little spool.

FWIW, Radnor's Arc Plus 70S-6 is supposed to be some pretty good stuff. Smallest spool is a 33 lb, though.