Lincoln Pro 180 Mig Welder.

[weldaholic]

Only issue I had with flux core was cleaning post weld spatter and flux can be nuisance, if cosmetics will be a factor. It is comparable to and versatile like 6011 rod. Also, there is difficulty welding thin material. It is a more expensive operation than MIG after setup.

If the machine were lighter I would use flux core for field repair in lieu of stick weld.

I will use the sample ,and see how much cleanup. Big reason we used a lot 0f .045 mig wire with CO2 was there was very little cleanup, especially the slag. Nearly all of our product was galvanized ,except for the C-10. So it had to be very clean for the galvanizing process. With our dual shield everything got needle gunned pretty good, as well as a bit of needle gunning on the mig as well.

[Dan]

With C25 shielding gas and solid wire the 180 has a nice clean running arc that has a good level of crispness to it. This would be my recommended set for solid wire. I find CO2 very annoying to deal with very window of operation were it produces ok results.

The feeder tops out at 500 ipm if you mainly going to be welding 1/8" - 1/4 ", with solid wire, I probably set this unit with an .035 solid to guarantee I could get the top end amps out of the unit. For 1/4" critical applications i go with the stick welder over the 180. With solid wire Lincoln 180 units and best on 3/16 and thinner. The top ends a little lean for 1/4" when you life depends on the weld. Self shielded fluxcore will burn in better on the 1/4". For handling load stresses a 7018 is gonna give you a superior weld to the self shielded fluxcore

[weldaholic]

Absolutely pleased with this Lincoln 180 Pro Mig welder. I set it up with .035 flux core wire. Pretty darn smooth, can't see any reason to use anything else for what I do. There may come a day ,but the project I am working on its ideal . Very little if any splatter , just the slag. I am sure not all flux core wire is created equal, this of course is the Lincoln wire. Any recommendations on flux core wire .035 which looks like I will stick with for now. The Lincoln wire is okay by me, but if there is better out there, I will sure give it it a try. I don't want to get too caught up in price, but if the cheaper wire works well I am all for that .

I would like to ask, everything I have welded up until now at home has been with the Miller Thunderbolt 225 , and 1/8" 7014, some rods I have tried ,but always went back to 7014. Can I expect the same weld integrity with this Lincoln I have gotten with my Miller ?

I want to thank everyone again for their comments, experience, etc.

[Welder Dave]

Which Lincoln flux-core wire are you using? Lincoln has dozens of flux-core wires. If NR211 MP, some users prefer Hobart Fabshield 21B. Both are E71T-11 wires.

[tapwelder]

The cleanup issue I was referring to is the powdery slag residue. It bleed through paint and caused paint to lift. So brushing it out of crack and crevices is important if you plan on putting finish on your project.

[weldaholic]

Which Lincoln flux-core wire are you using? Lincoln has dozens of flux-core wires. If NR211 MP, some users prefer Hobart Fabshield 21B. Both are E71T-11 wires.

Thanks. Yes, it was the NR-211-MP. I will try them both on this project, I have the small sample roll of the Lincoln ,it won't last long.

[weldaholic]

The cleanup issue I was referring to is the powdery slag residue. It bleed through paint and caused paint to lift. So brushing it out of crack and crevices is important if you plan on putting finish on your project.

Yes I saw that, the slag came off pretty clean with a wire brush. I will actually power brush all the welds. Thanks for the tip on the paint, I plan on painting this project. I didn't get any splatter to speak of ,so that was good .

I will do a simple bend test with this wire, what I am fabricating, there will be a bit of stress on them .