Need a MIG welder

[jtap]

You will spend more on the 2lbs spools. Look for deals on 10 or 11lbs spools. The wire does not have to be Lincoln brand but Lincoln does have nice wire.

Thanks for the tip. I'll get a big spool.

Any other brands you recommend?

[N2 Welding]

Esab makes good wire. There is an Italian wire that Scott turned me onto but can’t think of the name of it atm. I got it on Amazon a couple years ago. I think ESAB regular wire is spoolarc 86

[N2 Welding]

INE is the Italian wire I was thinking of.

INEFIL ER70S-6 .30 https://www.amazon.com/INEFIL-ER70S-...0&s=hi&sr=1-3#

make sure you have the correct drive rollers to run .030 wire. Not sure if your machine would do good with .035 but INE has .023, .030, .035 etc.

[jtap]

INE is the Italian wire I was thinking of.

INEFIL ER70S-6 .30 https://www.amazon.com/INEFIL-ER70S-...0&s=hi&sr=1-3#

make sure you have the correct drive rollers to run .030 wire. Not sure if your machine would do good with .035 but INE has .023, .030, .035 etc.

The reviews on that wire are great. I wondered about it since it was almost 20 bucks less than the Lincoln. Good to hear a positive mention about it. Thanks.

[Dan]

INE solid wire is typically real good.

Lincoln L-56 typically has real good puddle wet out.

Due to the larger cast in the wire, the 8" spools typically feed smoother then the 4" spools.

[Broccoli1]

You'll need the adapter spool for the large rolls.

[Dan]

You'll need the adapter spool for the large rolls.

Ed, the Lincoln retail models don't come with the spool hub for an 8" roll ? The spool hub adapter came with the SP 175 Plus and PM 180C units that i use own.

[jtap]

You'll need the adapter spool for the large rolls.

The guy I bought it from had the big spool in there, so I should be good.

I got my tank this morning. I got an 80 cu ft one for under $200 (total with tax) from gas and supply. They were much cheaper than the other places I called. I never heard of the wire they had. Washington alloy is the name, I think. I figure it shouldn't be bad if they are selling it to commercial folks and I was pleased with how the tank transaction went, so I figures i'd give them more business. I asked how much and he said around 1.5 bucks a pound. So I got an 11lb spool for under $20 with tax.

I just added up all my costs. I went $0.91 over my $500 budget. I could have got a cheaper kit of gun accessories but I wanted the one with the two pairs of different cfm gas diffusers to go along with the 2 nozzles and 20 contact tips (even though a couple tips came with the unit).

[Dan]

Hopefully your experience with Washington Alloy is better than mine. The rolls i tried didnt perform well.

[jtap]

Hopefully your experience with Washington Alloy is better than mine. The rolls i tried didnt perform well.

Disappointing to hear. There were also negative reviews of the INE wire on amazon, and the Lincoln wire was much lower rated than the INE. It's all difficult information to sift through. The price was good enough to give it a go. I would like to know how it performs so I can avoid it in the future or pick some up next time I have to swap tanks.

You would think if their customers didn't like it or they moved no stock of it, they wouldn't sell it, right? We shall see. /crosses fingers

[Broccoli1]

Ed, the Lincoln retail models don't come with the spool hub for an 8" roll ? The spool hub adapter came with the SP 175 Plus and PM 180C units that i use own.

It does look the retail units come with Spool adapter.

It was many moons ago when I had the Weldpak 100- but it was a friend's and he didn't have the adapter so I had to purchase one.

But even on that little machine the bigger spool was so much better since I always had problems with the little ones bird nesting.

[M J D]

I believe Minnesota Dave uses quite a bit of the Washington alloy products. Maybe he can give some insight on their wire.

[Dan]

Disappointing to hear. There were also negative reviews of the INE wire on amazon, and the Lincoln wire was much lower rated than the INE. It's all difficult information to sift through. The price was good enough to give it a go. I would like to know how it performs so I can avoid it in the future or pick some up next time I have to swap tanks.

You would think if their customers didn't like it or they moved no stock of it, they wouldn't sell it, right? We shall see. /crosses fingers

The reality is there is a large number who don't have the skill set to notice the difference in performance between wires.

Then there's the group that doesn't care and will use whatever is cheapest. HTP sells a lot of wire to these folks.

[N2 Welding]

The reality is there is a large number who don't have the skill set to notice the difference in performance between wires.

Then there's the group that doesn't care and will use whatever is cheapest. HTP sells a lot of wire to these folks.

I fall into the group of wouldn’t know the difference.

[jtap]

The reality is there is a large number who don't have the skill set to notice the difference in performance between wires.

Then there's the group that doesn't care and will use whatever is cheapest. HTP sells a lot of wire to these folks.

So I should stay away from all their wire?

I need to order some new cover lenses for my helmet and I had the idea for a second of shipping some wire with it.

I don't have the skill set to notice, I don't think. I also haven't used any other wire to compare to. I would have to burn through what i've got before I would try something else, likely.

[N2 Welding]

jtap. Post up pics of your weld beads. Let the pros here judge your weld beads for constructive guidance on what if anything you can try to improve.

[MinnesotaDave]

I believe Minnesota Dave uses quite a bit of the Washington alloy products. Maybe he can give some insight on their wire.

Good memory, I do use Washington Alloy and have had good results - nothing to complain about.
I've gotten them on deep discount sales and not been disappointed.

I am spoiled however, the 90's millermatic 210 I have has one of the best arc qualities I've welded with.

But I've also used their 71t-11 wire with a voltage sensing suitcase off the Bobcat 225nt and was satisfied with their product performance.

I've used their stick electrodes too, work fine.

[duramax-rob]

INE is the Italian wire I was thinking of.

INEFIL ER70S-6 .30 https://www.amazon.com/INEFIL-ER70S-...0&s=hi&sr=1-3#

make sure you have the correct drive rollers to run .030 wire. Not sure if your machine would do good with .035 but INE has .023, .030, .035 etc.

we always ran .023 wire in our welders for the thin metal. so much easier to control in our 120 volt welders. didn't see much difference in wire brand, whatever the paint supply store handled. just make sure that when installing the new wire, we made absolutely sure that we didn't let the wire come off the spool uncontrobly and get the wire loops get tangled. theres a really good chance that the wire will get hung under one of the loops of wire and then not feed properly. you will get a lot of wire burn backs at the nozzle tip.

[Oscar]

I fall into the group of wouldn’t know the difference.

Me too, I can't tell the difference on the outside, but on the "inside", when I get results like this from HTP wire, I could care less if I can't tell the difference on the outside








Hard to argue against empirical data/evidence.

[M J D]

Good memory, I do use Washington Alloy and have had good results - nothing to complain about.
I've gotten them on deep discount sales and not been disappointed.

I am spoiled however, the 90's millermatic 210 I have has one of the best arc qualities I've welded with.

But I've also used their 71t-11 wire with a voltage sensing suitcase off the Bobcat 225nt and was satisfied with their product performance.

I've used their stick electrodes too, work fine.

For sure about the mm210, real similar to the previous mm185. I have had real good luck with esab wire, and thru my lws, much better pricing that lincoln or hobart wire.

[jtap]

jtap. Post up pics of your weld beads. Let the pros here judge your weld beads for constructive guidance on what if anything you can try to improve.

I hope to get it all setup and do some practicing this weekend to see if I will be comfortable in doing the work on the car.

I'll post some pics for sure.

[N2 Welding]

I hope to get it all setup and do some practicing this weekend to see if I will be comfortable in doing the work on the car.

I'll post some pics for sure.

sheet metal use the .023-.025 wires. 1/8” to 1/4” use .030 and 3/16 up to 3/8” I use .035

Match the size wire to the material thickness. .030 will prove to be difficult to weld body panels with out warping or burning through especially at a novice level.

[N2 Welding]

I hope to get it all setup and do some practicing this weekend to see if I will be comfortable in doing the work on the car.

I'll post some pics for sure.

sheet metal use the .023-.025 wires. 1/8” to 1/4” use .030 and 3/16 up to 3/8” I use .035

Match the size wire to the material thickness. .030 will prove to be difficult to weld body panels with out warping or burning through especially at a novice level.

[N2 Welding]

Me too, I can't tell the difference on the outside, but on the "inside", when I get results like this from HTP wire, I could care less if I can't tell the difference on the outside








Hard to argue against empirical data/evidence.

Well let's keep it real here. OP is likely not using a machine capable of obtaining beads like that. Not with spray transfer anyway but good to see those results none the less. Good looking burn in and pennetration.

[N2 Welding]

we always ran .023 wire in our welders for the thin metal. so much easier to control in our 120 volt welders. didn't see much difference in wire brand, whatever the paint supply store handled. just make sure that when installing the new wire, we made absolutely sure that we didn't let the wire come off the spool uncontrobly and get the wire loops get tangled. theres a really good chance that the wire will get hung under one of the loops of wire and then not feed properly. you will get a lot of wire burn backs at the nozzle tip.

Hate it when the wire unravels at a rapid pace.