L56 is an ER 70S-6 wire and is a good one, but the gas mixture is a new one on me. John

 

I may have the o2 and co2 mixtures reversed, but it is 91% argon. The guy I bought it from was welding stainless steel if that helps any.

It seems like 75/25 argon/CO2 mix is a good place to start?

Chris

 

It seems like 75/25 argon/CO2 mix is a good place to start?

Chris

YES.:drinkup:

 

That "hi octane gas" is generally for more specialized hi-power welding. What did some one call it? "Rot Gut 75/25" :laugh:, may be better suited to short-circuit transfer for your application.

 

75/25 or 80/20 would be a good mix for this unit, straight Co2 will run well on these
120V units as well. As for the Tri mix gas, it's not needed, especially anything with oxygen in it. I'm not a fan of any mix with Oxygen in it, the way I see it, the main purpose of a shielding gas is to shield the arc/puddle from the surrounding atmosphere, and what's in the surrounding atmosphere? 20.5% Oxygen!! I sell gases and welding supplies for a living, and 99.9% of the applications I see for mild steel and stainless can be welded with argon/Co2. If an LWS rep comes in your shop touting a 3 or 4 component mix for mild or stainless steel, send him packing! That or ask him to show you macro etch samples of his "wizzbang gas mix" compared to argon/co2

 

Thanks for the feedback, but I already have a half-full bottle. Is it safe to use? I guess I can run a few test beads and see the result.

How about the wire, what is the best for clean mild steel? Is the L-56 a good all around wire?

Chris

 

How about the wire, what is the best for clean mild steel? Is the L-56 a good all around wire?

Chris

Do yourself a favor and start your MIG welding journey with Lincoln's L-56. Just so you know what the best is like.

Whoever said wire is wire is just plain wrong. (it's like saying beer is beer!) They might all meet the required specs, but the house brands and cheap price brands won't feed the same, arc the same, or puddle the same. Especially when you're starting out, L-56 will help you become a better welder.

 

How about the wire, what is the best for clean mild steel? Is the L-56 a good all around wire?

Yes. Like John said it's an E70S-6. Others do make the same spec but may act a little bit different depending on the machine and user. Once you get rolling you may want to try some of the other brands just so you can say you've been there.

 

I've had a bottle of tri mix in the corner of the workshop for at least 6yrs, that someone gave me, never used it until last week, when I ran out of gas for the MIG. It was like 10 at night so no chance of picking up another until morning and the job needed doing NOW.

I was really surprised at the qty of weld it produced. I would go as far as saying very good indeed.:drinkup:

 

For the 110V machine, I always liked .023/ .024 filler much better than .030. It burned better, and laid in a lot smoother most of the time.

 

.023 gives a broader spectrum for the machine to work. .030 can limit you on the small stuff. Its a little welder and performs best with little wire. Not slamming the machine. I have had an SP100 for 20 years. Tried all the stuff, now it always has .023 in it.

David

 

I agree. I have a Lincoln SP 175 Plus which runs on 220 VAC. I use CO2 and, for the most part, .023 wire. It seems to flow nicely and it feeds very well.

 

David, can you weld 1/8" steel with the 0.025 wire?

Chris

 

YES

David

 

qaqc,

With a 120V MIG machine, he -WILL- be doing short-circuit transfer. That machine doesn't have the voltage to get into spray transfer on steel. Not that spray is needed to do gauge or 1/8 inch material.

Filler metal is filler metal, but (there's always a but somewhere) the diameter of the wire used in GMAW/FCAW/etc does limit both min and max amps that can be used.

That said, for GMAW on mild steel, any argon-CO2 gas mix from C-25 to C-8 will be fine for short-circuit transfer with that little machine. Plain CO2 will also be just fine as well, much less expensive that C-25/etc, and the down-side is a little more spatter (than C-25) and a bit hotter arc/more penetration making things a bit more difficult on thin gauge steel sheets.

0.023/0.025 versus 0.030 wire? The difference is usually about 1 gauge-size capability difference on the high and low ends. So that's 24 gauge low-end for 0.025 wire versus 22 gauge low-end for 0.030 wire. Your call.

Most of this is in your manual and also on the nice door chart that Lincoln puts on the door to the wire compartment. At least for mild steel parameters.

Lincoln L-56 is an ER70S-6 wire, as said. If you need or want the 'extra' deoxidizers in an S-6 wire, it is just fine. If you have clean steel with no mill-scale, you could use an S-3 or S-4 wire, which have lower deoxidizer levels than the S-6 wire. About the only drawback to using S-6 wire when an S-3 or S-4 could have been used is that you get a little bit more silicon islands (those little 'glassy' usually brown glossy drops) on top of the weld bead when you are done.

L-56 is just fine in my book.

 

Moon, I'm not sure why your response was directed at me other than you repeated what i said, for the most part.

 

I doubt you could find .023/025 in anything BUT Er70S-6.

Good stuff anyhow.

David

 

side note to qaqc: Just the way I read your response, it seemed to leave an opening regarding the use of some transfer mode -other- than short-circuit trasfer for the OP and his 120V MIG machine.

His machine can pretty much only do short-circuit transfer. Like you said, plain CO2 will be just fine for that usage.

:drinkup:

David, I didn't even think of spool size availability or wire size availability in the different wire chemistries available. But you're right, the only 0.025 MIG wire Lincoln offers is L-56 in 2 pound (4 inch diameter) or 12.5 pound (8 inch diameter) plastic spools.

It's still good/decent wire.

 

I'll run some Co2 and C/25 today. Not much going on at work yet.

David

 

First picture was Co2, a stringer then a weave. Factory settings for Co2 18 guage. If I set it for 16 gauge, it would burn through. .023 ER70S-6

Plate was 16 ga.

C25 with factory settings for 18 guage.

This is what I expected.

David

 

Hey David, what's that black speck on the C25 weave? Burn-through or just a silicon island?

And out of curiousity, can you get 0.023/0.025 S-6 wire into spray transfer (C-8, or 98-2, whatever you have around and can try with) or does the wire run into current saturation/limit before it can get to spray transfer? And if you try it and can get into spray mode, what parameters did you end up with (volts/amps/wirespeed)?

You -said- you were bored and it was slow, and I'm curious.

Besides, you usually seem to be willing to try stuff out and post it, and your pictures are usually decent too. :drinkup:

 

I've used both co2 and c25. which one depended on who was buying the gas. Now that I buy it I use c25 for mild steel. Yes co2 is cheaper when you buy it, but c25 lasts a lot longer if you have your flow set correctly. You only need 5-6cfh and this makes the bottle last a lot longer. Not all wires are created equal. I have never had to toss any Lincoln L-56 because it rusted before I could use it all. I can't say that for other brands. ESAB's mild steel wire is very good as well. Allstate also makes good wires.

 

Moonrise. Its just slag. No burn through.

I don't know if I have drive rolls for an LN-25 that go down to .023. The only thing I keep .o23 in is the SP100. I'll take a look today.

David

 

Jolly, do you have any information on the 5-6 cfh that you referenced?