What other items should I consider getting?

Can I just use Flux cored wire or should I purchase a bottle and gas?

What gas?

Other usefule hints items would be greatly appreciated.

Extra contact tips for whatever diameter(s) of wire you plan to be running. It can be worth the extra couple bucks to get the nice ones but it really depends on your budget and how much wire you plan on running through it. A cart for it is another good thing to have unless you plan on doing a lot of mobile work with it. That's a nice machine, a cart will keep it nice for longer. Eventually you'll get annoyed lugging it around if you're using it indoors anyways. Buy one or build one.

You can use self shielded flux core wire but it makes a mess, is harder to use (at least use well) and it's not a very good idea to do much of it indoors without a respirator/fume extractor. The fumes will pretty quickly stink up most garages/sheds, potentially more than stick could because with a wire feeder you can just keep the trigger down. Solid wire with gas will run nicer/cleaner, be easier to use and won't have nearly as many fumes. Definitely get a cart if you go the gas route.

If you get some gas, go in and ask for C25 or a 75% Argon/25% Carbon Dioxide mix (they're the same thing). That has the best "all around" properties for a machine like yours. There are times to use 100% CO2 and times to use 100% Argon but neither of them really apply to you. 100% CO2 is good for being cheap and if you need a lot of penetration but it gives a ton of spatter and Argon is good for if you want to run the spray transfer mode which needs a lot of amps and is really only good for welding fast in the flat position. Your machine might not have the beans to reliably run spray transfer either.

Otherwise practice practice practice!

 

Ditto TW's advice. The 211 is a nice machine and the synergic mode is user friendly. If you want the weld a little hotter or colder (in synergic) make a small move up or down on the thickness dial. The solid wire and gas would be an easier way to get started.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

Don't think a 211will do spray arc.

 

It does have a nice arc, and one member here posted some screenshots of some parts he did using axial spray transfer using an argon-rich mix, but the stock M100 gun won't like that at all, and neither will the board if you go past the duty cycle (there is no auto-shut off when the duty cycle is exceeded, based on experience).

 

Most of the 200 amp compact inverters have enough top end power to get you into spray with an .030 or 035 wire in the 180 - 200 amp range with 98/2 oxygen. 15 -20 % duty cycle though in the 200 amp range. And the light duty gun supplied with the machines isn't going to like the heat.

 

It might but its not something you need. 030 solid and C25 is what it was made for c02 will do in a pinch.