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  #1  
Old 03-23-2010, 01:58 PM
Charley Davidson Charley Davidson is offline
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Default Mig Wire Specs

Mig wire specs and what they mean. I just ran out of the wire that was on my welder initially it was Fire power brand
mild steel
1440-0215
Alloy ER70S6
.030
Heat 135

I have the following 3 rolls
Chicago Electric (Harbor Freight)ER70S-6
.030
2062/P-80609
Heat/Lot

Radnor welding products
Alloy
ER308/308L
.030
AWS
A5.9
Heat
V5192
Lot
11267

AcoTec
Alloy
ER4043
Dia.
.030
Lot
RB0838039
no heat numbers

Could you tell me what these numbers mean and their significance of these #s ?

I'm welding up a yard decoration/sculpture so I'm putting on the Harbor Freight roll.
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Old 03-23-2010, 03:36 PM
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Joe Hartson Joe Hartson is offline
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Charlie,

The alloy and wire size or the most important numbers. You machine appears to be set up for .030 wire. You need to use that size. If you go to a different size you will have to use different tip and change the liner and adjust the tension feed roll.

For mild steel the ER70S is what you would normally use.

The ER308/308L is stainless steel wire. Use it for stainless.

The ER4043 is a chrome moly wire and use on chrome moly steel.

The heat and lot numbers allows the manufacturer to trace when it was made and the exact specs on the wire. This is important in some welding applications but not important for home and normal welding requirements.
Government specs and some critical applications require traceability back to the manufacturer for the exact wire specs.

Hope this answers your question.

Most mig wire is copper coated to reduce the formation of rust on the wire. The quality of the coating varies with manufacturer. If the wire is rusty it will affect the quality of the weld.

Hope this answers you question.
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Old 03-23-2010, 03:43 PM
Charley Davidson Charley Davidson is offline
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Thanks Joe, Very good answer. The guy I got the wire from told me it was aluminum. Glad to know 1 roll is Stainless.

What gas to use with the stainless wire?

I'm using 75/25 right now and getting bad looking welds for my mild steel. Kind of slaggy with pits in it. Tried adjusting my flow from wide open 80 down to 30 then up to 40 still looks bad.
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Old 03-23-2010, 04:18 PM
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87hdrush 87hdrush is offline
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you use tri mix for stainless 90% He 7.5% Ar 2.5% CO2
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Last edited by 87hdrush; 03-23-2010 at 04:22 PM.
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Old 03-23-2010, 04:43 PM
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Marty Comstock Marty Comstock is offline
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you CAN use tri mix for stainless (I dont believe in it myself, but to each thier own), OR 98%Argon2%Oxygen OR 75%Argon 25%carbonDioxide, depending on what result you are looking for.

Also, as for the ER70S-(1,2,3,4,5,6) I like the -6, has the most deoxidizers of the lot. Charley, it looks like you have the -6 allready, you may be running into a plugged orfice, wind, very unclean parent material, hard to tell. Usually its pretty trouble free.

Marty
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Old 03-23-2010, 04:52 PM
Charley Davidson Charley Davidson is offline
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It looks like I'm out of gas basically. Of course I'm not. Got a slight leak I'm gonna work on right now. take the tip off and clean it real good also.

The results I want are very good looking welds that hold. What are the differences in the gasses you mention as far as results?
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Old 03-23-2010, 05:06 PM
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Marty Comstock Marty Comstock is offline
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straight CarbonDioxide is a deep penetrating ugly weld, but a tad cheaper. Used with flux cored wires alot in industry.

C25 (75%argon25%Co2) is the most average all aroud gas used, some spatter, mild penetration

Trimixes are a touch more expensive, and are supposed to be a lil "hotter" at a certian amp range, 175 plus, more than a 110.

Adding oxygen to argon helps create a spray arc trancsfer, again, usually at higer amps than a 110 welder can reach.

I have used trimix, C25, and an argon oxygen mix on my Century 110, and have noticed no discernable difference.

On a larger welder, the higher oxygen content will produce a smoother, less spattery "hotter" weld, but with little penetration. You make up for this with joint design.

Hope this helps
Marty
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Old 03-23-2010, 06:19 PM
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In the case of this wire ER70S-6, The ER stands for Electrode Roll, The 70 indicates the tensile strength which in this case is 70,000 psi, The S stands for Solid wire, and the last number indicates Deoxidizers and other additions in the wire.

In the case of the wire you are showing, the 6 wires have the highest combination of manganese and silicon and are recommended for applications where good bead appearance and low splatter are required. The welds produce excellent impact resistance and high mechanical properties, and is one of the most often used wires. The best shielding gas is CO2, and good for all position in short circuit tranfer which is all your welder will produce. C25 can be used with no trouble and helps reduce splatter even further. CO2 will give you better penetration though as it runs a bit hotter.

In the case of a 110 volt welder, .023 wire will produce much better welds and bead appearance. .030 will run ok but will limit your setting range.

Here is a good link on mig welding http://www.millerwelds.com/interests...rs/pdf/MIG.pdf
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Last edited by jamlit; 03-23-2010 at 06:42 PM.
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Old 03-23-2010, 07:02 PM
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87hdrush 87hdrush is offline
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Gee I just looked under the door of my welder, glad you guys spoke up. you probably saved me some money
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Old 03-23-2010, 08:01 PM
Charley Davidson Charley Davidson is offline
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I'm a happy weldor Got the issue fixed it was a hose leaking right where it goes into the wire. Hose clamp and all good.

This thing is awesome.

Here are some test welds I did after fixing it.
practice welds.jpg

practice welds 2.jpg
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