Flux Core is way different than gas shield

[pontiac428]

I'd expect you to be over 200 ipm for sure. If you normally weld with .030 or .035 ER70S plain mig wire, you should be selecting an .045 FC wire if you expect to deposit the same amount of filler to the work. Nothing wrong with excess feeding as long as you're getting the performance you want, but I'd go bigger in the future.

I keep MIG guns set up and ready for .026, .030, .035, and .045. The most expensive part about setting up like this is buying the knurled feed rollers from Miller. MIG guns are cheap on eBay, stick with Tweco and all you'll ever need is to match up your wire liner to your contact tip. By staying with the same Tweco series, the components are largely interchangeable and can be sourced as generic through your welding supply.

If you don't like grinding and scraping MIG spatter off of your work, try giving the welder a little shielding gas. C25 makes flux core act a lot nicer. If it is penetration you want, .045 flux core at 200 amps plus will provide beautiful spray transfer when using tri-mix 2% O2 shielding gas. It's a completely different process at that point, the welds are smooth, deep, and beautiful.

 

[Jake M]

How slick is that!!

You suck!

With the little testing I did, 17.5v and 220wfs were adequate for attaching the mounting base to the 2x2 post and attaching the frame to the existing post. I did clean the rust off the old post with a flap disc. This fence is rock solid!

Yep, flux core and gas shielded mig are two different animals

Check this out- All good stuff, but the key point being under "Typical Operating Procedures" on page two. It's a chart, which as you already know, is pretty "generic", but there is Lincoln's stab in the dark at what you might be building today.

https://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/global/Products/Consumable_Flux-CoredWires-Self-Shielded-Innershield-InnershieldNR-211-MP/c3200010.pdf

Aside from the voltage and speed, also note the stickout. I don't have these memorized and I don't know what you were using before, but USUALLY a small flux core wire wants slightly to significantly more stickout (CTWD) than MIG would want, depending on "everything". Don't be afraid to play with that too.

 

[pontiac428]

Stickout, or the combination of wire, heat, speed, and stickout, are what amperage modulation is based on with our constant voltage welders. Jake's right, FCAW wants to see a long stickout. This all affects arc length, which is probably one of the harder skills to develop in welding. I see arc length as something I drive, it is most analogous to DOC in machine work, in that you have to stay ahead of the work with your lead. In welding you will "feel" it in arc stability and sound (rapid sizzle vs. short pop-pop, etc.). You will know it when you find it, and you will be able to steer it too.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

I must admit, plugging in my welder, attaching the ground and pulling the trigger was pretty slick.
When I got back to the shop, I changed the roll back to gas mig wire but forgot to hook up the gas. The weld looked kind of poopy, I knew what I did immediately.

I've done that before, it makes me talk to the welder for a moment until I glance at the gauges.... LOL

 

[Janderso]

Stickout, or the combination of wire, heat, speed, and stickout, are what amperage modulation is based on with our constant voltage welders. Jake's right, FCAW wants to see a long stickout. This all affects arc length, which is probably one of the harder skills to develop in welding. I see arc length as something I drive, it is most analogous to DOC in machine work, in that you have to stay ahead of the work with your lead. In welding you will "feel" it in arc stability and sound (rapid sizzle vs. short pop-pop, etc.). You will know it when you find it, and you will be able to steer it too.

It’s interesting what you said about you can feel it and hear it.
Based on the manual settings I thought were correct, It felt right with about a half inch stick out.
What would you say is your average fcaw stick out?

 

[rbertalotto]

I recently discovered Flux Core welding......Welded for 50 years and never touched a FC machine. Boy am I impressed! And INEXPENSIVE to boot!

 

[pontiac428]

It’s interesting what you said about you can feel it and hear it.
Based on the manual settings I thought were correct, It felt right with about a half inch stick out.
What would you say is your average fcaw stick out?

Yes! The tendency is to keep the gas coverage tight like with GMAW, but it is counterintuitive. The constant voltage welder does a lot of the work- but stickout, feed rate, and travel speed are up to the man at the trigger, which is why I say it's a lead and feel thing.

Your Mutimatic is a pretty sophisticated welder, so less operator input is needed compared to transformer tap and dial machines. And your welds look nice in the photo, too.

Here's a good primer to read:

https://www.weldguru.com/support-files/flux-cored-arc-welding.pdf

I also like Miller's philosophy of investing in educating and training the consumer, they have some fantastic info on their website that they are adding to all the time.

 

[Janderso]

Are you saying I weld with half my brain tied behind my back??
You know, smart machine and all