You've obviously never saw anyone using a wire welder outside in a breeze where you can't use gas because it will blow away. Guys that work outside use flux cored all the time. Just takes practice like learning any other type of welding.
Hobart 140 owner here. Works great on sheet metal all the way up to over 1/8" thick and it uses 110. I use a stick welder for anything thicker.
i am a firm believer in anything that has the miller name on it. i make my living with their welders in my hands and their hoods on my head. 95% of your garbage trucks are built with a miller.(well at least if its a heil unit that is.)
Damn straight Bro. All I use is flux core. I tried a bottle once, wasted 130.00, Bottle deposit and the gas. I work outside down here, I use .035 flux core even on the thinest sheet metal and it works. Learn to use a copper spoon and you wont make holes. Trigger control, the right settings for your style. Its not about the machine its about the "Welder". Buy what you can aford and practice.
the biggest thing is practice....im a lincone fan but mill is also good stick tig and mig nun of it is hard u just got to practice practice practice and set every thing up right to fit u not 2 ppl weld the same one may prefer a welder set up a lil hot and one may a weld set up a lil colder but remember its all about penetration it dosnt matter what it looks like my motto it isnt pretty but it will hold
I got the same one..works great. Welds up the small projects perfect and you can still crank up the heat for a good heavy penetrated weld. It supports my college funds and car racing mon-Friday!
Hmmm, well, I never have problems with wind blowing the gas. If it's blowing that strong, hang a tarp. You will get cleaner welds with the proper shield. At least one of you "fluxers" mentioned that's all you ever use, could be the reason for the bias towards it... If you think about it, flux core is really nothing but a miniature stick welder with the flux inside instead of outside. Kinda defeats the purpose (as well as the name) of MIG (Metal Inert Gas).
My Hobart Handler 140 fit my needs perfectly. I only have 110 power in my garage. It does flux core or MIG. Also bought the c02 sheilding gas conversion to be portable. 1 paintball canister is good for about 40 minutes of weld time.
Correct, that's why I don't refer to it as MIG. It's FCAW, Flux Cored Arc Welding. And I have a gas hookup for mine and have used gas. But once I figured out the flux cored stuff I don't see a reason to use gas. Maybe you don't like flux cored because you haven't used it or practiced with it? Both work fine, it's all personal preference. As I mentioned earlier, using the Hobart FabShield 21B wire made a nice difference compared to the Lincoln wire. To the OP, another item that helped me was a darkening helmet, even the cheap $50 Harbor Freight ones.
I have the Licoln Weld Pak 140 HD from Home Depot sitting on a Harbor Freight cart with 75/25 gas. I use .025 wire for body panels (22 GA.) and .030 for chassis work (18 Ga.). Anything over 3/16" and I use flux-core. This welder works very well for anything up to around 5/16". I had a buddy with a custom bike ask me to weld on a 3/8" plate shift lever bracket, one time, when I only had .025 wire. I objected with serious concerns about penetration. He insisted, though. Damned if the welder didn't do it's job admirably. Acceptable penetration and the weld is still holding well. As a Journeyman sheet metal worker, having seen small welders being pushed past their limit more than once, with dangerous results, this little Lincoln did alright in my book. Miller makes a great 140 amp welder, too, with infinite voltage control. However, it's about $200 more. Also, x2 on the Harbor Freight auto hoods being a great deal. I have used one every day at work for the past 6 years. Eric
Flux core = lots of spatter. Enough reason for me to not to weld with it. And think about it, there's a reason why flux core hasn't taken over the true MIG welding market.
Flux core is used widely in industrial applications and is known for getting very good weld penetration. People tend to knock it thinking it's a sub-par technique just because Harbor Freight sells cheap Chinese flux core welders.
Man! You guys have been a wealth of information. Now I know what to get and what to expect. Thanks everyone!
