welding wire

I have a miller 210 set up with .030 wire,getting ready for body work and was wandering if its worth it to buy new drive rolls and use .023 wire instead?

 

Yes, in my opinion. The difference is bigger than you might think. If your going to go cheap and just by one role for all things, .030 is the way to go. But if you really want things to turn out nice, get a role of .023 for sheetmetal and a role of .035 for ch***is work.

 

I would be curious if you would be better off using flux cored wire or shielding gas? with welding body panels?
For some reason I seem to be able to do a better weld with the flux core wire?? I am using a Lincoln power mig 180c
thanks
J

 

Do the .023 and you'll never go back to .030 or .035 for sheet metal.
Much less heat and more controlable

 

I use a gas torch always have

 

and a lot less grinding..............

 

Hey,

The .023 uses less amperage, which is less likely to burn through in thin
sheet, and thus less warpage.

S****ey Devils C.C.

"Meanwhile, back aboard TheTainted Pork"

 

Curious if you can use .025 on your wheels, without having to by new ones. I use have used .025 on my Lincoln Pro Mig 140 with only needing to flip the wheels around to the other groove.

If not, then yes, it is worth it.

 

hmmmm i use .30 on the whole pontiac so far and can get it to lay as nice as .23.

for a miller you have to buy dif wheels i kno that much.

 

Thats bad*** I gas weld sometimes but not always Its a very useful skill

 

Flux core is good for lesser powered migs. I will always use wire + gas (c25).

 

I have a Miller 110 and a Hobart 220, they both have drive wheels that can be flipped over for .023 wire.

 

PERFECT ANSWER.......I Agree completely...

 

When you change the wire from solid (with a shielding gas) to flux core, are you changing the polarity?

 

Well, in the ten years I spent in the body shop, all we ever used was 0.023.....and on my (now ancient) 140A Miller (on wheels, not a suitcase style), I have used 0.023 , 0.030 , and 0.035 and have never changed the drive rolls.......

James

 

I also have a Miller 210, but I do have to change to a different drive wheel for .023 wire. The one that mine came with works for .030, & .035 if you flip it over. A Miller dealer will sell the drive rolls for .023 wire, they are not stupid expensive. Also remember to switch to .023 contact tips with .023 wire too. You could use .030 contact tips, but they don't weld as cleanly(in my opinion) as the correct size for the wire. Hope this helps a little, good luck!

Dan

 

So .023 is that big of a difference, ehhhhh? I've had no problems welding and filling holes on sheetmetal with .030. Its very easy for me to use.

 

I have used both with success. What is important is you are able to get the amperage and feed rate set correctly to give you a good weld. On a 210, especially if it only has 7 amperage settings, you might find that you can not cool it off enough to use the 0.023 wire. ??maybe why it does not come with the 0.023 wheel???

 

023 is sweet for sheet metal work. there is a flux+gas wire they is specific for sheet metal i want to try, i think its by harris called 20guage or something.

 

Thanks guys,i have welded a lot of sheet metal with my 030 and have had a few issues with blowing thru on some thin sheet,but has worked pretty good,i think i will try 023,just more tools,i really have a lot of patch panels to put in my next project
quinton