how to tell if fcaw wire is bad?

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Just switched over to Lincoln NR-211 MP .030 on my modified (DCENconversion with Cap) HF 90 amp flux core wire welder.  I was excited to see how it ran since it's supposed to be good wire, buttruth be told the HF E71T-GS .030 wire was doing really well until it ran out.The Harbor Freight flux core always left a nice ashy colored slag thatbrushed or popped right off leaving a good looking bead underneath.So when I put the Lincoln wire in, I was surprised a little to see areas lacking slag coverage on my beads.  These areas seem to appear atthe top of the profile of the bead...usually there is a black edge rightaround the bare spot.  I also see them at the end of the weld beads.There is also consistently a black residue that follows the toes of theweld...just a straight line that follows along parallel to the toes that sometimes spreads out a littleWhen I brush the slag off a bead that looks like this, the areas thatwere covered by slag look nice and shiny with defined ripples...theareas that had the bare spots look more tarnished and no ripples.Messing around with the voltage and WFS doesn't seem to affecthis symptom.  Sometimes it won't happen at all but more often thannot it does since i put this roll in.So, is this normal for this wire?  Anybody know what's going on? I didn't see any of these things with the Harbor Freight .030 wire.Here are some pics:Last edited by Ronin8002; 05-05-2012 at 03:19 PM.
Reply:the little voids in your slag are called "windows" it usually happens to me when the volts are too high. or your stick out is a little short. Or both.    Fcaw normally has the tannish to white slag. if it starts turning brown and dark your getting to hot.
Reply:Originally Posted by oznationthe little voids in your slag are called "windows" it usually happens to me when the volts are too high. or your stick out is a little short. Or both.    Fcaw normally has the tannish to white slag. if it starts turning brown and dark your getting to hot.
Reply:You can make changes in voltage by adjusting wire speed as well.AWS CWI Hypertherm 850 plasmaLincoln LN-25Lincoln SAE 400Miller Big 40D28' X 36' X 14' Shop_____________________________________Tools are not the the skill but simply tools!
Reply:Also I have recently read at the lincoln site taht once the wire has been removed from the manufacturers container it has a reccommendation to use within a weeks time.AWS CWI Hypertherm 850 plasmaLincoln LN-25Lincoln SAE 400Miller Big 40D28' X 36' X 14' Shop_____________________________________Tools are not the the skill but simply tools!
Reply:Originally Posted by Dipper WelderYou can make changes in voltage by adjusting wire speed as well.
Reply:yes amps is wire feed speed on cv machine. As for stickout it should be 3/4-1'' and kept there to far its to cold and wont weld well to short and its to hot.......    there are situations that deem shorter or longer stickout though