Miller Autoset 180 Flux Core help needed.

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Here's the situation.  My boss is sending me to welding school.  I've been in class for 2 months.  So far I've learned to stick weld decently and have gotten my 4g certification.  The only prior welding experience I've had is fabricating aluminum racks to mount solar panels at a certain angle on houses.  Fast forward to this week at work.  The first time I've seen flux core and I've never MIG welded steel.  I've been using .035 self shielded flux core wire to weld 4"x4" 10 guauge steel tubing.  The machine has a wire speed dial that goes to 100 and a voltage dial that goes to 10.  Miller suggests I should weld at 4 amps/40 wire speed which I started with and experimented a little as I was going along.  I ****ing hate this damn welder first of all.  It's just so vague to me.  But my main problem has just been heating the metal too much and the wire seems to shoot the molten puddle out the backside, creating a hole.  This is mostly with poorly fitted up joints and I'm trying to fill a 1/8th or 1/4 inch freakin gap.  But it also happens when there isn't much of a gap.  butt welds.  I have no problem making fillet welds around the bottom of the structure to thicker material inbedded in the concrete and it looks great.  It's when I have to connect the 4x4 tubing to eachother( at a 22 degree angle) is where I get problems.  I don't think flux-core is the right tool for the job, All the while I've got this damn welder I'm lugging around and a boss breathing down my neck rushing me into worse fitted joints.  Also I've basically been told not to grind any of the ugly *** welds I've been making because it takes too much time.  It's just not the way to work.  He doesn't know anything about welding and I certainly don't know it what I need to YET.  I need any advice I can get on using flux core on 10 guage steel.  Thanks
Reply:The welding parameters that Miller offers are generally fairly close. The material thickness, joint preparation and position are going to be an important factor just as they would using any process. Check to see if your polarity is set to what is required for your self shielded wire. If the wire is not an all position wire, then you should change it out, as you want a fast freeze wire for filling gaps.
Reply:Originally Posted by Green Welder  He doesn't know anything about welding and I certainly don't know it what I need to YET.  I need any advice I can get on using flux core on 10 guage steel.  Thanks
Reply:I'm welding outside.  I have been using E71T-GS, but it seems E71T-11 would be a better choice.  I'll have to beg for it though.  Would a larger diameter electrode work better?
Reply:Originally Posted by Green WelderI'm welding outside.  I have been using E71T-GS, but it seems E71T-11 would be a better choice.  I'll have to beg for it though.  Would a larger diameter electrode work better?
Reply:I agree it worked great in the windy conditions I was working in.  I also tried filling the gaps with stringers, but mostly ended up punching holes in the steel.  Turned the voltage down and couldn't keep a steady arc.  Turned the wirespeed down and deposited basically no filler, and created a puddle to burn through.  The polarity was correctPro-Fab, you say you wouldn't use E71T-GS.  What would you use?  I mentioned changing wire to him after putting down a couple tacks because of how slow it is to solidify.  I got a chuckle out of him because I'm just a know-it-all kid in welding school .
Reply:Also, I'm thinking a bigger wire would be better than .035 for welding 10 guage.  Can anyone comment on that?
Reply:Not sure but 0.035 might just be the limit for your machine.  What does the chart under the door tell you?Gordie -- "I believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
Reply:Your wire dia. is big enough for your application, and all that the welder can handle. Check with your supplier and find out what he carries for out of position welding. The 70T-11 would be an improvement. If it was me, I would set up a wind screen, switch over to 70S-6 wire with CO2 shielding gas and rev.polarity. I only run flux cored or metal cored wires in my bigger welders where we can run hotter. Solid wire is a lot easier to learn out of position with. Because it is fast freezing, it is easier to pinpoint flaws with your technique. If you are doing your own weld preps, don't let them rush you. An extra five minutes spent on fit up will save you twenty minutes closing it up, and will be a lot nicer looking with little clean up.