Short Arc Flux Core Wires

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Hey i decided to ditch my bottle of gas for a roll of a flux core wire and i have no idea on which one i should buy i would some that works well with short arc and about .9mm and i would only be using it for genral purpose stuff but in saying that i want a higher quiality grade like in tig wire 706 vs 702Thanks SteveCigweld Transmig 265seBoc 140amp StickBoss 200amp AC/DC TIGLincoln Electric Invertec V260-S
Reply:Hello Bozzza, the short answer for you is somewhat along these lines: when you switch to a self-shielded flux core wire you will most likely also need to change your machine polarity to straight polarity (gun negative, ground positive). The resulting arc will not be "short arc" as the flux and polarity combination yields closer to a "spray" type of transfer. If your plan is to use this for sheet metal work you may wish to re-think your choice as the weld deposit that results with this wire would not be favorable for sheetmetal, you would have a hard time with burn-through and likely lots of spatter and generally an irregular and not-so-pretty weld deposit, at least not so far as working with the thin stuff. You would also need to pay attention to the particular self-shielded wire classification that you selected, some are designed for single-pass application, others for limited thickness limitations, some meet seismic requirements, some don't. The items that I just mentioned above may have nothing to do with your purpose, possibly a few more details of your intended use could help everyone to better answer your questions. If you can, try to include your specific machine model and type, the types and thicknesses of materials that you will be welding, and whether this is a home or work related inquiry. A bit more information could do worlds for the answers that folks can provide here. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Lincoln NR211MP (E71T-11), Hobart Fabshield 21B (also T-11 class) and Hobart Fabshield 23 (E71T-GS) are easy fluxcore wires to run and are readily available in .030" (0.8mm) and .035" (0.9mm) size.  The NR211 is sold at Lowe's and Home Depot in .030" size for about $40-45 around here.   You'll have to go to the local welding supply to get the Hobart wires but they are priced similarly to the NR211.  NR212 is another Lincoln fluxcore wire to check out too.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op