Critique my Flux Core

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Greetings,First a little background.  I have been lurking for a while.  I had bought a MIG welder and was going to teach myself how to use it.  But, after reading this website for a few months I thought it best to take a course at the local community college first.  I'm glad I did.  It was fantastic.  Every student had their own work area and a Miller Dynasty.  We did a few weeks of stick and then a few weeks of mig.  We also did some spray transfer, welding aluminum with a spool gun, Oxy-Acet cutting and plasma cutting.  Thanks to all of you for saving me from probably setting myself on fire.So, I finally got my new shop wired for 220 volt.  I hadn't gotten around to getting some scrap for practice.  But I have a little project that needs welding.  It was time to plug in my machine and see what happens. The job was ramps for my utility trailer.  I wanted to weld a piece of rectangular tubing onto the bottom of the ramp bracket to give it a little more bearing surface where I set it on the trailer.  There is a bit of of a step.Anyway heres what I used:-Lincoln MIG PAK 15 (same as the Lincoln 175HD etc sold at big box stores)  It has taps for the voltage and a variable wire speed.- .035 flux core wire- steel bracket is 3/16" and rectangular tubing is 1/8".  - use the welding chart setting for 1/8" This was my first time using flux core.  Wow is that stuff smokey.  I feel like I should go smoke a pack of Camels to clear out my lungs. So here is the first few beads on the first bracket.As you can see I blew a hole through the 1/8" tubing.  I was also pushing and couldn't really see the puddle.So, I turned down the voltage to the next lower tap and pulled the gun so I could see the puddle better.  I also concentrated more time on the thicker 3/16" bracket.  I think these turned out better.Like I said, this is the first time with fluxcore.  At the college it was all with shielding gas.  Should I just get a bottle of Argon/CO2 and forget about trying to get use to fluxcore?  My projects are just homeowner/hobby stuff.  I would like to make a welding cart of course, portable welding table, shop shelving brackets, ATV trailer etc.   The chart on my welder only lists setting for .025 and .030 solid wire, not .035. I would welcome your suggestions.
Reply:Your wire speed is too fast and amps too low. All flux cored wire I have welded with had a shielding gas; just because it is flux core it doesn't mean you should go without shielding gas. I can see that the weld metal is piling up fast and cold. I can't tell from your results whether you were pushing or pulling, but you should be pushing.Honestly, it looks pretty bad, especially the top photos.
Reply:I was also pushing and couldn't really see the puddle.
Reply:looks very cold, turn up the heat! if you want to be more versatile rent the mig gas, then you can run the solid wire on the thinner metal, and you can also run a dual shield flux core wire for the heavier stuff. i prefer to use the lincoln outershield elite. i don"t know what you were using in school, but once you try the dual shield you will see a big differance in appearance. of course you will have to experiment with heat settings on your welder when running different types of wire.                                                                                                                                                          rob.
Reply:Good luck getting that Dual Shield in da little 175 Lincolnhttp://content.lincolnelectric.com/p...ure/c32400.pdfClick on the Link for Lincoln's welding Guide- good infoEd Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:Originally Posted by maartyYour wire speed is too fast and amps too low. All flux cored wire I have welded with had a shielding gas; just because it is flux core it doesn't mean you should go without shielding gas. I can see that the weld metal is piling up fast and cold. I can't tell from your results whether you were pushing or pulling, but you should be pushing.Honestly, it looks pretty bad, especially the top photos.
Reply:get some solid wire bud great for thin sheet. i run flux core all day no probs with pushing or pullingthinner stuff like 6mm i have no problem pushing but as soon as i get into the real meaty stuff 10mm +i pull just because i want the deeper penetration
Reply:You should get a higher Amp
Reply:ya, self sheild i pulldual shield i push.  i did my all pos CWB with dual shield pushing.  its hot enough that you dont need to pull and i found it easyer to see.that being said with my little miller 90 (110v) at home i use self sheild (T-GS) .030 wire cause even that isnt really hot enough, and i pull.  i usually am welding 1/8" material and i have the volts set to max and the wire speed at "40". thats not inches per mintue, tahst just teh setting on teh front of the box.  for a ..035 wire you need more volts to keep that extra metal in the puddle fluid, so if your volts are already set to max id say turn your wire down a bit.  which sucks if its a small welder cause you want your amps as high as possible for penatration.any way, just my 2 centsoh and your right about the smokes.  cleans the lungs out.flux core at school i wore a respirator for, but i still smoked a pack a day just to be sure
Reply:Self shielding fluxcore wire, E71T-GS, E71T-11 (NR211MP) , E71T-8 (NR232), do not use shielding gas at all.   For these wires,  pull (drag) the wire, not push.In your machine, use .030 or .035 for fluxcore wire.Going by what's in the pics, turn up the voltage a little.You did well to concentrate more on the thicker plate and wash it into the thinner tube.  Keep doing that.   You're almost there in your last 2 pics.  Just need to wet it in a bit more with more heat.  If you had left the voltage the same instead of turning it down, then dragged instead of pushed, you would probly have it just about right.If the smoke bothers you, keep your head back out of the smoke and keep your body on the upwind side of the weld, or buy a 3M half mask respirator and a pair of pink filters.If you decide to switch to solid wire and gas, don't foget to change the gun polarity (torch +, work -).Last edited by DesertRider33; 08-28-2009 at 06:55 AM.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Originally Posted by srp61you say his wire speed is too fast, and amps too low? the faster the wire speed the higher the amps, so maybe you meant to say turn up the volts?also t-gs and t-11 wires are meant for use without gas, whereas other fluxcored wires do need gas.
Reply:Thanks for your help gentlemen.  Like I said, first time with flux core and first time with my own machine.