shelf life of welding wire once installed

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Practically speaking, what is the shelf life of a roll of wire once installed? If you are welding regularly I assume you use up the outer layer of wire that would rust so that there is always a "new" layer exposed to the elements. I know there are a lot of variables. I'm just looking for generalities to see if a 10#spool makes sense for my hobby welding or if I should keep buying the 2# ones. Thanks, Charlie
Reply:I will assume you are talking about steel wire and copper coated. One of the big variables is, is your shop heated? Others are how much humidity is common where you are? Is the wire subject to wide temperature swings which could lead to condensation on the wire? How good is the ventilation around the machine? All that said, my shop is unheated. There are times of the year that everything is dripping water from condensation. I am a lazy bugger and don't take the mig wire out of my machine and store it in a sealed container in the house. I don't mig weld that often and I buy 10 lbs. rolls because they are much cheaper than 2 lbs. rolls. I haven't experienced any problem yet. I do sometimes cover the welder with a shipping blanket when there will be wide temperature fluctuations to slow down the change in temperature at the at the machine. If you weld really infrequently, you could always take the wire out of the machine and store it where it will be dry.---Meltedmetal
Reply:I have had past 40 year old wire and rod works find as long the weather does not get to wire or rod..Dave

Originally Posted by cbourbeau32

Practically speaking, what is the shelf life of a roll of wire once installed? If you are welding regularly I assume you use up the outer layer of wire that would rust so that there is always a "new" layer exposed to the elements. I know there are a lot of variables. I'm just looking for generalities to see if a 10#spool makes sense for my hobby welding or if I should keep buying the 2# ones. Thanks, Charlie
Reply:If your shop goes through temperature swings and you get dew/rust on your wire, I've heard some guys say that they put a "gun safe heater" inside their MIG machine, supposedly it heats things up just enough to prevent condensation and rust on your wire. They don't use much power...a few watts, I suspect.
Reply:

Originally Posted by cbourbeau32

Practically speaking, what is the shelf life of a roll of wire once installed? If you are welding regularly I assume you use up the outer layer of wire that would rust so that there is always a "new" layer exposed to the elements. I know there are a lot of variables. I'm just looking for generalities to see if a 10#spool makes sense for my hobby welding or if I should keep buying the 2# ones. Thanks, Charlie
Reply:We take two weeks off Over Christmas I would cover the wire with a blanket on wire feeder. But never had trouble with wire rusting, I did just in case. Dave

Originally Posted by Kelvin

If your shop goes through temperature swings and you get dew/rust on your wire, I've heard some guys say that they put a "gun safe heater" inside their MIG machine, supposedly it heats things up just enough to prevent condensation and rust on your wire. They don't use much power...a few watts, I suspect.
Reply:Here in AZ I've had them last over a year easy, but it's mostly dry here. I also use the wipers, red and black,  and every time I get a package with those little packets of silca gel I throw them in the wire compartment.Miller Challenger 172Miller Thunderbolt AC/DC 225/150Miller Maxstar 150 STLVictor 100CVictor JourneymanOxweld OAHarris O/ASmith O/A little torchNo, that's not my car.
Reply:Thanks to everyone's replies.......so much good info!
Reply:Welding supply houses sell small felt pads to be folded over the wire where it enters the rollers and fastened to it with a butterfly paper clip.Ol' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:I use a old shirt and oil for babies Dave

Originally Posted by mla2ofus

Welding supply houses sell small felt pads to be folded over the wire where it enters the rollers and fastened to it with a butterfly paper clip.
Reply:I'm in SW Florida and its humid AF in the summer, seems like the outer portion of the spool might get some rust.  If it were heavy I'd cut it out.It seemed like a good idea at the time!
Reply:That bad 👎  You can remove the wire and store the roll inside your home. Dave

Originally Posted by welding1

I'm in SW Florida and its humid AF in the summer, seems like the outer portion of the spool might get some rust.  If it were heavy I'd cut it out.
Reply:

Originally Posted by mla2ofus

Welding supply houses sell small felt pads to be folded over the wire where it enters the rollers and fastened to it with a butterfly paper clip.
Reply:I did purchase a kit back in 1980. The replacement was a old shirt 👕Was buying the wire lubrication till I read the SDS paper work and found it was same as baby 👶 oil. Baby oil I could buy from discount store for ¼ price in a large bottle 🍼. Wait until you find out what mig dip is.Dave

Originally Posted by G-ManBart

Some folks claim those can cause problems when the felt breaks down and winds up in the liner.  The topic has come up enough I have to think there might be something to it, even if it's that people don't change them frequently enough.  That's where I read about the foam ear plug solution...new plug ever time you replace the wire.  That might work with the felt pads as well, but some people really, really hate those felt pads!