Stick vs Flux - What's wrong with me? :)

admin

So I'm a hobby welder with not a ton of experience, self taught mostly, doing things around my hobby farm.  I have two welders a lincoln power mig 180 loaded with some praxair flux core .035 wire and a hobart 1435 generator welder which is 140 amps dc.I mainly use the lincoln with the flux core because it's supposed to be the easiest, I can tell you most of the time my welds are not great, unless it's new steel to new steel I end up with porosity and iffy penetration.  Not impressive.  Once in a while I fire up the hobart and run a bead with some 3/32 6011 or 1/8 7018 and my welds seem to come out great.  Good penetration, no porosity etc.  I have hardly any experience stick welding but I watched some videos and I just try to keep my arc length, rod angle and travel speed correct and it seems to come out great.  I try to get the steel clean and all that but still the flux is only so so most of the time.  I know the polarity is right on the lincoln as well.I don't get it.Any ideas?
Reply:Picts, settings, material thickness...?.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Get some Lincoln flux wire and try it, that's the best flux wire I have found.Thermal Arc 210 - Tweco 211I - Cutmaster 52
Reply:throughout the small amount of experience i have, It will be DCEN and don't always go by the settings in the welder. Not always sometimes but not every weld.Assuming you have not experimented with your settings, remember to have more electrode stickout.VictorPraxairAir LiquideMillerLincoln Electric
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWPicts, settings, material thickness...?
Reply:You are being too vague on the settings.The settings on the door or whatever are just approximate, not usually exact for what you are trying to weld.What thickness of metal are you trying to weld ?Take a few photos of the welds and post them.
Reply:I’m just a hobby welder my self.Here is some Lincoln NR-212, and Hobart 21-B.Also the penetration you can get with NR-211. Attached ImagesDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:What is your stickout?It seems to be pretty common with flux core to set the voltages too high when switching from solid wire.