Is this brown stuff normal?

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I put in some torch time today on my new Miller 211.  I am practicing on the material I will be eventually building my camper with...A500 11 gauge 2x1 steel tube.  Using 0.030 wire, I have the Miller set for 55/4 even though the recommended is 65/4.5   The cooler setting just seems to give me more control with a very good sizzling sound and good penetration.  I have my CFH set to about 25.I am noticing some brown poo spots after finishing a weld.  For the most part they rub off with a wire brush, but sometimes are stubborn.  What do you think this is coming from, and is it normal or is there something I should be doing different?You can see it in this corner weld pretty well....looks like it rained brown water on it.
Reply:It's normal. What you are seeing is the silicon that comes from the wire..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:Originally Posted by DSWIt's normal. What you are seeing is the silicon that comes from the wire.
Reply:The extra silicon in the wire grabs any oxygen from the weld pool and creates the silicon oxides on the suface.  You can wire brush or drag the sharp point of your chipping hammer across to flake it off.  Also trace amounts of aluminum is sometimes added to the wire alloy in order to grab oxygen.  I am not sure what the aluminum oxide looks like or if it just vapourizes.
Reply:As others have already stated, its part of the deoxidizers (cleaners) which make up the chemical composition of your particular wire.  It's actually a "good" thing because it helps bring out the impurities on your surface steel, instead of keeping it contaminated inside the weld bead. If your really want to make your weld beads look beautiful, hit them with a wire wheel on your angle grinder.  The wire wheel on an angle grinder does a far superior job than just a wire hand brush.    It gives the nice weld beads a shiny almost polished look, all the while removing the silica on the surface.  Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member