ESAB MM250 - my first mig welder

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Ok, I just bought my first mig welder; it's a ESAB Mig Master 250.  The welder didn't come with a gun so I bought one from weld mart.  The new gun should be here any day.  The welder did come with a ST23a spool gun.  The welder was being used to weld aluminum in a production shop.  As such, the spool gun has seen the most use.  I doubt if the welder ever saw a roll of wire inside of it.  The spool gun has a 30' cord and is set up for .035 wire.  The welder came with no tanks.The majority of my welding will be on 10g - 1/2" steel and I'd like to use the spray arc method.    ESAB's chart goes up to 1/4", but doesn't extend beyond that.  Up to 1/4" I can use .030, .035 or .045 wire.  Because I want to be able to weld thicker than 1/4" do I want to use .045 wire?  I was thinking this heavier wire could be on the welder and then I'd use a .023 wire on the spool gun.  Then again, I wouldn't use that fine wire very much and the spool gun does have a 30' cord.  Per ESAB's chart, spray arc takes 98% argon and 2% oxygen while short circuiting arc takes 75% argon and 25% CO2 or 100% CO2.  I'd really rather not keep two gasses on hand, so maybe the heavier wire should be flux core?That said, I do have a aluminum project coming up.  Is it OK to swap the spool gun from aluminum to steel back to aluminum?  The material will range from 1/8" to 1/4" thick.  Looks like 100% argon is the gas of choice (great, a third gas).  I can choose from .030, .035 (what came with the gun) or 3/64" wire.  What are your suggestions?????
Reply:I'd suggest you buy and read a book on GMAW (mig) welding.Miller has an excellent one as part of their student pack.  Best $25 you'll spend in welding.From the questions you've asked (a bunch), it's pretty obvious you don't have a clue about welding.  You're not going to learn to weld on the internet. You need to do some reading/study on your own, or take a basic welding course at your local tech school.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Your Esab will work pretty well with C-15  gas. Pretty good option for both spray and short-arc. C-25 will give you the best short-arc with that machine, although C-15 works decent enough.  Your idea of Dual-shield and C-25 is sound thinking too.
Reply:Brand X harrassed me into purchasing the same unit several years ago. For the material thickness range you've listed, the Migmaster 250 performs very well with an .035 wire and C-25. Matter of fact I had mine set up this way last night welding 3/16", and was very impressed with the result I was achieving. I'll try and post a weld bead pic later today of my results.I've used 98/2 oxy and 90/10CO² as my spray transfer gases. I've tried the 90/10 in short arc mode on 1/8" - 1/4" and wasn't impressed. The arc characteristic and weld puddle wetout of C-25 are much better.ESAB Migmaster 250 Hobart Ironman 230Multimatic 215TWECO Fabricator 181i & 211iHH125EZ - nice little fluxcore only unitMaxstar 150 STH - very nice
Reply:I use C 18 on mine and it does well for short circuit or spray.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Originally Posted by lugweldI use C 18 on mine and it does well for short circuit or spray.
Reply:I have never found C18 to be a decent spray gas.98%Ar/2%O2 is definitely hotter than C10.  C10 requires higher voltage settings.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Originally Posted by SundownIIII have never found C18 to be a decent spray gas.98%Ar/2%O2 is definitely hotter than C10.  C10 requires higher voltage settings.
Reply:I was using a mixer with my C-300 last weekend. Keep going back to C-25 in the short-arc. C-10/C-8 works pretty well for pulse, as does 98/2-O2. Not sure what I will end up with long term, but probably the O2 mix. I  will say the New Esab 275 runs a mean spray-arc with C-10That slope deal makes a difference.
Reply:Originally Posted by Brand XI was using a mixer with my C-300 last weekend. Keep going back to C-25 in the short-arc. C-10/C-8 works pretty well for pulse, as does 98/2-O2. Not sure what I will end up with long term, but probably the O2 mix. I  will say the New Esab 275 runs a mean spray-arc with C-10That slope deal makes a difference.
Reply:Medium 8 with about 6.25 on the wire speed for spray.Short circuit is low 8 with at about 4.5 on wire speed.I also use the Aristalloy ESAB wire 70 s6...great wire.Sprays easily and is controllable with c 18 with my unit.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:I think the Aristo wire is a good spray wire. I found better short-arc wire for the migmaster 250. Well the plus model, and the 275  anyway.Tap 8 on low course setting is the same as Tap 1 on the Med course setting/  Tap 8 on the med course setting is the same as tap 1 on the high course setting.Last edited by Brand X; 08-07-2010 at 02:59 AM.
Reply:I have found that there is a difference, though they are close.  I can't get the same results with the same wire settings if I go to the next range and step down the fine.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Dan,Always preferred the 98%Ar/2%O2 for straight spray over the 90%Ar/10%CO2.Using the XMT304, Optima Pulser, and a S714 Feeder (early version of the S74DX) and the Thermco Mixer (Ar/CO2) it's quite easy to shift over to pulsed spray.  The Optima Pulser has programs for a 5%CO2 mix.  No shifting of bottles (O2) needed.  Just turn the dial on the mixer.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Originally Posted by Brand XI think the Aristo wire is a good spray wire. I found better short-arc wire for the migmaster 250. Well the plus model, and the 275  anyway.Tap 8 on low course setting is the same as Tap 1 on the Med course setting/  Tap 8 on the med course setting is the same as tap 1 on the high course setting.
Reply:That's the stuff Dan. I need to get some for my Lincoln.My friend had some in his shop, (L-59) and I never got around to running it this last weekend. He is familiar with BR-6 and QA-6, and really prefers the Lincoln wire. (Power-mig 300) Not sure if he ran it in his Invertec 350 yet?Dan, did you notice any difference between taps on your Migmaster? Same open circuit voltage on the 8-1 low/med and 8-1 med/high taps I noticed you wrote 22 taps once.
Reply:Originally Posted by Brand XThat's the stuff Dan. I need to get some for my Lincoln.My friend had some in his shop, (L-59) and I never got around to running it this last weekend. He is familiar with BR-6 and QA-6, and really prefers the Lincoln wire. (Power-mig 300) Not sure if he ran it in his Invertec 350 yet?Dan, did you notice any difference between taps on your Migmaster? Same open circuit voltage on the 8-1 low/med and 8-1 med/high taps I noticed you wrote 22 taps once.
Reply:Originally Posted by Brand XDan, did you notice any difference between taps on your Migmaster? Same open circuit voltage on the 8-1 low/med and 8-1 med/high taps I noticed you wrote 22 taps once.
Reply:How thin can you guys go with 98/2 and .035 wire?  Spray or short circuit.