Pulse welder for stainless ? Better ?

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Have a lincoln 255 mig .Good machine works well good shapeDoing a lot of fabrication with stainless 304 .  The regular mig is no good .No matter what spatter sticks way more than with regular steelUsing tri mix and 308 wire . Solid . So I heard pulse mig is the way to go: Is it true? Need something with less spatter issues . I'm looking at the 350 miller or the comparable lincoln 350 with pulse mig  capabilitiesWhat are your thoughts( tig is not an option . )
Reply:craigmetalman, have you considered flux-cored gas shielded stainless steel wire? It does produce very high quality welds with minimal spatter. It would also not require a completely different welding machine. The cost of the wire and possibly a gas change might be a bit expensive initially, yet I believe that you will be well satisfied with the results. As to your question about a machine capable of pulsed mig and suited for stainless steel applications and others, there are certainly high-dollar systems out there that will do amazing things for welding on stainless steel or other applications, but can you really justify the monetary investment to operate these sorts of systems? If your work warrants something like this and the answer is yes then pursuing this sort of thing will provide you with rewards in many different ways and possibly be a very good choice. Consider your needs and approach your decision in an informed manner. Good luck and best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Lincoln's pulse on pulse is the bee's knees from what I have heard. And yes pulse mig is worth it.IMO Lincoln has an edge over Miller.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:I have a similar mig 250c Lincoln , could never produce decent results on SS.. I still have a roll of 316 from 7-8 years ago when I bought the machine. Did one project with dual shield.. cored SS and some gas I don't remember ( recommended by the lws) ... out of position was a pita.--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:flux core is not something I am interested in.The flux in my experience creates more mess, and a more toxic fume cloud,especially in multi pass situations. I really enjoy the solid wire more, and it works fine minus the PITA spatter with stainless. I do alot of non traditional fit ups, and out of position as well. so has anyone actually used the miller 350 pulse for stainsteel mig?any first hand experiences here?
Reply:I didn't see anywhere how thick your base metals are, or what position(s) you are working in.  can you provide a bit more detailLast edited by Fred s; 08-26-2013 at 10:25 AM.Reason: grammarExperience is something you get right after you need it
Reply:yes I've done pulsed MIG with a couple different Miller power supplies.  For out of position work with stainless, using solid wire, it's much better than short circuit transfer.  With proper setup and tri-mix you should have (virtually) no spatter.  If you've got the cash, a Miller machine with Pro-pulse, like a Pipeworx system, is even better.  You can pulse with 98/2 Ar/CO2 also, if the tri-mix is too expensive.  But the puddle control, spatter, and finished bead appearance won't be quite as good.Pulse Spray transfer, all other things being equal, will lower the overall heat input as well.  This should help with distortion and sugaring.Last thought, if you're working on thin material, you may be stuck with short circuit transfer for out of position work.  I'm not sure how thin is too thin.  Best to talk with a tech support person at Miller to find out whether pulse spray will work in your particular circumstances.Benson's Mobile Welding - Dayton, OH metro area - AWS Certified Welding Inspector
Reply:ThanksNo way I can afford the pipe worksI'm looking googling the miller 350Without the push pull gun. Doing a lot of 1/8 stainless steel mig welding All kinds of gaps holes and joints .Mainly sheet also round stockAny experience with that machine ?
Reply:I use pulse MIG on stainless quite often. It is not completely spatter-free, but pretty close. Also a big help for welding out-of-position. I mostly use 97% Ar, 3% CO2 but there are pulse settings for tri-mix as well.My machine is a Lincoln, not a Miller, so I can't comment on the specifics of the 350P. By the way, pulse-on-pulse is for aluminum only, not stainless.JohnA few weldersA lot of hammersA whole lot of C-clamps
Reply:John,If you wouldn't mind sharing some info on your settings I would love to see them. I have a 350MP that I do a lot of steel and aluminum with, had a stainless project a while back that we wanted to pulse mig and I couldn't get anything close to making me happy. I purchased a stainless tri mix for the job but I don't remember the mix off of the top of my head now. If you have any pictures of finished welds I would like to see those as well.Thanks,Ken
Reply:Ken So how do you like the 350 mp?Would you say it's much better for stainless mig than a regular mig?You see the issue isn't the weld . That's all fine . It's the gross spatter which for my Finer projects creates a mess.In my experience with stainless I find the spatter just sticks worse . And my guess is because it lacks that thin mill scale that mild steel has ,, that maybe keeps the spatter from sticking as bad .So thoughts in pulsing stainless . If I can figure how to post a picture . I will ?
Reply:Originally Posted by craigmetalmanKen So how do you like the 350 mp?Would you say it's much better for stainless mig than a regular mig?You see the issue isn't the weld . That's all fine . It's the gross spatter which for my Finer projects creates a mess.In my experience with stainless I find the spatter just sticks worse . And my guess is because it lacks that thin mill scale that mild steel has ,, that maybe keeps the spatter from sticking as bad .So thoughts in pulsing stainless . If I can figure how to post a picture . I will ?
Reply:Originally Posted by KGIORJohn,If you wouldn't mind sharing some info on your settings I would love to see them. I have a 350MP that I do a lot of steel and aluminum with, had a stainless project a while back that we wanted to pulse mig and I couldn't get anything close to making me happy. I purchased a stainless tri mix for the job but I don't remember the mix off of the top of my head now. If you have any pictures of finished welds I would like to see those as well.Thanks,Ken
Reply:Thanks John,What gauges and types of stainless are you typically welding? Do you prefer one type of filler over another? Ken
Reply:I mostly do sculpture fabrication, along with some general fab, so thickness is all over the map. Average is probably 10 ga. or so.A lot of what I do involves combinations of carbon steel and stainless, so 309LSi is my "go to" wire. I also use 308 and 316 where appropriate.The folks at Lincoln recommended high-silicon wire (3xxLSi) for pulse MIG due to better wetting and tie-in to the base metal. As for brand I have used Lincoln, Harris, ESAB, and a few others with no real preference.A few weldersA lot of hammersA whole lot of C-clamps
Reply:Johns Me too!!What's your sculpture website ?Mine is www.craigusher.netSo are you happy with the lincoln machine? Because I'm leaning towards Buying a 350 mpRather than the millermatic because of its options for programs .Please let me know your thoughts
Reply:I used the 350P for stainless and was really impressed with the fact that it has pre and post flow which made stainless welding nice....your choice of wire is important also like 308SL from what I have heard....  Miller Dynasty 350Twenty Six HammersThree Crow BarsBig Rock
Reply:Originally Posted by craigmetalmanJohns Me too!!What's your sculpture website ?Mine is www.craigusher.netSo are you happy with the lincoln machine? Because I'm leaning towards Buying a 350 mpRather than the millermatic because of its options for programs .Please let me know your thoughts