The DUH??? Moment

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All this time, I've been practicing and getting critiques on my progress. So today I setup for some more practice on some 3/16" and I'm set to the recommended setting for said metal, and am not getting the penetration that I should....(this seems to be the norm). So I'm thinkin that maybe the little HF machine just doesn't have the poop to do it. Then I run out of wire in the middle of a bead, pull the spool of and it .030 wire not .035 like I thought......might be why the welds are not doing so well.............off to buy wire! HF 180 amp/240 volt Mig (cap mod)1987 Harley FLHTP (project)1990 F350 XLT Lariat S/C dually1990 S&S 11SC Cabover Camper2011 Ford Ranger S/C XLT
Reply:on smaller welders. 0.030 welds a lot better the 0.035 hard wire.The larger the wire, the more amps are needed to burn the wire hot enough to flow out.Hard wire takes more current than fluxcore wire for the same size.
Reply:On the recommended settings that are on the machine, anything above 14ga requires .035 wire when using FC or 1/8" with solid wire. I ran some Lincoln .035 FC wire this afternoon.........MUCH better penetration than the .030. I was even getting decent depth on 1/4". Still playing with wire speed and my hand speed to get it right, but I'll get there. HF 180 amp/240 volt Mig (cap mod)1987 Harley FLHTP (project)1990 F350 XLT Lariat S/C dually1990 S&S 11SC Cabover Camper2011 Ford Ranger S/C XLT