Ideal MiG wire for 120v welder?

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I am going to convert my 120v promig 140 welder (Home Depot special) from FCAW to GMAW since I now have a stick welder.  I was thinking about getting Lincoln Weld L-56 in 0.030" diameter.  I want to weld clean steel up to 1/8" in thickness.  I also have some shielding gas, but think I may need a different type.  It is 91% argon, 5% carbon dioxide, and 4% oxygen.  Is this a useful blend?Chris
Reply:L56 is an ER 70S-6 wire and is a good one, but the gas mixture is a new one on me.  JohnSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:I may have the o2 and co2 mixtures reversed, but it is 91% argon.  The guy I bought it from was welding stainless steel if that helps any.It seems like 75/25 argon/CO2 mix is a good place to start?Chris
Reply:That "hi octane gas" is generally for more specialized hi-power welding. What did some one call it? "Rot Gut 75/25" , may be better suited to short-circuit transfer for your application.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Originally Posted by *chris*It seems like 75/25 argon/CO2 mix is a good place to start?Chris
Reply:75/25 or 80/20 would be a good mix for this unit, straight Co2 will run well on these 120V units as well. As for the Tri mix gas, it's not needed, especially anything with oxygen in it. I'm not a fan of any mix with Oxygen in it, the way I see it, the main purpose of a shielding gas is to shield the arc/puddle from the surrounding atmosphere, and what's in the surrounding atmosphere? 20.5% Oxygen!! I sell gases and welding supplies for a living, and 99.9% of the applications I see for mild steel and stainless can be welded with argon/Co2. If an LWS rep comes in your shop touting a 3 or 4 component mix for mild or stainless steel, send him packing! That or ask him to show you macro etch samples of his "wizzbang gas mix" compared to argon/co2
Reply:Thanks for the feedback, but I already have a half-full bottle.  Is it safe to use?  I guess I can run a few test beads and see the result.  How about the wire, what is the best for clean mild steel?  Is the L-56 a good all around wire?Chris
Reply:How about the wire, what is the best for clean mild steel? Is the L-56 a good all around wire?
Reply:I've had a bottle of tri mix in the corner of the workshop for at least 6yrs, that someone gave me, never used it until last week, when I ran out of gas for the MIG. It was like 10 at night so no chance of picking up another until morning and the job needed doing NOW.I was really surprised at the qty of weld it produced. I would go as far as saying very good indeed.
Reply:For the 110V machine, I always liked .023/ .024 filler much better than .030. It burned better, and laid in a lot smoother most of the time.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:.023 gives a broader spectrum for the machine to work.  .030 can limit you on the small stuff.  Its a little welder and performs best with little wire.  Not slamming the machine.  I have had an SP100 for 20 years.  Tried all the stuff, now it always has .023 in it.David  Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:David, can you weld 1/8" steel with the 0.025 wire?  Chris
Reply:Originally Posted by *chris*David, can you weld 1/8" steel with the 0.025 wire?  Chris
Reply:Originally Posted by David RYESDavid
Reply:Originally Posted by David R.023 gives a broader spectrum for the machine to work.  .030 can limit you on the small stuff.  Its a little welder and performs best with little wire.  Not slamming the machine.  I have had an SP100 for 20 years.  Tried all the stuff, now it always has .023 in it.David
Reply:Originally Posted by *chris*Thanks, I just took a oxy/fuel and stick welding class, haven't gotten to the MiG class yet.  To oversimplify, I guess filler metal is filler metal regardless of the diameter just have to fill the puddle slower?  I will try welding with the existing gas and see how it goes.Chris
Reply:qaqc,With a 120V MIG machine, he -WILL- be doing short-circuit transfer.  That machine doesn't have the voltage to get into spray transfer on steel.  Not that spray is needed to do gauge or 1/8 inch material.Filler metal is filler metal, but (there's always a but somewhere) the diameter of the wire used in GMAW/FCAW/etc does limit both min and max amps that can be used.That said, for GMAW on mild steel, any argon-CO2 gas mix from C-25 to C-8 will be fine for short-circuit transfer with that little machine.  Plain CO2 will also be just fine as well, much less expensive that C-25/etc, and the down-side is a little more spatter (than C-25) and a bit hotter arc/more penetration making things a bit more difficult on thin gauge steel sheets.0.023/0.025 versus 0.030 wire?  The difference is usually about 1 gauge-size capability difference on the high and low ends.  So that's 24 gauge low-end for 0.025 wire versus 22 gauge low-end for 0.030 wire.  Your call.Most of this is in your manual and also on the nice door chart that Lincoln puts on the door to the wire compartment.  At least for mild steel parameters.Lincoln L-56 is an ER70S-6 wire, as said.  If you need or want the 'extra' deoxidizers in an S-6 wire, it is just fine.  If you have clean steel with no mill-scale, you could use an S-3 or S-4 wire, which have lower deoxidizer levels than the S-6 wire.  About the only drawback to using S-6 wire when an S-3 or S-4 could have been used is that you get a little bit more silicon islands (those little 'glassy' usually brown glossy drops) on top of the weld bead when you are done.L-56 is just fine in my book.
Reply:Moon, I'm not sure why your response was directed at me other than you repeated what i said, for the most part.
Reply:I doubt you could find .023/025 in anything BUT Er70S-6.Good stuff anyhow.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:side note to qaqc:  Just the way I read your response, it seemed to leave an opening regarding the use of some transfer mode -other- than short-circuit trasfer for the OP and his 120V MIG machine.His machine can pretty much only do short-circuit transfer.  Like you said, plain CO2 will be just fine for that usage.David, I didn't even think of spool size availability or wire size availability in the different wire chemistries available.  But you're right, the only 0.025 MIG wire Lincoln offers is L-56 in 2 pound (4 inch diameter) or 12.5 pound (8 inch diameter) plastic spools.It's still good/decent wire.
Reply:Originally Posted by *chris*Thanks, I just took a oxy/fuel and stick welding class, haven't gotten to the MiG class yet.  To oversimplify, I guess filler metal is filler metal regardless of the diameter just have to fill the puddle slower?  I will try welding with the existing gas and see how it goes.Chris
Reply:Originally Posted by RojodiabloI tried the CO2, and it looked too much like fluxcore. With the C25, I had almost no spatter. ...
Reply:I'll run some Co2 and C/25 today.  Not much going on at work yet. David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Originally Posted by *chris*How about the wire, what is the best for clean mild steel?  Is the L-56 a good all around wire?Chris
Reply:Originally Posted by 69 chevyDo yourself a favor and start your MIG welding journey with Lincoln's L-56.  Just so you know what the best is like.  Whoever said wire is wire is just plain wrong.  (it's like saying beer is beer!)  They might all meet the required specs, but the house brands and cheap price brands won't feed the same, arc the same, or puddle the same.  Especially when you're starting out, L-56 will help you become a better welder.First picture was Co2, a stringer then a weave. Factory settings for Co2 18 guage.  If I set it for 16 gauge, it would burn through.  .023 ER70S-6Plate was 16 ga.C25 with factory settings for 18 guage.This is what I expected.David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Hey David, what's that black speck on the C25 weave?  Burn-through or just a silicon island?And out of curiousity, can you get 0.023/0.025 S-6 wire into spray transfer (C-8, or 98-2, whatever you have around and can try with) or does the wire run into current saturation/limit before it can get to spray transfer?  And if you try it and can get into spray mode, what parameters did you end up with (volts/amps/wirespeed)?You -said- you were bored and it was slow, and I'm curious.Besides, you usually seem to be willing to try stuff out and post it, and your pictures are usually decent too.
Reply:I've used both co2 and c25. which one depended on who was buying the gas. Now that I buy it I use c25 for mild steel. Yes co2 is cheaper when you buy it, but c25 lasts a lot longer if you have your flow set correctly. You only need 5-6cfh and this makes the bottle last a lot longer. Not all wires are created equal. I have never had to toss any Lincoln L-56 because it rusted before I could use it all. I can't say that for other brands. ESAB's mild steel wire is very good as well. Allstate also makes good wires.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Moonrise.  Its just slag.  No burn through. I don't know if I have drive rolls for an LN-25 that go down to .023.  The only thing I keep .o23 in is the SP100.  I'll take a look today.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Jolly, do you have any information on the 5-6 cfh that you referenced?