A Couple of MIG Questions

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I have a Miller 175, which I just recently started using, and I have a couple of quick questions.1. The welder came with a spool of .24 wire. I've been told that it is easier/cleaner to use a .30 or .35? Can anyone confirm and explain why this might be true?2. Does anyone recommend a good welding book or website? I'm interested in general type info that may not be obvious to a beginner. For instance, when welding a lighter material to a heavier piece, which setting should be used for wire speed etc... The lighter or heavier material setting.Thanks!
Reply:http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/mig_handbook.pdfhttp://files.aws.org/wj/2006/02/wj20...j200602-46.pdfhttp://content.lincolnelectric.com/p...ture/c4200.pdf
Reply:.024" wire requires less amperage for a given wire feedrate than .030" or.035" wire. Amps x Volts = Watts = heat input. Running thinner wire ata given feedrate means less heat input. This means you can operateon thinner materials at a lower gun travel speed (not the same thingas wire feedrate) when using thin wire versus moving the gun fasterand risking burn-through with thicker wire.If you are welding thicker sections, moving to a thicker wire meansbeing able to reduce the wire feedrate versus welding the same pieceusing thin wire (and keeping the same heat input).When welding a thick piece to a thin one you need enough heat tomelt the thicker section so use the heavier setting as a starting point.The best thing is to mock-up the joint first using some scrap piecesthe same thicknesses as the final joint and experiment with techniqueuntil you are satisfied; then mak the final weld on the non-scrapmaterial.
Reply:gregben, Thanks for the info, that helps a lot!pulser, Can you repost the last two links, they seem to have been abbreviated.Thanks!
Reply:1. The welder came with a spool of .24 wire. I've been told that it is easier/cleaner to use a .30 or .35? Can anyone confirm and explain why this might be true?
Reply:yep, sorry about that.http://files.aws.org/wj/2006/02/wj20...j200602-46.pdfhttp://content.lincolnelectric.com/p...ture/c4200.pdf
Reply:Originally Posted by RRTX_TJI have a Miller 175, which I just recently started using, and I have a couple of quick questions.1. The welder came with a spool of .24 wire. I've been told that it is easier/cleaner to use a .30 or .35? Can anyone confirm and explain why this might be true?Thanks!
Reply:Originally Posted by SandyI was a litte quick and short with my initial post. More like a post and run affair. Sorry, I was in a hurry. There are a lot of variables and unknowns that can't always be covered in a single post but let's put it this way. If all three of the wire sizes in question (.024, .030, .035) are of the same brand and same spec, they will all perform equally well as long as they are run within their limits and parameters. When considering things like wire diameter performance you sort of have to leave out things such as individual machine wire feed issues or individual machine upper or lower amperage limitations. Wire isn't manufactured for any particular machine. Bottome line, there is no reason why a .023-.025 wire shouldn't produce just as nice as bead as .030 or .035.. I've personally never had any issues with any size suited for my machine. As far as welding knowledge you may want to check out lincolnelectric.com for their books and tutorials. Not that that is all that's out there but they are relatively inexpensive and have rock solid info. Check into the "metals and how to weld them" book maybe. Pretty generic but yet in depth as to all processes and metals. Or maybe the "procedure" book. Or both  https://ssl.lincolnelectric.com/linc...p?PID=16&cat=8
Reply:I was a litte quick and short with my initial post. More like a post and run affair. Sorry, I was in a hurry. There are a lot of variables and unknowns that can't always be covered in a single post but let's put it this way. If all three of the wire sizes in question (.024, .030, .035) are of the same brand and same spec, they will all perform equally well as long as they are run within their limits and parameters. When considering things like wire diameter performance you sort of have to leave out things such as individual machine wire feed issues or individual machine upper or lower amperage limitations. Wire isn't manufactured for any particular machine. Bottome line, there is no reason why a .023-.025 wire shouldn't produce just as nice as bead as .030 or .035.. I've personally never had any issues with any size suited for my machine. As far as welding knowledge you may want to check out lincolnelectric.com for their books and tutorials. Not that that is all that's out there but they are relatively inexpensive and have rock solid info. Check into the "metals and how to weld them" book maybe. Pretty generic but yet in depth as to all processes and metals. Or maybe the "procedure" book. Or both  https://ssl.lincolnelectric.com/linc...p?PID=16&cat=8
Reply:Again, Thanks for the info guys.Sandy, I will check out the books at lincoln electric. Thanks for that link!