Flux core welding wire - recommendations please

[Jonty]

Having only done a very little welding, and only with a stick welder up to now, I’ve just got myself a gas/no gas mig welder.  It came with a proprietary spool of wire which I suspect will be pretty rubbish, so I’m looking for recommendations of a decent flux core wire for no gas welding.  Any suggestions would be very welcome - thanks.

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, I don't think there will be much difference between branded and non branded, I tried no gas wire on a small mig and it takes getting use to, I'm sure a PW member has used it will know more, on a side note Lidl were selling anti spatter spray , water based and spirit based about £3 a tin

[oldypigeonpopper]

15 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, I don't think there will be much difference between branded and non branded, I tried no gas wire on a small mig and it takes getting use to, I'm sure a PW member has used it will know more, on a side note Lidl were selling anti spatter spray , water based and spirit based about £3 a tin

What welder did you buy ?

[Gordon R]

I have bought a few reels from Lidl - no problem with them and no jams.

[Jonty]

1 hour ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

What welder did you buy ?

This one Welder link OPP - thanks for the response re branded/unbranded wire.  Due to space etc and my man cave being made of timber  most of my welding will probably be done under a car port hence me looking at no gas if it’s windy conditions.

34 minutes ago, Gordon R said:

I have bought a few reels from Lidl - no problem with them and no jams.

Thank you, as a newbie to welding, maybe I’m reading too much and over complicating things.

[oldypigeonpopper]

39 minutes ago, Jonty said:

This one Welder link OPP - thanks for the response re branded/unbranded wire.  Due to space etc and my man cave being made of timber  most of my welding will probably be done under a car port hence me looking at no gas if it’s windy conditions.

Thank you, as a newbie to welding, maybe I’m reading too much and over complicating things.

Hello, that looks a good mig, why don't you try a small roll of no gas wire and see how you get on, it is not ideal for car body welding but ok for general welding , don't forget the anti spatter spray, for nozzle and tips, as for windy conditions ,make a wind barrier, 2x2 timber frame with some form of sheeting , I used CO 2 with my mig  but had an inline heater, now you can hire MIG welding gas bottles if you want to weld with normal mig wire, 

[udderlyoffroad]

If it’s outside & general fab work, not thin automotive sheet, I’d stick with stick welding if I were you. Flux core is pretty awful & could make learning MiG more challenging than it needs to be.

If you want to learn MIG: Find your local Hobbygas or the like who charge a one time deposit for a cylinder, and pay the “cost of entry” into the club.

[Jega]

Hi, just a little request for some information about the welder you bought.

I am looking for a gas / non gas welder like yours , however I am a bit concerned about the power usage and tripping out the circuit breaker.

Does this particular model run on a standard 240 volt 13 amp supply alright. Thanks.

[RyanMc]

There definitely is a difference in the wires, i had bought the OEM Sip branded stuff and struggled to get any sort of decent weld. I will add that I am a 'have a go hero' to welding. But I did buy some replacements from the EBay, ran out halfway through a job on a trailer, night and day difference once i swapped.

GASLESS MILD STEEL MIG WELDING WIRE REEL SPOOL ROLL FLUX CORE NO GAS 0.8mm 1KG | eBay

This is the seller & listing I used. There is a code for the wire type/model etc. I can add when I get home and check it out. 

 

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, just a heads up, Lidl were selling MIG anti spatter spray, oil and water based, a must to spray on tips and inside shroud, 

[udderlyoffroad]

On 23/09/2022 at 13:10, Jega said:

Hi, just a little request for some information about the welder you bought.

I am looking for a gas / non gas welder like yours , however I am a bit concerned about the power usage and tripping out the circuit breaker.

Does this particular model run on a standard 240 volt 13 amp supply alright. Thanks.

Whenever a welding thread comes up, I advise people to buy an inverter machine not a transformer machine. 

For several reasons, but in my mind buying a transformer MIG is analogous to buying a black powder gun in a nitro powder gun age.  One of the benefits is that an inverter will indeed be less likely to pop the fuse in the plug.  Inverter machines will also run much happier on a generator, if you need that.

That said, I've only ever had fuses pop when I turned my old transformer MIG up to max when trying to run it on max when welding 5mm+ plate.

Finally, putting in a 16 amp blue socket for your welder is an easy job (though you will need a sparkie to test+cert it), assuming the power supply to your garage is up to spec.

 

 

 

 

[Jega]

2 hours ago, udderlyoffroad said:

Whenever a welding thread comes up, I advise people to buy an inverter machine not a transformer machine. 

For several reasons, but in my mind buying a transformer MIG is analogous to buying a black powder gun in a nitro powder gun age.  One of the benefits is that an inverter will indeed be less likely to pop the fuse in the plug.  Inverter machines will also run much happier on a generator, if you need that.

That said, I've only ever had fuses pop when I turned my old transformer MIG up to max when trying to run it on max when welding 5mm+ plate.

Finally, putting in a 16 amp blue socket for your welder is an easy job (though you will need a sparkie to test+cert it), assuming the power supply to your garage is up to spec.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for that mate.

[Jonty]

On 23/09/2022 at 13:10, Jega said:

Hi, just a little request for some information about the welder you bought.

I am looking for a gas / non gas welder like yours , however I am a bit concerned about the power usage and tripping out the circuit breaker.

Does this particular model run on a standard 240 volt 13 amp supply alright. Thanks.

Hi jega

 

sorry - just seen your query now.  The model I got requires a 16amp feed.  I've fitted a dedicate 16 amp circuit with a commando socket and also fitted a commando plug onto the welder to save any confusion.  Most of the other gas/non gas welders on the same paages as my link are all 13 amp.  I just figured that I'd get the beefiest I could as I knew I could power it at home.

[moondoggy]

On 23/09/2022 at 13:10, Jega said:

Hi, just a little request for some information about the welder you bought.

I am looking for a gas / non gas welder like yours , however I am a bit concerned about the power usage and tripping out the circuit breaker.

Does this particular model run on a standard 240 volt 13 amp supply alright. Thanks.

Hi, I have a Clarke MIG welder that I am going to sell, only used it a couple of times, so in excellent condition.

 

[Jega]

6 hours ago, moondoggy said:

Hi, I have a Clarke MIG welder that I am going to sell, only used it a couple of times, so in excellent condition.

 

Thanks mate but i got sorted last week .