i'm thinking about purchasing a hobart 175 wire feed welder. my question is what is the draw backs of welding with fluxcore wire? the reason i ask is because a lot of my welding will be done outside where the shielding gas will have a good chance of being blown away.

 

Any wire you use has dawbacks so using the right wire for your needs is key.
Your right on about the shielding gas outside.
If you are doing field work, you can use a shield to block the wind if you prefer the gas. Flux core is good for dirty metal like farm equipment and provides a good weld if the right wire and settings are used. Don't skimp on the wire though, buy the best you can not the cheapest. I suggest a good welding supply house and ask them what they recommend. If you get a chance, ask a pro welder if you happen to run into one there. They are happy to help.

 

I think you'll be happy with that Hobart. I bought one a few months ago and have had pretty good luck with it. There is a chart inside the door that gives lots of info about types of metal, size and what wire is needed.
http://home.attbi.com/~alan_scott/dsc00014.jpg


I bought a gas bottle and use the C25 mix, in the long run, it's cheaper than using the flex core wire. A slight breeze doesn't seem to hurt, but a mild breeze will blow it away. Holding a small piece of sheet metal in my other hand as a sheild works well, but tends to get hot pretty fast.


http://home.attbi.com/~alan_scott/DSC00068.JPG
That is the first project I welded with it.

 

cast iron to steel..... hummm...

personally, flux cored is good for stuff over 1/2". heavy industrial welding is what it's really ment for. the gas works great for most welding, but like you stated, is not good at all for outdoors work.. any amount of air movement (doesnt' take much) will blow your gas away and affect your weld, if your doing alot of welding outside, then stick it the best way to go... that's all i use outdoors.

btw. i am a certified welder

 

>cast iron to steel..... hummm...
>
It was either that or galvanized

 

it looks like cast to me.... most even galvenized is cast iron too..

generally welding cast to steel is a no-no... but for somereason, mig will sometimes(using that very loosely) hold as good as cast rods, or even brazing...

 

My welder came equipped with a fixed pressure regulator but I understand you can purchase an adjustable regulator so the pressure can be increased beyond the normal pressure to aid in outside welding. I haven’t had to try it yet and don't really know how effective it is but it may be worth looking into.

 

depending on conditions, our mig will loose its gas in our shop. with the big door open (10x10), and you have to close it to get a good weld. this is with an adjustable regulator, running aprox 28 cfm(i think it's in cfm) all that's called for is 20 cfm, but we have better results with a little higher gas flow.... i still wouldn't try welding outdoors with it.

 

That piece in the picture looks like a cast iron pipe fitting. The galvanized fittings are just the same but dipped in molten Zinc. There are cast steel pipe fittings being made and passed off as cast iron. Cast steel is probably easier to weld than iron but it will not withstand corrosion like the iron. I usually braze all of my cast iron work. I braze whenever I have to get into something that was galvanized. Welding galvanized is a pain, the zink blows your arc every which way even when you think you have it removed:-(

Galvanized parts put off toxic fumes!!! You want the fumes blown away from you so I would think that the air movement needed would make MIG very difficult.

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thanks for the information. i'm definately going to go to the local welding shop and get some info from them. still haven't decided if i want to buy the welder, or should i say will my budget let me buy it.
lr

 

You can buy a Miller stick welder(cracker box as their called) that plugs into a 240 vac outlet for less than 400...My Miller is called a "Thunderbolt"....It will weld on ac up to 225 amps and DC up to 170 amps......You might want to look into one of these types before you purchgase a mig type.......fd

 

I can vouch for flux-core. I'm not certified or anything like that, self taught, but I've gone through over 500lb of flux-core wire in the last 11yrs. It seems like I've welded everything under the sun at one time or another. I have a Clarke wire welder (100 amps max) that cost me $250 in 1991 from a general store. I always get the wire there too, always the same mild steel, but different gauges. It seems to work on anything where iron is the base metal.

I've welded all my ladder racks 8 yrs ago, never had one break, even though I rammed them into trees and dumpsters. My greatest testament would have to be when I welded a clutch center to a driveshaft yolk to make this adapter to run dual trannies in my F-150. That never broke either in 2 yrs (neither have the trannies). I also built this rail hoist that comes 6ft out the back of my truck (and folds up in the middle) that is capable of lifting a full pallet of shingles (3000lb) using a superwinch and pulleys and moving them into and out of my truck bed. Good for pulling engines too. One of the best things I ever welded. With 3000lb hanging 6ft from the back of the truck, your welds better be good. Mine haven't broke in 2yrs and many loads.

I do all my engine mounts, tranny mounts, frames, you name it. If its on a truck, I've welded it (seems like). I have always meant to upgrade this unit to a higher output one, but never really found anything my clarke wouldn't handle, even w/o gas.

I broke off the gas sheilding tip yrs ago and never bothered to replace it. It works fine w/o it, as a matter of fact, I can get into tighter places w/o it. 2 yrs ago the power switch burned out, I just wired it up and turn it on/off by plugging/unplugging it.

Needless to say, I can recommend Clarke and flux-core.

 

i just bought the lincoln 135 mig welder which has lets you weld with gas or flux core wire. it does a good weld. not a bad welder for 400 bucks at LOWES. it will definetly get the job done. and it plugs into a 120 house outlet so it is more portable then a bigger welder.
'75 F-100 4x4, 4" lift
35x15.5x15 super swamper TSL/SX
mini-spooled 9" rear end
390 w/ cam,headers,
and 4 barrell edelbrock

TRIED TRUE and FORD BLUE

 

I have a Miller-matic 130, that is 110 volt. I have had this welder for 6 or 7 years, and I love it!
I use shield gas, but always weld in the shop, I can't have any fan blowing in there, or I lose my shield gas.
I have never tried the flux core wire, but the welds look rougher with it.
I like the versatility of my welder, I can weld sheetmetal, or plates and pipes up to 1/2" pretty easily.
You need to have a good 20 amp circuit, and use a heavy gauge cord.
I do automotive welding, and have never tried any other kind of welding, just my 2 cents, from a self taught dummy!!
Greg58