Welding Tips and Tricks

I was wondering how long in linear feet would a 1-pound roll of Flux-core wire cover. This is of course single pass.

Thx in advance.

I found this on a google search...
https://www.mwsco.com/kb/kb_frameset.asp?ArticleID=111


...but I think the answer will be much more complicated than that. There will be a lot of variability among welder techniques, for instance. Just for curiosity, why are you interested to know?

I heard a story of 6 20 kg rolls in a day. Maybe he's going for that record.

I was just looking for a general idea since I wont be doing too much welding to begin with. I will be more of a weekend welder and not every weekend at that. I wanted to know what size roll I should buy since I dont know if the flux wire has a shelf life I need to watch out for.

I'm not sure if flux core wire has a shelf life- for purposes of storage, preventing rust is probably a bigger concern than the flux going bad. The answer is: weld more often! Then you can buy another roll from a different manufacturer, and see if you can tell any difference.

I've stood in an Ikea store, and wondered if shelves have a shelf life...

How many feet of weld from a spool has too many variables to even venture a guess. I suppose if you could weld a dead-solid-perfect 1/4" fillet for the duration of the roll, you could expect similar linear feet of weld from the next roll.

That's just not realistic. You can, at best, make an estimate.

Steve S

Well, that is what I was hoping for, just an estimate. I guess I'll just order the 10-pound roll since its a better buy.

get a calculator.

http://weldingweb.com/archive/index.php/t-8546.html

just noticed I put up wrong link but I will leave it here for any anal retentive types that happen to be reading.

from esab:

9.2.2.1 When using solid or flux cored wires, deposition rate will increase as the electrical stick-out is increased, and the same amperage is maintained. True deposition rates for each welding filler metal, whether it is a coated electrode or a solid or flux cored wire, can only be established by an actual test in which the weldment is weighed before welding and then again after welding, at the end of a measured period of time. The tables in Figures 8-11 contain average values for the deposition rate of various types of welding filler metals. These are based on welding laboratory tests and published data.

naturally a smaller diameter wire will provide a greater amount of wire, in terms of length than a larger wire.

Artie F. Emm wrote:I found this on a google search...
https://www.mwsco.com/kb/kb_frameset.asp?ArticleID=111


...but I think the answer will be much more complicated than that. There will be a lot of variability among welder techniques, for instance. Just for curiosity, why are you interested to know?

because newcomers often have a need to know the most inane details of the business or trade. the welder in the field running 33 pound or greater spools of flux core could care less; they run wire, they run out, reload, continue. the only ones that really care are the estimators and purchasing agents for very large operations. even then they generally have a JIC number (just in case) or CYA number (cover your ass) it is most often a percentage multiplier that they charge to their deposition estimate which in turn would boost the quantity or weight of the purchase.

not that there is anything wrong with pursuit of knowledge, just don't get bogged down with detail particularly detail that is pretty difficult to quantify.

I'm not trying to know the most "inane" details, as you put it. Since I'm new to this, everything to me is a detail and so I ask the questions that to those who do this everyday may seem like dumb or obvious questions (inane details). I can build you house from footing to the last galvanized nail on the ridge cap but I know nothing about welding. So, I'm trying to get the answers from those who do know so I don't make too many mistakes and waste too much money in the learning process.

thanks, I won't be needing a house built. I didn't even know they made it in one pound spools. I thought it came in two's.

my gut feeling is two pounds is all you'll need for a long time but buy ten if you think you'll use it. maybe for the benefit of other's that have spent time trying to answer the unanswerable you might mention the machine you are using.

Not sure how knowing what machine I will be using is going to help but, nonetheless, I will be using a Everlast 140 Power Mig with .35 E71T-11 wire.

is this your machine and if it is did you order the drive rolls, or does it even take them (I doubt it) for the .035 wire.

http://www.amazon.com/Everlast-Poweri-M ... B00LV26J6A



IGBT INVERTER / CAST ALLOY DRIVER ROLLER / 135A/21V at 35% Duty Cycle/40 C
•Spool Gun READY / Drive Roll wire size: .023"-.030" / Tweco Style Gun
•Stepless control of both the wire speed and voltage. No tapped settings
•Designed to be used with both 4" and 8" Wire Spools
•Standard drive rolls can feed .023"-.030" Wire diameter

Yes, I checked and you can use the .35 wire. There are 2 grooves in the rolls, a 6mm and an 8mm. To use the .35 wire, it needs to be place on the 8mm groove.

you should stick with what the machine is rated for .035 wire is going to need more power. on 110 machine you will probably be popping the breaker or stubbing wire. who told you you could run the .035 wire? well either way good luck.

Everlast themselves told me. They even sell the .35 tip for for the gun. Thanks.

sorry, not trying to beat a dead horse but i'm curious.

" I will be using a Everlast 140 Power Mig with .35 E71T-11 wire."

first I understand a lot of poster's come from places where metric measurements are used but here wire is spec'd in decimal inch. in this case .035, not .35. this may save you some grief when ordering wire.

edit: or fractional inch, should have mentioned this since I run mostly 1/16th fabshield 21B

"Everlast themselves told me. They even sell the .35 tip for for the gun. Thanks."

I only asked who told you this because your machine's rollers are set up for .023 and .030 hardwire; they are smooth.
the flux core rollers are an option with the unit and as a rule they are knurled. the rollers may very well be 6 and 8 mm since the unit is of Chinese mfg. you might call again and ask for clarification on the wire you want to run and if they think you will be ok operating on undersized smooth rollers used for hardwire in place of rollers specifically designed for flux core.

Well, I meant .035

I know for sure the machine will run .035 but, like you said, I may have to buy those rollers separate. I will check when I get the machine to see if I have the smooth or the knurled ones. I know you can buy the knurled ones on their site. Thanks

If you are trying to estimate the amount of wire required from the wire mfg's data sheets and deposition rates, keep in mind that actual deposited material is less than raw material used...with FCAW it's around 85-87%. Part of the weight is flux that is burned, part is turned into slag, part of it is spatter(more or less depending on machine settings), part is wasted in the plume of smoke...in short, roughly ±15% is wasted.

re shelf life of FCAW wire:
Yes, depending on how the wire is stored...it can pick up moisture over time and create a mystery porosity problem that rears it's ugly head without any other thing changing and will make you scratch your head trying to figure out what went wrong. This includes self-shielded and dual shielded FCAW wires.

Some welding codes ie. AWS D1.8, require that the wire to be used for that job (in critical seismic moment frame welds), be stored in a rod oven of sorts and the accumulated atmospheric exposure time be limited to 8 hrs total and a record kept of this time. The time is recorded from the moment that you break the foil wrapper and it is exposed to the atmosphere to when ever the 8 hrs is up. If you stop welding(lunch), you are required to remove the wire from the feeder, record the amount of time it was exposed and subtract that time from the 8 hrs allowed, then immediately place the remaining wire in an oven until you are ready to weld again. When the wire is out of the oven and back on the machine, the clock starts running again and when the 8 hrs is up, you take the remaining wire off and it cannot be used for any AWS D1.8 work afterwards. Key is to get all of the welding lined up and ready to go before you open that foil wrapper and weld continuously to use up that roll before the time limit runs out.

Thats good info JW. Any special storage container I can buy for the wire? I bought a 10-pound roll and I know that will last me years.

slash8789 wrote:Thats good info JW. Any special storage container I can buy for the wire? I bought a 10-pound roll and I know that will last me years.

I mentioned storage per AWS D1.8 welding code and the limitations...this is not for porosity perse', but to limit hydrogen content through absorption from the atmosphere. The wires manufactured for that code are tested to show that they meet a certain max. % of hydrogen content as manufactured. Then the mfg seals the roll in a hermetically vacuum sealed foil package to preserve that max. % of hydrogen.

Now for a 10# roll of wire that will not be used in a timely manner, I would think that any dry container should be good enough to preserve the wire until you can use it up. You probably want to make sure that the ambient temps stay fairly stable or the container could sweat in temperature swings. If this happens to be your home shop that has large temp swings, I would rig up a 100 watt light bulb or something to keep the inside temp of your container fairly warm and stable.
Edit*
If you have extra cash laying around, your LWS can sell you a rod storage oven...or keep an eye out around business sales/auctions for a used one.

I would think that so long as it's inside the closed up welder, and the welder is in a garage, it should be ok? I keep bare steel in my garage for months at a time (sometimes my projects take a while..... ) and it's very rare for them to start showing surface rust, even after the metal has been cleaned of oil and has had grinding or welding on it

If you are worried about it, I imagine you could put a trash bag over the welder?

slash8789 wrote:I may have to buy those rollers separate.

If I can suggest, try the FCAW wire with the drive rolls that ship with your machine before rushing out to buy knurled rolls. I have an Everlast MIG and ran FCAW wire through the smooth drive rolls with no problem.

Also, and apologies in advance if you knew this already, FCAW polarity is typically electrode negative: the packaging is your best source for this info. Whatever polarity is specified by the packaging, match machine polarity by plugging the gun into the appropriate port on your machine.

Yeah, The welder and wire will be in my basement and it is always around 70 degrees down there and pretty dry most of the year since I have the heater on half the year.

Artie, I was planning on waiting before buying those rollers. Ive heard from others as well who own the Everlast Powermig that they ran the flux wire fine right out of the box. Thanks