wat is the difference wen welding a MIG with gas than welding w/o gas
quality of the weld looks much better with the gas and is more persistant. not a 100% sure about the strength but im pretty sure its much stronger as well.
Edited: 7/9/2006 12:44:07 AM by stockflooredsdime
Welding with shielding gas makes for a better looking weld with less spatter, etc.
Welding without shielding gas using flux core wire penetrates the metal much better since the weld is not cooled by the shielding gas, thus, a stronger weld.
what type of wire? how thick is the metal?
solid wire: .023, .035 ,.045 no gas equals excessive spatter and inconsistent penetration with no control of the puddle
fluxcored wire: .o45, 1/16 needs shielding gas or there is too much porosity and the same sypmtoms as above
self shielding wire spatters quite a bit an is sometimes hard to distinguish your actual puddle but is very handy when draggin your portable from garage to garage with your buddies
flux core is yucky.. a real mig is very nice.. a nice looking weld is typically a strong weld
When doing heavy welding, I like to use 75/25 shielding gas, and dual core wire. You get better penetration that with hardwire, its smoother, and its not as loud as hardwire. Its really quite quiet. But when doing sheetmetal I switch back to hardwire. Dual core is no good for anything under 1/8". Its not the same as flux core.