Welding Tips and Tricks

I have a 250A wire welder coming and am debating using fcaw-G instead of straight mig. I have used flux core for a few years and have no problem with using it other than some smoke but I have vent fans that pretty much take care of that. My understanding is that flux-core is much more idiot proof with the higher heat and penetration which works for me. Just like some thoughts from people who use fcaw-G . I am a hobbyest and do some repairs and build a few trailers etc. The occasional 50yr old piece of rusty broken farm equip shows up and I want something that will weld it securely without having to worry about it holding. I have a 180a welder on flux core which I can switch to mig for the light stuff. Any thoughts?

I have a Lincoln PM 180 dual voltage unit at work and only run FCAW-s and it's great. If you've ever seen Jody's videos with him and JD Brewer you'll know JD really likes the FCAW dual shield for the structural work he does

The real reason I got the new welder ( 60% duty cycle at 250A ) is the Lincoln 180 had to take too many rests when welding at higher amps or a lot like a trailer. I'am trying to get the best bang for the buck. The fcaw-G looks great but I am tending to stick with the fcaw. This is an inverter welder at under 70lb so still portable with fcaw. What gets me is many of these " experts " ( except Jody, he did a nice fcaw weld ) weld a botched up mess with fcaw, spatter from hell and generally speak of it as a poor second choice! Makes me wonder if they have stocks in the welding gas companies. I get other hobbiests ask, you got gas? When I say NO they look at me like I just sprouted a third eye. If I ever figure out how to run this new phone I'll send pictures of fcaw welds clean with just a quick hit with a wire wheel in a drill. Not saying I'am a good welder but it proves it doesn't have to look like a dog's breakfast. Vented!! Thanks for your advice.

I've used fcaw-g a ton and it is a great process. Once you're dialed in for the welds you're doing its as clean, smooth, and durable as anything can be.

I've used Select-Arc to make thousands of feet of weld on rusty acid poached coal barge hoppers. Lincoln was a tad finicky on that type of stuff, but great on new steel.

It may be a bit more pricey, but when you have to really put the hammer down it is the best.

Another option would be to go to 80/20 gas mix and use spray transfer when you can (flat and horizontal only).
I gather that mix will work for either spray or short circuit.
I've looked into fcaw-g but man that wire is spendy compared to e70s6, and with .035 wire spooled up you can do either process with just a change of settings, just be sure to have at least a 250 amp gun, a small gun gets hot in a hurry with spray.

Thanks for the replies and advice. Agreed the fcaw-g looks to die for but is comparativly pricey and seems a bit harder to find in single 10lb rolls. One factor is I have 2 shops. My smaller home shop is where I do most of my playing but sometimes I move some equipment to my bigger shop which is a carryover from my past construction career for bigger stuff, hence the importance of portability. The new welder is 110/220 which like my Hypertherm 30/air makes it extremely versitile for doing whatever/wherever. On the weekend I installed some stainless shelf liners in a local restaurant that had to be field notched.Plugged plasma in wall receptical and done. One question I have also is if according to the door chart past a certain voltage/amperage its recomended to switch from .035 to .045 wire is there any reason why just upping the wire speed on .035 isn't ok? Appreciate the input.

There is a maximum achievable amps for any given wire diameter. You can increase feed speed to overcome this to a point, but there are limitations.

Thanks. I have been trying to find any info on that but no luck so far. I am thinking of possibly just going with .045 which should cover most anything I would do with up to 250amp. Big learning curve to try to get everything to fit so down the road I wouldn't be wishing I did something different. That makes it interesting.

Can’t remember what the post was but someone put up the chart for figuring the max achievable amps. Maybe they will post it again.

This chart may have some usefull info. https://sep.yimg.com/ay/weldingdirect/m ... hart-4.gif