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Is gasless MIG as good as ARC?

General Tech Talk

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Emo
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Is gasless MIG as good as ARC?

Post by Emo »

I've had a little CIG ARC welder for a while but not long ago I managed to pick up a Lincoln Electric SP170t MIG. I've got a gas bottle so most of my welding will be with gas but if I need to weld outside I can swap the roll and weld gasless. I don't have much experience with gasless MIG welding. Is it as good as ARC welding? I'm just tring to figure out if I need both the MIG and the ARC welders or whether I can unload the ARC.
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Post by Eddy »

NO!





You are better off with the gas or the arc, even outside.

except on galv ... gasless is ok on gal.

Keep the stick welder. there are heaps of jobs that just don't warrant setting up gas pressure, wire speed etc etc ... then there's the time, probably late friday night. You need a good strong weld, probably the tow bar, or bull bar ... and you're out of gas ...
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Post by Gwagensteve »

I'd keep the arc.

Swapping spools and polarity is a PITA.

Steve.
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Post by chpd80 »

You need a good strong weld, probably the tow bar, or bull bar ... and you're out of gas ...
Flux cored wire can give an equally strong weld when done correctly. Usually people who bag it have not done the time to work out the correct settings/speed/heat/etc and find gas easier probably wasting more than they are using.

Strength comes from a clean weld with the correct penetatration not from the shielding gas used. but yeah can be a pain to change polarity over and the reels.
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Guy
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Post by Guy »

chpd80 wrote:
You need a good strong weld, probably the tow bar, or bull bar ... and you're out of gas ...
Flux cored wire can give an equally strong weld when done correctly. Usually people who bag it have not done the time to work out the correct settings/speed/heat/etc and find gas easier probably wasting more than they are using.

Strength comes from a clean weld with the correct penetatration not from the shielding gas used. but yeah can be a pain to change polarity over and the reels.
While all true .. it is far easier for the novice (IE most of the people who wold ask this kind of question) to get a strong weld with decent penetration under most conditions using a trusty old ARC welder.
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Post by Eddy »

love_mud wrote: .. it is far easier for the novice (IE most of the people who wold ask this kind of question) to get a strong weld with decent penetration under most conditions using a trusty old ARC welder.
My point exactly.

I'm happy to go out and weld up a tow bar or whatever with my little gasless, but it really is a PITA compared to grabbing the arc ...
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Post by Steve F »

I just bought one of those inverter ARC welders. Couldn't be anymore convenient. After mucking about with it a bit and seeing the welds I can do with it it's my preferred welder since most of the stuff I do is bar work etc. I wouldn't bother with a gasless mig.

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Emo
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Post by Emo »

Thanks for the replies. Looks like I'll be keeping the ARC welder.
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V8Patrol
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Post by V8Patrol »

Emo wrote:Looks like I'll be keeping the ARC welder.
Smart move


Both welders have a place in a decently setup w/shop or a real blokes shed
:D


I have 2 arcs, a DC inverter & a 140amp Peerless thats older than me !
2 migs , a euromig, and a SAF 320
1 tig that is AC/DC for alloy and it also does plasma cutting and DC welding......




&




I have plans to buy another soon

;)
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Post by AFeral »

Got a 210 amp WIA mig welder at work set up for stainless. If welding thicker stainless I will grab the 170 amp arc welder with some 3.2mm rods as it will give a better weld.
Flux core works great (don't forget to swap the polarity) but generally need more amps to give the same result as a solid wire and gas setup.
For ease of use mybe tack out side with the arc, unbolt and bring inside and weld up with the mig.
Those little lincoln sp170 welders are great.
Anything is possible, it just comes down to time and money.
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