Easy question for the pros.

[joshcarlegis55]

How much filler should I figure per foot of weld to MIG stainless. It is 1/4" and 1/2" stainless pieces. I dont need to get down to the exact ounce but just a general multiplier you guys might use would help tremendously.

Thanks
Josh

[davedarragh]

Deposition Rates

Deposition rates are based on lbs/hr and vary with wire diameter and amperage. We would need to know these variables, and joint design to give you an approximate, if this is what you are asking.

[b-footn]

go buy a roll of 308, and a roll of 316 and start welding. When you run out of wire, go buy some more. (There ought to be enough money in your bid for this to be a non-issue).

[joshcarlegis55]

Yea there is plenty of money to make this a non-issue but we are going to run in to a time crunch if I cant get more locally. Our welding supply guy was acting like there wasnt enough wire in this area to do the job but the more I think about it the more I think he eats paint chips. HE just might not be able to get enough and wants a jump on it so I dont buy it somewhere else.

[Andy]

Do a few test welds to get your machine tuned up. Hold the gun in the air and pull the trigger for a few seconds. Measure the wire length. From this you can figure out how much wire you'll be laying down per second, per minute, per hour, per day. Take a guesstimate on how much welding versus layout time you have. From this figure how many spools you'll need to keep working for the next week. You can probably order more from just about anywhere and get it within a week. Start working and see how much wire you use in the first day. Base your order for next week on this.

Alternativly you can get the machine setup. Measure the wire speed. Measure how long it takes to finish X length of weld. Then you can compute how many feet of wire you'll need for the whole job. Buy the entire amount of wire at once and negotiate the price among several vendors.

[Bodybagger]

Assuming 90% deposition efficiency and a .5"x.5" leg length flat fillet (right triangle cross section), each foot of weld will contain .5/12*.5/12*.5*1=.000868 cu ft of metal. At 500 lb per cubic foot, each foot will use .434/90% =.482lb.

There you go. About 1/2lb per foot for a half inch fillet.
A quarter inch fillet would be 1/8 lb per foot.

[b-footn]

There is no way to get precise. Murphys Law is emphatic. I can think of the first problem, a squirrels nest, and then the wife or kids come in and .................................................. ......

[welder_one]

yup, murphy's law will jump up n biye ya with a wicked jaw of you try to bid exact consumable amounts. it will not fail to hurt your bid... as for just holding a gun in the air and counting, that will be a long way from being accurate..... the burnback and pre strike feed speeds are different then weld speeds, especially on the newer machines. your best bet imo is to buy some wire and weld till its gone then buy some more, and if your local supplier cant keep enough filler metal in stock, then it might be time to find another supplier