.030 Or .035?

[Jack772]

Which size wire do you guys think would work best on my mm252? I am welding steel mostly between 1/8 and 3/16 in thickness. And why?
Thanks,
Jack

[sturugged]

.035 is the best all around wire for that machine and for your intended use.

I often wondered myself for use on my 251 . The .035 is what is usually recommended and sold for these machines. I learned that the Smaller wires: .023 and .030 are actually more expensive because of the amount of drawing it takes to manufacture.I thought this was a load of you know what , but the smaller wires are more expensive at my LWS . They also hold a noticeable amount more of linear footage of wire on even the 12 inch spools. I don't know about the 252, but the recommendation charts on the 251 show .035 as the optimum sized hard wire for most applications. On my machine they show up highlighted in blue, the specified parameters are calculated for all sizes. Miller must have engineered and therefore recommend this size for most applications.

[Sberry]

I like 035 in the 250 class machines, its one of the reasons you bought a larger machine, so it runs bigger wire better. The 180-212 class units like 030 and the little one bangers 023, they really just don't have the power available to optimize the wire. For material that thick wouldn't make much difference either way though especially if it wasn't in production. Using 030 makes it a little easier to run even thinner materials too.

[jbmprods]

i run .035 on my 252 and weld as thin as 16g mild steel with out a problem. 18g is only a little tricky.

[nedster]

I have a late production 251. From what I can tell there's not much difference between the 251 and the 252 when it comes to short arc work on 75/25 gas. I've been experimenting with various wire types & sizes and gun configurations. For a MIG newbie as I am, I've found the machine's "sweet spot" on carbon steel between 1/8 & 3/16" is running .035 E70S-6. I use miller's voltage recommendation and lower the wire feed speed by about 10% and lowering the run in to between 60-80%. The .035s higher deposition rate is faster and easier for a novice to work with compared to the .030. E70S-6 is tolerant of mill scale and other contamination so it's easier to make a clean bead with it (most times I'm practicing on cleaned up scrap). Last, the conversion to the Bernard Centerfire front-end on your gun may really surprise you. It sure did me. Hope that helps some.

[Ls2cam]

Thanks ..
Interesting>> Bernard-Centerfire front end looks nice. I ll try it later.

[Daniel]

I have a late production 251. From what I can tell there's not much difference between the 251 and the 252 when it comes to short arc work on 75/25 gas. I've been experimenting with various wire types & sizes and gun configurations. For a MIG newbie as I am, I've found the machine's "sweet spot" on carbon steel between 1/8 & 3/16" is running .035 E70S-6. I use miller's voltage recommendation and lower the wire feed speed by about 10% and lowering the run in to between 60-80%. The .035s higher deposition rate is faster and easier for a novice to work with compared to the .030. E70S-6 is tolerant of mill scale and other contamination so it's easier to make a clean bead with it (most times I'm practicing on cleaned up scrap). Last, the conversion to the Bernard Centerfire front-end on your gun may really surprise you. It sure did me. Hope that helps some.

The E70s-6 is tolerant of millscale and other contamination ???
You dont weld on mill scale and contaminant, unless your on a farm and welding with stick and 6010 or 6011 and you dont care to redo it 2 weeks later.

[fire1hawk]

It really depends on what you are welding. I have noticed a big difference in warpage on thin material. The smaller the wire the less heat you need.

[nedster]

The E70s-6 is tolerant of millscale and other contamination ???
You dont weld on mill scale and contaminant, unless your on a farm and welding with stick and 6010 or 6011 and you dont care to redo it 2 weeks later.

From the Lincoln spec sheet on SuperArc L-56 (AWS ER70S-6):

"High levels of manganese and silicon for deoxidation tolerate medium to heavy mill scale surfaces"

From the Miller MIG guidelines pub:

"For steel, there are two common wire types. Use an AWS classification ER70S-3 for all purpose, economical welding. Use ER70S-6 wire when more deoxidizers are needed for welding on dirty or rusty steel."

A number of wire manufactures I looked at stated the same regarding S-6.

I'm using the SuperArc L-56. One reason I like it is because it not practical to clean up all the contaminents on rusted/deep pitted equipment surfaces. I was under the impression all brand name S-6 wire meets the same AWS standards. Is this not so? Great timing here, as I am ready to switch to a more economical brand.

[Daniel]

I'm telling you by experience nedster, e70s-6 is not that tolerant with millscale and rust. It will weld it and put a bead on it, but you will loose some mechanical properties.
It is the difference between passing a weld test coupon or failing your test.
A clean and free of any contaminant weld prep surface is the proper way, myself I cant recommend welding over millscale and rust, I'd get fired from my job if I would.

[nedster]

Daniel, thanks for the heads up.