Wire Feeders Using Hard Wire

[farmer welder]

Hi, In the Miller Catalog It states the 8 and 12 Vs feeders as designed for flux core wire For hard wire they are doun to Capable of this process Are they not as good as an ordinary mig on hard wire ? Anyone using them for this? Does this apply to all wire feeders ? Thanks for any input or experience

[nfinch86]

I Only run hard wire through my LN 25 , with C20 gas.
I've never had any problems.
I know it's not a Miller wire feeder, but I don't see where it should be any different.

......Norm

[MMW]

I have heard the vs feeders are not the best when it comes to smaller wires/lower voltage. This does not apply to the rc feeders.

[armor]

vs feeder

I run the 12 vs from Miller I have never had a problem. With any wire type or size feeding through it. Also only one cable to power it. The RC model would be nice at times.but then you have one more cord to trip on. That's why I opted for the VS. And if this one ever dies I'll buy the same one again

[strictlycarved]

Been running hard wire through my 12 for 3 years now. Never even a hiccup.

[blue_tech]

This is more about physics and not about Miller vs. Lincoln or any other company.

Flux core is typically a globular or spray transfer and so the wire never touches the weld puddle. So this welding can be done with a voltage-sensing wire feeder on either a CC (contant current) or CV (constant voltage) welding power source.

Solid wire, depending on the shield gas type, can be a short circuit or spray transfer. You can use the VS (volt sensing) type of feeder in either of these transfer types is the welding power source is CV. If the welding power source is CC, then it must be a spray transfer to work effectively. If you use a CC power source and try to short circuit the wire, as the wire touches the plate/puddle it is a dead short and the CC power source effectively has no voltage difference anymore at the output studs. This loss of voltage will typically make the VS type of feeder want to shut off.