Flux vs Shielded Flux Question

[SLP82]

Forgive my lack of experience but thankfully there are a lot of members here with a wealth of knowledge. I am curious about something. I plan to do some trailer repairs and at times I may have to take my inverter welder to the trailer and use gas-less flux to do a quick patch weld. When at the shop, I will being using gas for cleaner welds. Well rather than swapping wire each time, I was thinking, I know there is shielded flux (using gas), and then gas-less flux. So my question is, is the flux wire specific to shielded vs gas-less? Basically would I be able to load up gas-less flux wire and use it as shielded for a cleaner weld, but then disconnect the gas and take it to a different place and use it gas-less with more spatter, etc? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I am still learning.

[Bls repair]

No ,self shielding means that ,gas shielded means that

[SLP82]

So what is the difference then between shielded flux and mig? Both require a gas shield... what is the benefits of one over the other or rather the application that would call for one over the other?

[Bls repair]

Shielded flux will use shielding gas from flux and gas together also will have slag .Mig gets shielding from gas only with no slag

[nfinch86]

What you call Shielded Flux is " Dual-shield " - meaning after you weld, there is a slag you have to chip off.
Mig, is a hard wire + gas & No slag to chip off.

Both have to be protected from wind or a strong breeze.

Flux- core ( Gasless ) you can weld outside , without any worry of wind.
Flux-Core is like an inverted stick electrode, but the flux is on the inside of the wire, as opposed to a stick electrode has the flux on the " Outside ".
Flux-cored is hollow with the flux on the inside.

Norm

[MAC702]

Right. There are no shortcuts. You use the correct gas (and polarity) specified by the wire. Solid wires will use DCEP and usually a mostly inert gas and have the clean welds you want. Flux-cored wires will usually use DCEN and might be gas-less or dual-shielded with usually an active shielding gas (like CO2), as specified by the wire.

[SLP82]

So in what situation would you choose dual shield flux over MIG? Is the weld stronger, or penetrate more? Just trying to fully understand why anyone would ever use dual shield then over MIG.

[snoeproe]

Self shielded flux cor is most common for hobby guys. It's going to be ideal for you if your welding trailers that are not new. Aka not clean steel. The downfall of self shielded flux cor wire is the spatter and clean up. The plus is it runs in all positions and can be used anywhere (outdoors).
Dual shield wire (flux cor-gas) would be the wire to use if your building new trailers. It has a very high rate of metal deposition, the welds are clean with little spatter. The welds are good looking. Dual shield wire runs well in all positions, it's like running 7018 from a wire gun. If used outdoors, you need to build a wind screen or temp hoarding.
Solid wire with gas is clean, makes nice looking welds and has little to no spatter or smoke. The downfall is it does not run real well in all positions. It can run vertical up and overhead but you need good skills to do that. It also can't be used outdoors as shielding gas will be blown away. Solid wire doesn't penitrate as well as self shielded flux cor or dual shield wire.

[ryanjones2150]

If you're repairing trailers, dual shield would be my choice.

[gnforge]

Agree with all above except that Dual Shield is only inside wire. It is my outside wire and my go to wire for most repairs. <br />
I run metal core in shop unless it's a lot of vert welding then I'll use dual shield in shop. <br />
Keep in mind if it's windy or raining hard need cover or wind break tarp. Other wise I will shield light wind with arm or glove and runs great. <br />
All in all it a pretty forgiving wire. And yes stronger and more ductile than solid wire.

[SLP82]

I am sure I am going to get hammered for this, but I purchased a Everlast 210 MIG to do some at home stuff. I use a Miller 210 at work, but I couldn't justify purchasing one for home right now. Plus I got a killer deal on the Everlast on black Friday (normally $999, got it delivered to my house for $700 out the door). I was also upgraded to a 15' gun for free plus given a bunch of extra tips. Anyways, does anyone know if it can be used to do flux dual shield? You just swap the leads around right?

Definitely sounds like dual shield is the way to go. Its really interesting because my boss at my job where we build custom trailers, and repair trailers, has me welding them with solid wire (MIG) setup. Ive noticed in certain positions its very tricky. Most of my experience previous to this job was doing dual shield flux. I just never knew the benefits of it compared to MIG.

So if you were going to build a barbecue pit from lets say 1/4" steel pipe, would you use MIG or dual shielded flux?

[MAC702]

...does anyone know if it can be used to do flux dual shield? You just swap the leads around right?...

Of course. It depends on where the leads are now.

[ryanjones2150]

You'll find the dual shield wire is a fair bit more expensive. It's cheaper for me to use .045 dual shield than it is to use .035 because of the cost per pound from my LWS. Some places around here use the dual shield to save time, then switch to pure CO2 to save money. I would also consider buying some wire that is reputable and consistent. I've been liking the esab wires lately, had a lot of success with them. <br />
<br />
Nobody is gonna beat you up over your choice of machine.

[SLP82]

So if you were going to build a barbecue pit from lets say 1/4" steel pipe, would you use MIG or dual shielded flux?

[MAC702]

Depends. What's the machine already loaded with? Is it windy? Is the material clean? Both will build it. I'd lean toward MIG if the material was clean and there wasn't any wind. Even if you were using a small machine, you ain't building a bridge.