Switched from stick to wire feed on a big boiler job in Houston last spring

I used to swear by 7018 rods for everything, even stuff where I was burning through rods like crazy on overhead passes. Then my foreman handed me a spool of flux-core wire and told me to try it on a 3/8 inch drum repair. Has anyone else made the change and found it actually saves you time or does it just feel wrong at first?

3 comments

3 Comments

violaramirez3d ago

Hold on, flux-core wire isn't the same thing as MIG wire feed.

cora5183d ago

Oh yeah, that first time switching felt like cheating but I got over that real quick. I swapped over for a big boiler job myself and ended up cutting my weld time by almost a third once I got the settings dialed in. The wire feed just lays down so much cleaner on those long seams, I don't miss swapping rods every two minutes one bit.

the_elliot2d ago

My buddy tried the same switch and @cora518 is right, he said it felt like cheating once he got it dialed.