Welding wire question

spc

spc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2007
Location
troutman
Recently purchased an ESAB mp welder. It was supposed to come with a 2lb spool of copper coated 70s-6 mig wire. Instead, it came with a 5lb spool of OK AristoRod 12.50. Anyone use it? It is grey, not copper coated. Usually that means flux-core? I’m not a pro, that’s why I purchased this machine, so I could teach myself. I will be using gas.

Thanks in advance for any insight
 
I think that's still 70s6 wire that's solid for gas. It's just esabs brand with a proprietary coating.

I'm not a professional welder though so hopefully someone else will chime in too.
 
spc said:
Recently purchased an ESAB mp welder. It was supposed to come with a 2lb spool of copper coated 70s-6 mig wire. Instead, it came with a 5lb spool of OK AristoRod 12.50. Anyone use it? It is grey, not copper coated. Usually that means flux-core? I’m not a pro, that’s why I purchased this machine, so I could teach myself. I will be using gas.

Thanks in advance for any insight
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Yes that’s still er70s-6 solid wire for gmaw. It will run great with 75/25.

Don’t worry with the copper coating, it’s only on the wire bc it was lube to prevent galling as it was extruded.

Esab just does things slightly different.

I’ve ran about 160 lbs of that wire before with no issues. Way better than cheap reboxed china/Korea/India wire.

The last I had of it was on steel structure spools, not plastic spools. That was great bc the rolls on the back of the pallet weren’t cracked like the plastic ones usually are.

Ran great, consistent, and met all strength requirements.
 
Several companies offer that version of wire. It does have a slight residue of a coating.

Long term it will do 2 things.

First. It will rust if not ran through and used quickly enough. Shop environment plays a factor. Copper coated will as well but shelf life is longer.

Second. Ran in large quantities without a wiper and cleaner in front of the feeder it will gum up components. Mainly guide tubes, first point of contact. Sometimes liners can get coated and gummy. Carb cleaner or the like breaks it down pretty well. Just don't spray the spool. The next morning you'll have a rusty mess.
 
WARRIORWELDING said:
Sometimes liners can get coated and gummy.
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I think liners get neglected by the average home welder. I had my welder for years and never thought about it very much. I started having little problems with feeding (wire not feeding consistent with lead curved in different directions) so I replaced it. It was like 15 bucks shipped to the house. WOW what a difference. Must have been bad longer than I knew, I just got used to it.
 
Every wire change is a good opportunity for a tune up and liner check.
Contact tip out, wire clipped neat at the end of the spool. Lay out the Mig gun nice and straight. Pull the remaining wire. If you got resistance throughout its clogged. Tight spot kinked. Now look at the contact tube. Given a good ground this is the number one cause of any bad vibes, aside from bad settings. Contact tip is like a bad spark plug. Worn it just doesn't perform well. The wire actually is manufactured to rub the internal sides of the tube to pick up current consistently. So yeah she feeds, but does she conduct well?
 
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