stick vs. wire

[dman25]

We are welding an 8" reinforcement saddle (wt=.322, Gr. B) to a 30" OD (wt=.375, Gr. B) pipe. The saddle is to only be used as an added reinforcement for external loading should it occur. I found two welding procedures that match the criteria, one a stick procedure and the other a wire procedure. I'm not sure which one to go with? Does it really make a difference which one I choose?

 

[TheBlacksmith]

Not really. Properly executed, they are equally strong. One exception I'm aware of is that some flux-core (gasless wire) is not approved for sesmic applications.

 

[DVWE]

The only advantage of wire feed is that it is much faster.

 

[racookpe1978]

Mig (Wire feed) with Ar-Co2 gas, is much, much cleaner than stick -> much less fumes, less residue, less debris on the ground and in all adjacent areas, cleaner weld (no or very little) flux covering the weld.

Gasless wire feed is not really a good industrial practice for anything in a shop. Field? It is helpful, but if you're pulling a wire-feed welder out to the boondocks, you can bring a tank along.

Wire feed allows a contnuous weld deposition for as long as the welder holds the trigger down - no stopping to exchange sticks - so it is 2-5 times quicker.

 

[stanweld]

If you only have one saddle to weld, more than likely the "stick" procedure will be more economical. Welding equipment costs are lower, no gas, portability of equipment, etc.

 

[vesselfab]

Out in the field...stick
in the shop....flux cored with gas shield (unless customer won't let you use it)

don't know about pipe....vessel clients (for the most part) won't let us use gmaw (mig) except for root passes and want them removed if accessible.