What is the difference between MIG and gasless

[Martens]

I want to buy a welder for home use. I only have 110 in the garage. What is the difference between a MIG that uses flux gas and the wire welders that don't need gas?

 

[welding1]

Gas-less mig or self shielded MIG, uses tubular wire to contain flux to provide shielding for the arc, because the flux is inside the wire large quantities of deoxidents are required in the wire so the weld quality is not as good as MIG. However for hobby use you are not going to notice any difference.

I have never used gass-less mig but a friend of mine, with no welding experience borrowed one from a local hire centre to weld up the frame work of an aviary, he had no problem with it. Min thickness is probably 2mm, but MIG with a 0.8mm wire can be used on car bodies.

Note fume from gassless MIG is excessive, best used outdoors.

You will probaly find more info on Lincoln.com web site and if you visit my site

http://www.gowelding.com

you will find links to other sites that may tell you more.

Have fun

 

[Rich2001]

Both produce an excellent weld, but the wire for the self-shielding flux core is expensive, I have seen it it local store for 3X the price of the mig wire.

Three problems that I commonly see with inexperience operators is that they; try to weld too fast, try to push the weld-puddle along trapping slag, have crater cracks. The first two are fairly simple to solve, just practice. The crater crack problem can be solved by restarting an arc at the end of the weld (the puddle-out) 1 to 2 seconds after stopping the weld, fills puddle.

If you are going to be using the self-shielding flux core most welders/wirefeeders require a simple conversion kit to be installed, changing the nozzle tip, and rollers.

Self-shielding flux core does produce an excessive amount of fumes, good ventilation is require.

My personnel recommendation is the Lincoln SP125+

Have fun with the welder