Key Questions to Ask When Ordering 2.8 Flux Core Wire

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Link to JINHUA HARDFACING

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Edited

09-04- 21:-04- 22:09

I'm guessing you are looking at monopole upgrades???
Correct me if I'm wrong.

A T-8 (.072' in 232) wire is really the only practical solution there (or really on any outside in the breeze heavier structural).

On those big 5'-6' vertical welds on multiple gussets you'll want that wire. Flat/horizontal fillets, my take only, it pays to go to 311Ni "if" you have a lot of them. Otherwise 232 turned way up will do fine. Having a box loaded with each of those wires pays off in some circumstances. Not in others.

The (kinda) problem with using 232 on a galv structure is you are running a lot of heat (by necessity). That's why it's sooo fast. But if you don't have access to the interior for applying zinc rich paint you can cause more probs. If you have a port then no problem. If you don't then you have to travel fast enough to not burn the interior coating.
Even doing that, running high heat and as fast a travel speed as sound weld allows, I still believe it will whip lohi stick by a major margin at the end of the job (even on a .250W monopole, but you best be truckin' on up at NHRA speeds :).

If Crown Castle is the owner, you are good to go. Smaller owners it can be a crap shoot.

I don't have a clue about 233 or coreshield 8, other people say they are more user friendly, but 232 is a requirement (by trade name) on so much field seismic work in the southwest that it is all I've ever used. And it's a friendly, happy wire once you get dialed in.

I've run (some of) Lincolns seismic wires (NR-232 & 311 Nickel) on both a Classic II (SA-250) w/CV module and on a Vantage 400. As an end user/owner there is no comparison to me. The Vantage makes the day go by so much easier.
With a remote, on a Vantage, in CV mode the remote becomes your voltage control so you have V at the remote and WFS on the LN-25, all a guy could hope for.

But wait, there's more. The Vantage Anger Management knob (arc control), in CV mode, becomes a pinch/inductance control. Woohoo. We're wallowin' in tall cotton now budrow. We now have a stupid level of control over wires that really need to be closely controlled for maximum production/day and the welder is happy/happy:

WFS on the box, V on the remote, and (got to truck back to the machine) pinch control on the faceplate. All a 232 soldier can really ask for in my opinion.

Somebody posted on here that Inductance/pinch control is no use with flux core wires but in my experience, running 232 and 311Ni, it's a great gift. Reduction of splatter can be LARGE. Happiness of the puddle gets better. I can spin the anger management dial and turn 311Ni from a big time clean production wire on large fillets to a stupid splattering harshly ugly mess.

I max that dude (inductance control/arc control) out with 232 but maybe I just don't know any better, I like 232 to have a rather harsh arc. With 311Ni I turn it till I get the least amont of splatter and it runs like a super-duper rod on crack. Seems to be faster working to me and puts more iron into the weld as opposed to splatter balls on the surrounding surfaces, my shirt, in my ear. YMMD.

I wouldn't go back (production wise or happy welding day wise) to a generator/CV module machine, those controls make me too happy.
I've seen "almost" the same happiness with Miller/Lincoln inverters using 232.
My limited experience only so take it or don't.

JT

On edit: I wouldn't think of putting a Ranger into this service for more than a week or two in an emergency. Not atoll if my living depended on it, there are so many people on site, 3rd party inspection, owner inspection, permits pulled, maybe contractor personel, a machine breakdown looks so bad there.
You really can get all of the galv off, that's the trick especially when your inspection is harsh or your personal criteria are strict.
The Ranger will resale for decent $$ toward a suitable power source.

High amps all day long rule in this world. Our typical 232 day runs the machine between 230 - 350 amps long term. Plus you need AC aux power for the rod oven (wire oven??), exhaust/cooling fan. The fire watch will want to charge his/her at some point in the day and owner rep will want to plug in his/her laptop : )

Take lot's of pictures, before, during, after : )

For more information, please visit 2.8 Flux Core Wire.

Q: I need to weld out of position with a mild steel flux-cored wire, and want to do it as fast as possible. Therefore, I am thinking of a 5/64' (2.0 mm) or larger diameter wire.  Which size and type of wire would you recommend?

A: First, keep in mind that there is a limit to how big of a weld puddle you can carry out of position. Always think of welding in terms of liquid metal and gravity.  When welding 'in position' (i.e. flat and horizontal positions) you are welding with gravity. The weld metal is resting on the plate and you can carry a much bigger puddle while it is in the liquid state.  This is especially true in the flat position. Even in the horizontal position, gravity pulls the weld metal to the bottom side of the joint.  Therefore, the maximum size uniform single pass horizontal weld that can be made is smaller than a uniform single pass flat weld.  When welding 'out of position' (i.e., vertical and overhead positions), you are welding against gravity. Now you are much more limited as to the size of the molten puddle you can carry.  How fast the weld metal solidifies and the support of a fast freezing slag system, if present, are keys to successful out of position welding.

Just like with stick electrodes, the key to a flux-cored wire's ability to weld out of position or not is dependent on its slag system.  Some wires have a fast freezing slag which helps support the weld puddle and allows you to weld out of position or against gravity. Other wires have a slower freezing slag system and therefore are used for flat and horizontal welding positions only. The American Welding Society (AWS) classification number for a particular flux-cored electrode will tell you, among other things, its intended welding position. Figure 1 shows the key to the AWS classification nomenclature. The second or third digit in the number (depending on wire's minimum tensile strength) indicates welding position. A "0" means flat and horizontal only positions or a "1" means all position.

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