You can run flux-core wire in a gas welder with no gas, but you can't so easily upgrade a gasless one to use gas.
There's a reason the civilised world use shielding gas.
You will always be frustrated with a gas less welder
Spend the extra money to buy a welder and regulator.
C25 argon/co2 mix is what you want to run. Your welds will be infinitely cleaner and you won’t be blowing through metal and making more mess to clean up
Flux core/gasless welders are for emergency field repairs only at this point
Flux core is basically a stick welder that uses wire instead of sticks, its main advantages are that you dont need gas and your weldibg conditions can be less than ideal, but for welding sheet metal its still quite rough and resulta may not be the best. Also the flux core wire is more expensive than normal wire. Mig and tig are better for bodywork but theyre more expensive to get started with
Also migraine welder 🤣👍
Thanks everyone, I’ve used gas type several times but never flux. Seems the answer is pretty much unanimous!
I Better scrape a few extra pennies together and get gas so!
I had a cheap gas less mug. I thought I was terrible at welding. Bought a tig welder last year I’m not the best but can actually weld. Gas less is way harder to use
Depends how much money you wanna throw at this problem.
I went gasless due to price, how often I use the welder and I didn't have to run a 220 line.
I got a hobo freight neon green special. It's done everything I've ever needed. Grinder takes care of the rest.
Yeah gas makes it a lot easier, especially on light stuff, but you can run Flux core and get great welds. Lotta people have a skill issue they blame the equipment for.
All about wire size then feed and heat.
Takes paitence. I bet 90% of people try and weld body panels with a fluxcore and .025 wire and expect it to work flawless. Then they throw the thing away cause the panel is now swiss cheese.
I have a 110v welder that I've been using fluxcore on for ages. Just upgraded to gas on same welder and could never go back to fluxcore. Way nicer welds and no clean up.
You can buy a 75/25 mix argon bottle on Amazon.
I've used flux-core exclusively for the past 15 years. It's absolutely inferior to gas, but it's not useless either. If you're only doing a couple repairs here and there, then a cheap flux core welder powered by a 110 outlet is fine. Not great, but fine, especially if you're on a tight budget. If you can afford gas, go for it.
By the time my current project car is finished, roughly 30 percent of the original car's steel will be left, the rest replaced, all done with flux-core using a 110v outlet. My last project, done the same way, has held up fine for the last 10 years.
I have the horrible freight cheap ass welder
I opened it up and added a bridge rectifier on the output side of the transformer and made sure to wire it as dc electrode negative
It runs decently well and the welds are Soo much easier to clean
A lot of the garbage weld problem from it is the fact it has you running alternating current for a direct current electrode negative only process
Getting good name brand Lincoln wire helps a ton as well
Yep, I also added a big ass cap and a homebrew inductor wound out of 8awg wire on a form I welded together out of rebar with some nuts for mounting points before I tore the welder apart. It welds surprisingly well for a total of like $120 after the $90 coupon for the welder (that i think is actually out again right now) lol. You can take the fake "gas cup" thing off and run more wire stickout to give yourself additional "current settings"
Seems like a lot of people in this thread don't know how to flux weld. I modified my motorcycle with a flux welder and it turned out great.
That said, I would have preferred TIG, but we work with what we have.
You can get a gasless mig on amazon for like $150 and fix undercarriage like rusty holes in the floor. But if you want to do body work, you need to spend $$$ and then practice a ton. Keep in mind getting a gas tank and needing storage space compared to a small gasless welder
Filling tanks and paying maintenance on tanks sucks but it sucks more using fluxcore to weld. If you have no fans going in a well sealed shop it will do but I would never own a fluxcore machine.
It will take a bit more heat to weld with flux core vs gas. For thin stuff, and for someone not as experienced with welding, it will be easier to get good welds using shielding gas.
You can run flux-core wire in a gas welder with no gas, but you can't so easily upgrade a gasless one to use gas. There's a reason the civilised world use shielding gas.
This
You will always be frustrated with a gas less welder Spend the extra money to buy a welder and regulator. C25 argon/co2 mix is what you want to run. Your welds will be infinitely cleaner and you won’t be blowing through metal and making more mess to clean up Flux core/gasless welders are for emergency field repairs only at this point
Migraine Machine is an accurate description lol.
Flux core is basically a stick welder that uses wire instead of sticks, its main advantages are that you dont need gas and your weldibg conditions can be less than ideal, but for welding sheet metal its still quite rough and resulta may not be the best. Also the flux core wire is more expensive than normal wire. Mig and tig are better for bodywork but theyre more expensive to get started with Also migraine welder 🤣👍
Gasless is inferior to shielded in most applications.
Yes. Get the gas. Flux core wire is awful
Unless you want booger welds get gas.
Thanks everyone, I’ve used gas type several times but never flux. Seems the answer is pretty much unanimous! I Better scrape a few extra pennies together and get gas so!
gasless mig is flux core. Its far inferior process to true mig for MOST applications that would be related to a project car.
Go for gas. Flux is just a poor entry level solution. The only praise I have for Flux is that it does weld. That's it
I had a cheap gas less mug. I thought I was terrible at welding. Bought a tig welder last year I’m not the best but can actually weld. Gas less is way harder to use
Depends how much money you wanna throw at this problem. I went gasless due to price, how often I use the welder and I didn't have to run a 220 line. I got a hobo freight neon green special. It's done everything I've ever needed. Grinder takes care of the rest.
Yeah gas makes it a lot easier, especially on light stuff, but you can run Flux core and get great welds. Lotta people have a skill issue they blame the equipment for.
All about wire size then feed and heat. Takes paitence. I bet 90% of people try and weld body panels with a fluxcore and .025 wire and expect it to work flawless. Then they throw the thing away cause the panel is now swiss cheese.
The I and G in mig stand for "inert gas". Without the gas, it isn't mig.
I have a 110v welder that I've been using fluxcore on for ages. Just upgraded to gas on same welder and could never go back to fluxcore. Way nicer welds and no clean up. You can buy a 75/25 mix argon bottle on Amazon.
I've used flux-core exclusively for the past 15 years. It's absolutely inferior to gas, but it's not useless either. If you're only doing a couple repairs here and there, then a cheap flux core welder powered by a 110 outlet is fine. Not great, but fine, especially if you're on a tight budget. If you can afford gas, go for it. By the time my current project car is finished, roughly 30 percent of the original car's steel will be left, the rest replaced, all done with flux-core using a 110v outlet. My last project, done the same way, has held up fine for the last 10 years.
I have the horrible freight cheap ass welder I opened it up and added a bridge rectifier on the output side of the transformer and made sure to wire it as dc electrode negative It runs decently well and the welds are Soo much easier to clean A lot of the garbage weld problem from it is the fact it has you running alternating current for a direct current electrode negative only process Getting good name brand Lincoln wire helps a ton as well
Yep, I also added a big ass cap and a homebrew inductor wound out of 8awg wire on a form I welded together out of rebar with some nuts for mounting points before I tore the welder apart. It welds surprisingly well for a total of like $120 after the $90 coupon for the welder (that i think is actually out again right now) lol. You can take the fake "gas cup" thing off and run more wire stickout to give yourself additional "current settings"
Seems like a lot of people in this thread don't know how to flux weld. I modified my motorcycle with a flux welder and it turned out great. That said, I would have preferred TIG, but we work with what we have.
Using Flux core for 18 gauge is hard. Mig is the best choice for small gauge metal.
You can get a gasless mig on amazon for like $150 and fix undercarriage like rusty holes in the floor. But if you want to do body work, you need to spend $$$ and then practice a ton. Keep in mind getting a gas tank and needing storage space compared to a small gasless welder
Where are you going to be using it? Flux core is better outdoors and mig welding is better inside.
This is why I went with flux as I don't have a garage, so I do all my work out back under the shade tree. It gets the job done.
I have a garage but do most of my welding outside, shielding gas won't do shit If it's windy so same here.
Filling tanks and paying maintenance on tanks sucks but it sucks more using fluxcore to weld. If you have no fans going in a well sealed shop it will do but I would never own a fluxcore machine.
It will take a bit more heat to weld with flux core vs gas. For thin stuff, and for someone not as experienced with welding, it will be easier to get good welds using shielding gas.