welder flux to mig???

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tyler_s18

tyler_s18

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so i just got a lincoln hd weld pack welder. seems pretty decent to start out with. it plugs into 110v (standard house plug). the issue i have is it is just flux core. it has no place to plug argon up to it so i can run mig wire. supposodly you can convert it or something. has anyone done this? and wat will i need to do? it came with a spool of .035 wire and tip.

what is the difference with flux and mig? i know the mig wire is cheaper but u gotta get gas to. i like the look of the mig weld a lot more then flux. it seems a lot cleaner. and the flux seems to melt the metal more. it was turned way down and still cut thru sheet metal like butter. i am in no way a welding expert and want to learn more. thats why i got this welder. thanks tyler
 
Lincoln should make a conversion kit...then you need to buy a tank and get some proper mig wire. Not sure if yours has a kit available or not. I have a Clarke 110v welder that has a gas bottle on it and the welds look great....much better than flux core.
 
ya thats what i was planning. the guy at homo depot said he had the kit there. i was to excited to get it home and play with it so i didnt look at it lol. i will check out lincoln.com ans see if i can find anything. two ppl at the store said it could be done but didnt tell me how
 
Look at the back of the welder, it should have a brass nut for the 75%/25% CO2/Argon mix of gas you'll need. You'll need to buy a flow regulator kit (conversion kit as you call it) as well. That will hook up the tank to the welder. For doing body work you'll also want thinner wire, such as an .025 or even .023 I think is the thinnest.

Look for your local Praxair Dealer, they sell the Gas and also Rent the bottles. Buying a Bottle can be expensive, if your on a tight budget. I rent my tank for $10 a month from them.

Hope this helps

Eric
 
ok i hadent thought of renting one. my welder has no brass fitting to hook the gas to. it has no external fitting at all for gas. i will pull the covers off and see if there is anything inside tho
 
Unless you go through a lot of gas, I'd buy a tank.

My last ~130cf cost about $150 filled. Refills are in the $50 range
 
you can get the kit at most welding supply shops for about $150. it comes with all the lines, regulator, and liner. just no bottle but you can rent one from the welder supply store. also there is only one flux welder I know of that you can't convert to MIG and that one is commonly called the handy core welder. it is shaped like a rectangle and only has two heat settings. what is the model you have?
 
what are you planning on welding with it? sounds like for the price of that and the kit you can just about get the lincoln that does both at 220-230 volt. picked one of those up and it worked fine for thinner metals, but surprisingly the little hobart mig at the same price i have left the lincoln to collect dust. if you have your own shop to be welding in mig is a much better choice from my experience, our large tanks are only 30 bucks to refill and last quite awhile, and its much easier to make the welds look like their done by some one who has a clue lol, like you said, much cleaner, flux is handy for portability and strong if u dont care to much about prettiness. oh and the difference is flux has inner gas shielding, which is why ur wire is hollow, mig has a gas shield coming out around the wire~
 
I comverted my Lincoln weld pak 155 wire feed welder from flux core to MIG several years ago. Bought the conversion kit from my local Lincoln retailer (about $150 kit + forgot what tank cost?). Installed in less than an hour.

It will make your welder much more usable for thinner materials like automotive sheet metal (fluxcore is a bit to hot for light duty work like that).


Bob
 
If its the model I looked at at home depot then you cant hook the bottle to it. I went to northern tool and bought the hobart then to the weilding store and bought the bottle. The one I have works great been using to weild patch panels in the 69 cuda. BTW the price is about the same as the one you have.
 
I recommend you find a vocational school or community college that offers welding classes,knowledge is power,At least for the basics.I've had to grind out a lotta bad weld's redoing other peoples mistakes.You want to be safe,nothing worse than your car coming apart.If you can't convert your present machine to shielding gas,take it back and get one that will.flux core makes a highly contaminated weld,not good for body work.Good Luck
 
wow lots of replys thanks:) i did get it at home depot so ya you can not hook gas to it in its present state. it seems like i can get a kit for it tho. would i need a lincoln kit? or would any brand work? it seems like all of them would be the same except for maby sizes of connections
 
Tyler,

You've got to get the kit from the manufacturer who made your welder. As far as I know, there are no generic kits. I bought a 40 cf bottle for mine and it was about 100 bucks. Refills are under 50 bucks. You may need to buy a regulator too. I got my bottle at General Air right off I-25 at 8th Ave. You can see the sign from the highway.

Bunch of nice people there and free coffee. :) Careful in that showroom. I almost got sucked in buying a lot of stuff there, lol!
 
ok cool. i was gonna look on lincoln.com but got side tracked lol. i will find the kit then go to the gas place. will the gas last forever in the tank? or will it expire?
 
tyler_s18 said:
ok cool. i was gonna look on lincoln.com but got side tracked lol. i will find the kit then go to the gas place. will the gas last forever in the tank? or will it expire?
Click to expand...

The gas will last and not expire. It won't go bad in the tank. It's an 80/20 mix of CO2 and Argon, which are inert gases. They won't break down.
 
ok cool. we are in the middle of moving down to castle rock so it will be a while before i can do much. thanks for all everyones input
 
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