Wire brand / supplier for mild steel mig welding - how much does it matter?

[julianf]

...for a pretty low skilled welder!

I was going to buy a load of other bits from weldingsuppliesdirect and this seems better priced than many other places -

SG2 Mild Steel MIG Wire - 15KG

Key Features High quality SG2 MIG Wire Available in 0.8MM, 1MM & 1.2MM diameters 15KG reel weight Use with Argon / CO2 mix shielding gas

www.weldingsuppliesdirect.co.uk

Are my welds (again, low skill!) going to be so much more amazing if i spend more money?

Thank you.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Cheap wire can sometimes be random wound which can lead to feed issues. Branded stuff is often “precision layer wound”. I once bought a roll of SIP stuff and it flatly refused to feed so ended up in the bin. The replacement roll fed perfectly from start to finish so it was definitely a wire issue rather than a machine one.

 

[Wozzaaah]

@Tom Orrow L will be able to advise if it’s decent stuff but I’d imagine it is.

 

[julianf]

Thank you. I realised that Tim and the web shop were the same after i posted, and sent him a pm shortly after.

 

[a111r]

People here that know such stuff say Lincoln or Esab.
Per Kg, not much more than unbranded at £36.
e.g. https://engweld.co.uk/product/lincoln-arweld-g3si-08mm-plastic-spool-15kg-mig-wire

Probably best to find a good local welding supplier, when you can travel to one.

 

[Wozzaaah]

To be honest, it’s rare to get a roll that won’t feed, I just think I was unlucky. I don’t think I’ve seen any threads on here attributing poor weld quality to cheap wire either so I think it’s all pretty much of a muchness.

 

[Mikes]

A while back BOC where selling off a load of Rival wire very cheaply. I asked why it was so cheap and they said that it was because it was from a batch that had not been tested and therefore could not have any certification attached. Basically, they said don't use for anything structural or where you might be required to show provenance. I bought a few rolls for general use and couldn't tell any difference to the normal supplies. As they said, chances are it would have passed the testing if it had been carried-out. For general use on non critical items, I wouldn't hesitate to buy just a reasonable brand wire. The Rival and the BOC own brand wires that I've used have always been well wound and never given me any problems.

 

[grim_d]

People here that know such stuff say Lincoln or Esab.
Per Kg, not much more than unbranded at £36.
e.g. https://engweld.co.uk/product/lincoln-arweld-g3si-08mm-plastic-spool-15kg-mig-wire

Probably best to find a good local welding supplier, when you can travel to one.

I just got a spool of that the other day...nice wire, was trying to get a 15kg spool of supramig...don't know what the difference is.

Engweld is a brilliant company too (as is WSD)

 

[a111r]

The last wire I bought was 5 Kg, from Ebay.
The package density possibly equated to the courier fracture damaged spool.
If the plastic composition looks that bad, then I'll try for a better wire next time.

 

[Jlg]

I personally would spend the extra and get something like Lincoln as last time I bought a roll if I remember right it was only a couple quid more than that

 

[Robert Mullins]

When I worked at Andover trailers, we trialed some very cheap, £6 a spool stuff, it welded beautifully, from all intents and purposes it was superb, but the mechanical testing revealed it to be an absolute nightmare, defects galore within the deposit, low tensile strength, lack of root fusion!
If you've any doubts, use a reputable manufacturer, B.O.C; ESAB, OERLIKON, Companies renown for quality, and stick with them

 

[Nick DV]

IMHO, I can't see any of the major suppliers on this forum such as Welding Supplies Direct, RH Davey, R-Tech et al, selling sub-standard welding wire. Might have to be more selective with Ebay, Amazon, etc.

 

[northwest]

I am sure @TechnicAl will be along shortly to give us the low down but (and remember, I have probably used one roll of 15kg wire in my entire life, cumulatively) I have been around welding long enough to know wire quality does matter and it matters a lot. So I buy good quality wire and pay the couple of quid extra. This applies to rods, reels or just straight Tig wire.

 

[Munkul]

my tuppence:

1. You get very cheap, unbranded wire from ebay etc which is completely hit and miss, generally poor, will rust very quickly if left out. Best avoided.

2. You get branded import wire, which has test certs and generally not bad properties, will rust if left out in the cold but puts down a nice weld. This is the bulk of stuff on the market, likes of Sif, Super6 etc

3. You get the high end, generally European produced wires, with excellent mechanical properties and traceability, welds very smooth, takes ages to rust when left out, and really is what you want for structural work. Likes of Lincoln, Esab and Bohler.

You can get a bad reel from any of the three groups... although with the latter two groups, generally it will be caused by reel damage (Esab wire reels are a royal pain if they've been dropped, sometimes unsalvagable!)

If you're welding structures, or on clean metal all day long, IMO it's worth going for the high end wire. If you're welding car body panels, I don't see any advantage over branded import wire. Apart from the satisfaction of not buying chinese.

 

[Tangledfeet]

Lincoln Supramig is made in UK... if that counts for anything. And was developed by @TechnicAl !

 

[Tom Orrow L]

It's Bohler stuff we've got on the shelf at the moment, so decent quality stuff

 

[TechnicAl]

https://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/global/Products/ConsumableEU_MIGWires-SUPRAMIG-SUPRAMIG/le-supramig-microguard-ultra-strike-eng.pdf

 

[duncans]

...for a pretty low skilled welder!

I was going to buy a load of other bits from weldingsuppliesdirect and this seems better priced than many other places -

SG2 Mild Steel MIG Wire - 15KG

Key Features High quality SG2 MIG Wire Available in 0.8MM, 1MM & 1.2MM diameters 15KG reel weight Use with Argon / CO2 mix shielding gas

www.weldingsuppliesdirect.co.uk

Are my welds (again, low skill!) going to be so much more amazing if i spend more money?

Thank you.

yeah i was told that the other day about random wound i had no idea i thought all mig wire were all was the same learn some think all time