There can be vast differences yes. Some of the Chinese stuff is bloody awfull, some good. Even with top brand wires such as MUREX I have still had problems. To be honest, most welding equipment stockists hate the very word MIG Wire as there's no profit in it & just one bad spool returned kills the profit on the next 10!!
Hi Andy. I have noticed a huge difference with flux cored wire I buy. The spool that came with the machine was OK-ish.
The second spool sucked, it made welding really tough, kind of like MIG with the gas off.
The 3rd spool has been fantastic. Much smoother, easier to use and spatter... What spatter? (well ok, just a bit ) Trouble is there is no way of knowing what you are buying from a quality perspective, so I have no guarantees what my next spool will be like.
Weldequip, you seem to be our guru in these things.. Is there anyway of knowing what we are buying before we buy it? I have only bought wire that I knew was OK for my machine because it either said it on the packaging or in the case of my last spool, because the guy in the shop told me it was OK. I know Flux cored isn't very popular here but what should I be asking/looking for when I replace my wire? Is there a brand that is better than another?
Precision layer wound is only normally available on 15Kg. industrial spools (but NOT 0.6mm diameter) & even then some are badly wound & can cause problems.
I charge £16.85+Vat for MUREX LW1 in 0.8mm!! (0.6mm is more expensive but not that much!).
I also sell 0.6mm non Murex at £18.80+Vat so BOC's £20 is not way off; it will also be good quality stuff from BOC.
weldequip
The quality of wire is a big subject and especially at the moment with the Chinese imports. In general you get what you pay for barring the rip offs. The major fabricators dont use Chinese, a stoppage is more expensive than a few pence on the wire.
The steel used is a major factor, you get out what you put in. Some chinese manufacturers use Japanese or even European steel and these tend to be the better ones but their prices are not so low. The advantage they have is that they sell in US$ and the exchange rate is favourable at the moment.
The debate over precision wound and random wound is also complicated by the fact that some manufacturers call it random when in fact it is failed precision. True random works better than PLW at high speeds. Robots generally use wire in 250kg drums, thats not PLW.
Also, again in general, the smaller the diameter the better it works. Most manufacturers (who use good steel) draw down from 5.5mm so the smaller diameters are work hardened more so they are stiffer and stiffness is good when pushing it through a conduit. One of the vagueries is that the diameter tolerance is the same for all sizes -0.04mm +0.01mm so 0.8mm can vary from 0.76 to 0.81 mm and that can make a difference. The manufacturers that use poor steel have to inter stage anneal and that softens the wire.
like all the above had problems with mig wire for the last 20yrs precision is your best option but it itself is not fault free ive had reels of precision wound thats been ok until u get about half way through it then its as if it misses a layer and starts to snag ,i've had the same probs as silas with flux core i binned 2 reels of ESAB's best only last week !!!!