The arc isn’t smooth and steady like it is with MIG. One of the things that you’ll immediately notice is that the arc is totally different with FCAW.Įvery time I’ve done it, it’s been extremely crackly. How FCAW Stainless Welding is Different from MIG It’s obviously nowhere near as clean, pretty, and strong as a good TIG weld.It’s not just a matter of cleaning the slag, but there’s also a higher risk of getting slag inclusions in the metal. As with any FCAW process, you’ll get slag that protects the weld.For stainless, you generally need to weld electrode positive. If your welder is REALLY cheap, you might only have the option of running electrode negative, which is what’s used for carbon steel welding.This means it’s a total pain for jobs like exhaust pipes, where you need to weld in all positions. It’s really hard to find welding wire that’s suitable for vertical welding, almost all of it is just for flat/horizontal.You’ll often have less splatter with a FCAW weld.ĭisadvantages of using FCAW for welding stainless: You need to weld stainless outside in windy conditions and are opposed to using an arc welder.Gas for MIG welding stainless isn’t the same as the gas you use for carbon steel. It’s not overly expensive to get a smaller roll of flux-cored wire for small jobs, and you don’t need to change around your cylinders. You’re a hobbyist and don’t work with stainless often.Good reasons for using FCAW on stainless: Pros and Cons of Flux Core Arc Welding Stainlessīefore getting too far along it’s good to know why you would and why you would not want to FCAW (commonly misnomered “gasless MIG”) stainless steel. ![]() ![]() How FCAW Stainless Welding is Different from MIG.Pros and Cons of Flux Core Arc Welding Stainless.
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