Switched from stick to flux-cored for overhead work after a bad burn in Houston

I was running 6010 rods on an overhead tank patch last July in Houston. About 20 minutes in, a big glob of slag dropped right through my collar and hit my chest. Third degree burn, still got the scar. Buddy handed me his flux-cored setup and I finished the job in half the time with zero drips. Been using it ever since. Anybody else made that switch and never looked back?

3 comments

3 Comments

faithj109d ago

Man, that sounds rough... glad you found something that works better for overhead though. Once you get used to the flux-core wire speed, it's hard to go back.

lunawilson9d ago

That bit about "hard to go back" really sticks with me. Once you dial in the wire speed on flux-core, it does feel weird switching back to solid wire for overhead. How long did it take you to feel comfortable enough to trust it on critical structural stuff? I'm still fighting that mental block even when the bead looks clean.

hugog439d ago

Ever notice how nobody talks about the puddle behavior difference? With flux-core on overhead, that slag blanket does half the work holding everything in place, so you can run a little hotter without worrying about dropouts. @faithj10 is spot on about the wire speed too, but for me the real game changer was realizing I could back off the torch angle compared to solid wire. Once I stopped fighting it and let the flux do its thing, those overhead fillets started laying in like butter.