Tried a flux core wire vs solid wire on rusty beam, no contest

Honestly I've been running solid wire with gas for years on clean shop work, but last week I had to patch up some outdoor structural steel at a grain elevator near Topeka and the rust was brutal. Switched to a flux core setup just to see if it'd save me from grinding every pass, and the difference was night and day. Flux core handled the crud way better, no gas bottle to drag up a ladder, and the weld penetration on that 3/4 inch plate felt solid even with the wind blowing. I did have to clean up more spatter after, but the time I saved on prep made up for it. Anyone else keep a flux core machine around just for field repairs or am I the only one who avoided it for too long?

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jamieburns21d ago

Wait till you run out of wire on a roof and gotta hike back to the truck, then tell me it's night and day. I get it for rusty junk, but most guys just buy a bigger grinder instead of switching machines.