Best MIG Welding Wires of 2023 – Top Picks & Reviews

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Users have a lot to say about the INEFIL ER70S-6. Professional welders rave about the excellent feedability, good wetting and excellent bead appearance, which results in significantly less post-weld touch-up work. Welders praise the wire's light copper coating for protecting the wire from rust, lubricating feed performance, and not flaking like thicker coatings.

The only downside compared to Lincoln wire is that Inefil wire is manufactured in Europe to EU standards, which means it won't qualify as "buy American" if you're doing government contract work. However, this is a very high quality wire, and if you don't have to prove military or other safety certifications or proof that it originated in North America, it will probably perform as well as any other wire on the market, maybe even better.

Inefil rates this wire as an 80% argon/20% carbon dioxide mix, but an Inefil US rep says it's also good for 75% argon/25% carbon dioxide, which saves a little money on cylinders.

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We chose Lincoln SuperArc as our Pro Choice because it is the most commonly used wire in the welding industry for mission critical applications. Lincoln SuperArc is the wire of choice when the job requires meeting Military Standards or Lloyd's Registry shipbuilding requirements. NASCAR, Formula 1, and NHRA race teams use Lincoln Wire for their safety cages, and it's the choice of roller coaster and thrill ride manufacturers.

What is the difference in this line? Not that it's actually better quality. The difference is the level of process monitoring to ensure it meets these extremely stringent standards.

For tasks like repairing a washing machine or door hinges, it's no big deal if your electrical wiring doesn't meet Buy American standards or Lloyd's Register standards for tensile strength.

However, if you're welding trailer tongues, suspension components, or building roll cages, you'll probably be happy to know this wire is certified and inspected for applications where safety is paramount.

Many professionals also find this type of wire feed to work best, allowing them to make the most of their hard-won skills.

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YesWelder of Boulder, Colorado has won over American welders with welders and equipment sourced from Hong Kong. Originally a third-party product supplier, it was sold in 2018 and began sourcing its own helmets and welders directly from Hong Kong. Recently, YesWelder started offering consumables, and American Welders have given rave reviews about the quality of their MIG welding wire.

This wire is known for its good feed. The thin copper coating prevents the wire from rusting and facilitates smooth passage through the torch liner. Users often comment on consistent quality throughout the spool, welding, and more expensive American brands.

If you don't need to meet military, government, racing agency or marine requirements for a certification process, YesWelder welding wire will probably be fine for anything you need to do with a MIG welder.

We found no reports of spattering issues, crimping or diameter inconsistencies along the length of the spool. Users report that their welds have plenty of penetration and good strength, and the quality of the material seems to be good. Yeswelder has great reviews for buyer customer service.

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We decided it would be appropriate to provide at least one aluminum wire option for those who want to weld aluminum but find the information scarce.

This is pretty much the best aluminum wire available. When welding aluminum, most professionals prefer Hobart wire. Hobart aluminum wires are very popular in marine welding because they are very resistant to salt water corrosion.

This particular wire is alloy 5356 and is best suited for welding 5000 series aluminum. Something with a little less silicon might provide better wetting for prettier beads, but 5356 has excellent shear strength for things like truck bumpers and tool boxes.

If you are using 6015, use 4043 wire for excellent results on high strength items like motorcycle handlebars, ski boat towers and such applications.

You don't want to chemically contaminate the copper plated aluminum equipment from the steel wire, so you'll need to replace the liner in the torch lead and use a spool gun to shorten the electrode distance. Replace the torch tip and guard for cleaning items. Use separate clips, brushes and other tools.

• Copper coating provides good feed
• Designed for 100% CO2 operation
• Manganese and silicon make steel easy to get dirty
• £10 for £11
• Designed for low-splash performance

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Harris is a Lincoln Electric brand, which suggests that the quality should be good, and since Lincoln has an industry-leading reputation, it's worth worrying about.

However, if you need to meet US or European government or military standards, it doesn't qualify because it's made in China. The same is true when welding is performed on seagoing vessels inspected by Lloyd's Register.

This is not to say that the wire itself is of inferior quality, it is just that it is not certified to meet certain statutory inspection standards. That's one reason it's less expensive than the well-inspected wires on the high-end market.

The vast majority of users report good results for welding and wire feeding with this wire. Many welders are very happy with its low spatter rates, especially at lower amperage settings for 100% CO2 and 75% Argon/25% CO2 mixtures.

The wire does meet AWS's ER70S-6 standard for silicon and manganese deoxidized compound content. Users report great results with contamination such as light rust or moderate scale.

It's a great, inexpensive alternative for repairing items like fences, engine mounts, and machinery.