Hi Don

All processes have their pro's and con's. Certainly, FCAW has some great advantages such as high deposition rates and deep penetration. In addition, it has the benefits of fluxing processes such as the ability to weld on "dirty" material. In general, one is capable of welding over a very wide range of parameters.

The problems are however associated with its flexibility. With too high a heat input you will get excessive grain growth, which leads to low strength and impact properties. Some wires are made for single pass welding on contaminated base metals. If you should use such a wire for multi-pass welding, you are liable to get a build-up of excessive amounts of Si which will result in a brittle weld.

Hope this helps.

Regards
Niekie Jooste

hey don,
i use .045 t-11 self sheild alot. havent done any high strength steel with it. it has multi pass limitations and is for less than 1/2 material. for me it works great out in the field and has very low spatter. i welded 1/4 a36 plate around the hull of a pile driving barge and ran circles around the stick welder. no porosity at all. i also use t-1 h8 .045 dual shield with c02 in the shop. it is basically spatter free with smooth welds and wets in well. it seems that most have their own opinions about flux core. some love it, some wont use it and i dont know why. go to www.lincolnelectric.com they have ALOT of info for all the flavors of flux core they sell. single pass, multi, thin, thick, etc. thats my opinion
rich

I use fcaw all the time. I use 1/16.We use it on D1.1 and D1.5 codes. I like it because it is all postion,fast and is easy to use. I've welded on tower cranes and thick bridge weldments. The only drawback is with outersheild fcaw is porosity from wind or contaminates.