In order to attain a flawless welding project, it is important to use quality welding wires. They won’t just assure unmoving welds that can last for years, but they will also provide you the secret behind easy welding experience.
The right welding wires with the highest quality prevent jams and damage to your welding instrument. This assures you of an undisturbed and continuous project that you will enjoy. Moreover, they also save you tons of money by preventing bad welds which, with great certainty, no worker wants.
With this, we gathered the opinions of our field experts in the welding and metal industry to vote for the best welding wires on the market. And MIG welding, being the easiest form of welding available, dominates our review.
That being said, we rounded up five MIG wires that are popular among professionals in the field. Highlighting their advantages and disadvantages, we hope to give you all the valuable bit of information and the guidance you need to find the best choice for you.
Best Welding Wires Comparison & Rating
1. INEFIL ER70S-6 MIG Solid Welding Wire
Brand | INEFIL |
Dimensions | 7.87 x 2.32 x 7.87 inches |
Weight | 10.6 pounds |
Sizes Available | 0.030" |
Appearance. That is the main selling point of INEFIL ER70S-6. Great bead appearance and lightly-coated with copper. Using this, by the end of your welding project, you’ll get a neat look at welded steel. Beyond that, the copper is also very functional in terms of protecting the build of your welds. It prevents the buildup of rust and never flakes off as it settles really nice and smooth. Also, when we tested it, the feed performance was 5-star! The smooth texture of the wire probably aided in this excellent experience of ours, which we believe rooted in the great texture of the copper coating. Believe us, NO jamming and NO interruptions. Just CONSISTENT feed rate! Five stars! And with pure honesty, we assure you that if we are going to have a comparison of all welding wires on the market, this INEFIL ER70S-6 would steal the crown over and over again!
2. YesWelder ER70S-6 Carbon Steel MIG Solid Welding Wire
Brand | YESWELDER |
Dimensions | 8.5 x 8.27 x 2.64 inches |
Weight | 11.05 pounds |
Available Sizes | 0.030" and 0.035" |
YesWelder brand is not a stranger to welders, especially those who have been in the field for years now. It is known for its high-quality welding wires and this one is the proof. If there is one point that deserves to be highlighted about it, it would be its stellar feeding property. Just like other high-quality MIG welding wires, it is sufficiently coated with copper which helps to protect it from rust and smoothens it. Once you feed it through the torch liner, you’d get nothing but consistent quality from the first layer of the spool down to the last. Also, consistent diameter, good and durable welds, and smooth application with no spattering problems. And if you are in search of an affordable welding wire that can compete with other US leading brands (it’s from Hong Kong BTW), this is a major hack!
3. Hobart H383806-R18 Aluminum Welding Wire
Brand | Hobart |
Dimensions | 4 x 3.7 x 1.8 inches |
Weight | 1 pound |
Available Sizes | 0.030" and 0.035" |
Choices for aluminum welding wires are very limited and of those currently available, Hobart H383806-R18 is the most excellent choice. And if you are about to have a project involving marine welding, we assure you of its saltwater corrosion resistance. This is all possible through the component materials that make up this spool of wire. It is a 5356 alloy that can handle 5000 series aluminum efficiently. This also allows it to offer great shear strength for welding a variety of welding projects like truck bumpers. That being said, if you’re still having trouble finding aluminum welding wire, you better stick with this baby.
4. Hobart H305406-R22 Carbon-Steel Solid Welding Wire
Brand | Hobart |
Dimensions | 8.3 x 8.1 x 2.6 inches |
Weight | 10.53 pounds |
Sizes Available | Available in 0.024", 0.030", and 0.035" |
If we’re talking about great deals and affordable welding wires, Hobart H305406-R22 is definitely the star. Its .030 thickness can work on almost all of your projects decently, be it farm implement fabrication or hundreds of construction work. It produces clean and reliable beads. Just great shiny welds that leave you a glass-like coating afterward. And the feeding? It is wound perfectly and is smooth and problem-free. Less spatter moments. So, with all the said attributes and for its price, this is a true all-around winner.
5. WeldingCity ER70S-6 Mild Steel MIG Welding Wire
Brand | WeldingCity |
Dimensions | 8.07 x 7.99 x 2.44 inches |
Weight | 11 pounds |
Sizes Available | 0.023", 0.030", 0.035", and 0.045" |
Imagine having two rolls of welding wire in a single purchase. Bam! This is another deal you shouldn’t miss. Nonetheless, besides its price, we are more than thrilled to tell you that it performed really well during our test. Just like the ones listed above: smooth feeding and consistent wire from start to end. But what really brought it here is how nicely laid welds. The product we had was small and clean beads that you would want for some of your meticulous projects. The finish of the welds is a true deal-breaker! Really excellent!
Best Welding Wires - Buyer's Guide
Problematic welding wires that jam in the lead won’t just give you wasted pounds of wires. It can also break the welder and the liner.
Spatters, on the other hand, are not actually a problem in MIG welding but we’re sure no one wants it.
So, to make sure your welding wires won’t have any feeding or spatter problems, check forums and professional reviews online. Thankfully, there are reviews like this filled with professional opinions and personal experiences you can rely on.
Always make sure you have the right welding wire for your project. If you have mild steel to work on, ER70S-3 and the ER70S-6 are the wires we suggest as they meet the 70,000 PSI minimum tensile strength you need.
Nonetheless, there are also other important points to consider when choosing between the said two wires. For instance, if your materials are clean from oil or rust, ER70S-3 is a terrific choice. With the right material that is contaminant-free, it can give a glassy-look finish to your welds.
On the other hand, ER70S-6 is more suitable for materials that are rusty and full of contaminants. This kind of wire is rich in deoxidizers that prevent contamination by vaporizing them in the arc.
The diameter of the challenging things to do when looking for a welding wire. Having an undersized or oversized spool of wire can affect your work and so as your machine.
Oversize wires can lead to wire slipping and tip blockage. The worst is that it means more force in feeding which can wreak havoc on your welder and can cost you hundreds of dollars.
Undersized wires, on the other hand, often result in erosion in the I.D. tip section of the tool. With this, the tip fuses to the wire and leads in arcing.
It is true that cheaper welding wires often come with low qualities and some issues. However, there are reliable brands out there just like the ones mentioned above that offer wires at the most reasonable prices. So, after looking for the best one that has all the great attributes you need such as good feeding and low spatter issues, check their prices and decide whether they are fair enough for you.
Best Welding Wires - FAQs
The difference lies in how the arc is used. TIG welding uses rods that welds two metals together while the MIG uses wire to create melted welds.
The most common reason behind welding spatters is the irregularity of wire feed and too much speed. This starts when the filler wire gets into the weld pool. With the solid wire melting at a fast rate, liquid weld forms creating the pool and the spatter.
Welding wires are coated with copper to help them delay the process of rusting. The coat also provides good electrical conductivity and decreases contact tip wear.
You can try using a stick welding or flux core electrode and you’ll still get the best result.
