Had to pick between a MIG and a stick welder for a job site last week

I was on a boiler repair job in Gary, Indiana and my truck only had room for one machine. I went with the stick welder because I figured the old boiler tubes were too dirty for MIG. Big mistake. I spent 4 hours chipping slag and fighting with a rod that kept sticking. The MIG would have been slower to set up but way less cleanup. Has anyone else made a bad call on welder choice and regretted it for a whole shift?

3 comments

3 Comments

abbyf7913d ago

Stick welder on old boiler tubes is a rough way to learn that lesson. Slag and all that rust just makes a mess. Sometimes you just gotta pay for the setup time with MIG to save your back later.

beng5113d ago

Man that's a rough one. I've been there too lol.

fisher.jessica13d ago

Oh slag's no joke, that stuff can get into everything if you're not careful.