VEVOR ER70S-6, 0.030 in, 10 lb

Of the seven ER70S-6 wires on this shelf, this is the only one that publishes a figure about the weld rather than about the packaging: a tensile strength of at least 490 MPa. That is not a high number — the ER70 in the classification already implies about 480 MPa — but it is a number, and on a shelf where the same classification sells from under nineteen dollars to over forty with no published distinction between the wires, a stated minimum is worth something.

The second thing it does properly is name the gas. ER70S-6 runs on 100 per cent CO2 or on an 80/20 argon-CO2 mix, and the difference is real: CO2 digs deeper and spatters more, the mix is smoother and dearer. Four wires on this shelf leave the buyer to work that out.

The deoxidiser claim is also made the right way round. Higher manganese and silicon are exactly what the “-6” in ER70S-6 denotes, and they are what let the wire cope with oily or lightly rusted steel — the listing says so rather than claiming the wire is simply better. What it does not publish, as nothing here does, is the diameter tolerance or anything about the copper coating, which between them are what decide whether a wire still feeds smoothly at the bottom of the spool.

Availability

Read on the day this page was built: $25 at the American Amazon shop.

Read from Keepa on the day this page was last revised; stock and price both move without notice.