Brown splatters next to welds

[jimjomack]

This is the first time I welded 304 SS metal. I am using a MM 250X with .035 304 SS wire. I am using TriMix gas. I get a lot of Brown overspray on both sides of the weld. The welds are holding good after I grind them down flush with the existing metal. I tried different heat settings but there is no change. Is this normal? I attached a few pictures.

Thanks, Jim

[84ZMike]

Jim,
Some one who knows should be here soon to help ya out.....from what I "think"...... it looks like your voltage is too high.....and if I remember correctly the MM250 inductance wasn't the best.....this "could" be the issue....again I have no solid knowledge just tossing something out there...
Mike

[Rocky D]

This is the first time I welded 304 SS metal. I am using a MM 250X with .035 304 SS wire. I am using TriMix gas. I get a lot of Brown overspray on both sides of the weld. The welds are holding good after I grind them down flush with the existing metal. I tried different heat settings but there is no change. Is this normal? I attached a few pictures.

Thanks, Jim

Yup, that's normal with Tri-mix...welds look good. It'll brush off. The spatter on stainless is hard to get off, unless you spray the weld area with anti-spatter spray. You sure you're using 304SS wire and not 308L?

[fillncap]

have you tried turning the wire feed speed down a little.iv had this problem in the past,found i had better results if i pre-sanded the area that was to be welded and used spray transfer.

regards fnc

[Dan]

Yeah, the dark soot is normal. I'd give the basemetal a light coat of anti-spatter to keep the spatter from sticking. For 304 SS I prefer a 308L Si wire over a 308L. The higher silicon content in the 308L Si, help theweld puddle wetout much better.

[jimjomack]

Checked the spools I was using and they were 308LSI and some 309L. Thanks for the feedback. I was just making sure I was using the correct procedure. With Argon CO2 mix the brown splatter was much worse. The machine I was welding with is about 7 years old. Are the newer models either MM or Hobart much better as far as ease of use?