LONNNGGG term MIG wire storage?

Well, let me start off by saying I got a killer deal on some MIG wire a about 4 years ago. I bought a Miller 250, lease size bottle, and a near new 550lb spool of wire for $1000. Sold the welder for $1000 and kept the wire/bottle.

I have made a slight dent in the wire, but I feel it will probably last me another 10 years unless I use it ALOT more than I do. It has a dessicant bag in the bottom of it, and a plastic hood on the top the wire feeds out of, but by no means is it 'sealed'. Would the dessicant bag be enough? I haven't noticed any corrosion on it yet (I have had it for 4 years like I said above). Should I get another bag of dessicant to put in the barrel, or just leave it as-is?

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Originally Posted by Tacoma747

Well, let me start off by saying I got a killer deal on some MIG wire a about 4 years ago. I bought a Miller 250, lease size bottle, and a near new 550lb spool of wire for $1000. Sold the welder for $1000 and kept the wire/bottle.

I have made a slight dent in the wire, but I feel it will probably last me another 10 years unless I use it ALOT more than I do. It has a dessicant bag in the bottom of it, and a plastic hood on the top the wire feeds out of, but by no means is it 'sealed'. Would the dessicant bag be enough? I haven't noticed any corrosion on it yet (I have had it for 4 years like I said above). Should I get another bag of dessicant to put in the barrel, or just leave it as-is?

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Never seen a 550lb spool.... hows that setup work ?

Put it in a plastic bag, vaccum it then fill it with argon,,,should to do the trick..there maybe other ways that some one could tell us about...

put in a air dry box in plastic bags and cover with fresh step crystals cat litter its 95 percent dissintent will keep it dry Attachment 6926. when ready to use just blow off with air gun

Is it in a drum? I don't think I have ever seen a 550lb spool of welding wire. Seen it in drums, just not a huge spool.

most standard wire drums are 400 pounds there mostly uses in automation welding plants .

At a trade show I saw an ESAB system with 550 and 900 pound drums for feeding welding robots. They even had a little machine to butt weld the ends of the wires together and grind them smooth so they could transition from one drum to the next without the robot ever stopping. It looked something like a bandsaw blade welder.

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Originally Posted by Rambozo

At a trade show I saw an ESAB system with 550 and 900 pound drums for feeding welding robots. They even had a little machine to butt weld the ends of the wires together and grind them smooth so they could transition from one drum to the next without the robot ever stopping. It looked something like a bandsaw blade welder.

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Do the drums rotate ? If they don't it seems like twist would be a problem before the drive rollers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRaeVguEKmw work like this

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Originally Posted by Rodsmachineshop

work like this

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Wow. No spool in the center. Wonder how they can make it so that the wire doesn't develop a twist as it is pulled out ... ?

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Originally Posted by undercut

Wow. No spool in the center. Wonder how they can make it so that the wire doesn't develop a twist as it is pulled out ... ?

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...or get snarled when one strand of coil gets wrapped up inside another. I can't even keep extension cords straight.

Tacoma, you sure scored on that welder deal (bought for a grand, then sold for a grand and kept the wire and the bottle.) Are you in fabrication? What size wire is it? You could keep quite a few welders going, if there was a good way to re-wrap wire onto spools!

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Originally Posted by Tacoma747

Well, let me start off by saying I got a killer deal on some MIG wire a about 4 years ago. I bought a Miller 250, lease size bottle, and a near new 550lb spool of wire for $1000. Sold the welder for $1000 and kept the wire/bottle.

I have made a slight dent in the wire, but I feel it will probably last me another 10 years unless I use it ALOT more than I do. It has a dessicant bag in the bottom of it, and a plastic hood on the top the wire feeds out of, but by no means is it 'sealed'. Would the dessicant bag be enough? I haven't noticed any corrosion on it yet (I have had it for 4 years like I said above). Should I get another bag of dessicant to put in the barrel, or just leave it as-is?

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NC??? How is your humidity??? Guessing on the lower side??? If you haven't had a problem already, I don't foresee much changing. What kind of wire is it??? I have some E70S6 and it is copper coated steel so it does not rust. Is yours the same??? Another couple bags of desiccant would help but only if the container is sealed.

Tocoma were you live is about the same for humidity since i am under a mile from the Colorado river, July and Sept its like 70 or more for humidity were i am at . only thing i really keep sealed good and dissident is my aluminum wire since moisture is hard on it

It's copper coated, so rust is not an issue, I was thinking more of just corrosion, no, I haven't had a problem yet, I just don't want to get to the bottom of the drum (no, it's not a spool) and have 200lbs of wire that I can't use. I will probably just put another bag of dessicant in the drum and call it good. Guess I can check the dessicant in the other bag and see if it has changed color. It is stored in a basement, temperature stays ~60-75 depending on time of year.

I just did a quick search, mine looks identical to this (which is a good deal if someone is nearby!): http://www.ebay.com/itm/550LBS-STEEL...983#vi-content

The hood is the same idea as this, although mine is clear: http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us...age-hoods.aspx

I don't think you should have any issues the way you're storing it now. I have a couple 40lb rolls that are stored in the box, on the shelf, for years, and have not had any issue. S/F.....Ken M