FabDigitFabDigit

Steel Welding Consumables

Welding consumables are the filler metals — solid wire for MIG and TIG, coated stick electrodes, flux- and metal-cored wire, and submerged-arc wire — classified by AWS A5.18, A5.1, A5.20, A5.28 and A5.29 according to deposit strength, process and chemistry. ER70S-6, E7018 and E71T-1 all deposit about 480 MPa (70 ksi) tensile weld metal for carbon and structural steel; the ER80S, ER90S and ER100S-1 to ER120S-1 wires match Cr-Mo, HSLA and quenched-and-tempered base metals; the ER309L and E309L-16 group joins stainless to carbon steel. They are listed here for weld-procedure matching, not as a part material.

Popular welding consumables grades

Compare in the explorer
GradeYield, MPaTensile, MPaDensity, g/cm³MachinabilityWeldabilityBest for
ER70S-64655607.85GoodExcellentDefault MIG wire for mild and structural steel
ER70S-24505607.85GoodExcellentTIG and pipe root-pass wire, triple-deoxidized
E70184505407.85GoodExcellentLow-hydrogen stick for structural and pressure work
E60104004807.85GoodExcellentDC cellulosic rod for pipe roots and dirty steel
E71T-14905707.85GoodExcellentGas-shielded flux-cored for all-position production
ER80S-D25206207.85FairExcellentHigher-strength MIG / TIG wire for 1045 and 4130
ER309L4005807.9FairExcellentCarbon-to-stainless and buffer-layer wire

All 58 welding consumables grades

Choose welding consumables for

Matching the weld to the base metal: 70-class fillers (ER70S-6, E7018, E71T-1) for everything up to S355 / A572 Gr 50 and A516; ER80S-D2 for 1045 and 4130; the Cr-Mo B2 / B3 / B9 wires for pressure piping; ER80S-Ni1 for −40 °C toughness; ER100S-1 to ER120S-1 for quenched-and-tempered plate; ER309L and E309L-16 for stainless-to-carbon joints and buffer layers.

Look elsewhere when

The base metal is not steel: aluminum needs 4043 / 5356, cast iron ENi-CI nickel rods, titanium ERTi-2, and nickel alloys their ERNiCrMo-3 class. Some steels should not be welded at all except as repair — 4340 and 300M at full hardness, D2 and the other tool steels, 52100, AR500 wear faces — so design a bolted or brazed joint, or weld before heat treatment, instead.

Yield strength against elongation at break, Welding consumables among every steel grade

No materials in view have both of these properties.

Loading the library…

Welding consumables by application

Mild and structural steel fabrication
ER70S-6 (MIG), E7018 (stick, all positions, low hydrogen), E71T-1 (flux-cored, high deposition) — all 480 MPa class and all covered by AWS D1.1 prequalified procedures for A36, A572 Gr 50 and S355J2.
Pipe and pressure vessels
ER70S-2 TIG roots with E7018 or ER70S-6 fill for carbon steel; ER80S-B2 / E80C-B2 for P11 and A387 Gr 11, ER90S-B3 for P22 and A387 Gr 22, ER90S-B9 for P91 — always with the base-metal preheat and post-weld heat treatment.
Hardenable and high-strength steel
ER80S-D2 for 1045, 4130 and 8620; ER110S-1 or ER120S-1 for S690QL, A514 and E4340 structure welded before heat treatment; ER80S-Ni1 / ER80S-Ni2 where Charpy toughness at −40 to −60 °C is specified.
Dissimilar and outdoor joints
ER309L or E309L-16 for carbon steel to 304 / 316L and for buttering before a stainless overlay; ER312 for unknown or crack-sensitive steels; E71T-11 and E6011 for windy field work without shielding gas.

Working with welding consumables

Process and position
Solid wire (ER70S-6) with 75/25 Ar-CO₂ or 100 % CO₂ shielding for shop MIG; E71T-1 flux-cored for thick plate and out-of-position work at higher deposition than solid wire; E7018 stick where portability matters; ER70S-2 TIG for thin sheet, roots and tube. Diameter follows thickness — 0.9–1.2 mm wire for 3–12 mm plate, 3.2–4.0 mm electrodes for structural sections.
Matching the base metal
Match yield, not just tensile: 70-class filler for anything up to S355 / A572 Gr 50; ER80S-D2 for medium carbon and 4130; ER100S-1 to ER120S-1 for 690–890 MPa plate — an undermatching filler is often specified on purpose for crack resistance in quenched-and-tempered steel. For Cr-Mo, the filler chemistry must match the pipe (B2, B3, B9) or the post-weld heat treatment will not temper it correctly.
Storage and baking
Low-hydrogen electrodes (E7018 and the E8018 class) absorb moisture: keep them in a 120–150 °C holding oven once the sealed can is opened, use within 4 hours of exposure under AWS D1.1, and re-bake once at 260–430 °C per the manufacturer table if exposed longer. Flux-cored and solid wire stay dry and rust-free in sealed bags; cellulosic E6010 / E6011 must not be baked at all.
Preheat and hydrogen control
Low-hydrogen consumables (ER70S-6, E7018, E71T-1 with an H8 or H4 designator) are mandatory on anything above about 25 mm or 0.30 % C; preheat by carbon equivalent (100–150 °C for 4130 and 1045, 150–250 °C for 4140 and Cr-Mo) and hold the interpass temperature. Clean the joint — ER70S-3 and TIG wires need bright metal, while E6010 and ER70S-6 tolerate light scale.

Other steel series

Steel Welding Consumables — frequently asked

What is welding consumables?

Welding consumables are the filler metals — solid wire for MIG and TIG, coated stick electrodes, flux- and metal-cored wire, and submerged-arc wire — classified by AWS A5.18, A5.1, A5.20, A5.28 and A5.29 according to deposit strength, process and chemistry. ER70S-6, E7018 and E71T-1 all deposit about 480 MPa (70 ksi) tensile weld metal for carbon and structural steel; the ER80S, ER90S and ER100S-1 to ER120S-1 wires match Cr-Mo, HSLA and quenched-and-tempered base metals; the ER309L and E309L-16 group joins stainless to carbon steel. They are listed here for weld-procedure matching, not as a part material.

Which grade of welding consumables should I use?

ER70S-6 solid wire is the default MIG filler for mild and structural steel — its silicon and manganese deoxidize the mill scale and light rust that ER70S-3 will not tolerate; ER70S-2 is the TIG and root-pass wire for pipe. E7018 low-hydrogen stick is the structural and pressure electrode; E6010 (DC) and E6011 (AC) dig through paint and rust and run open roots on pipe; E6013 is the thin-sheet rod; E7024 is a flat-position, high-deposition iron-powder rod. In flux-cored, E71T-1 (gas-shielded) is the shop workhorse for all-position production welding and E71T-11 / E71T-8 (self-shielded) run outdoors without gas. Match strength and chemistry upward with ER80S-D2 for medium-carbon steel and 4130, ER80S-B2 / ER90S-B3 for 1¼ and 2¼ Cr-Mo, ER90S-B9 for P91, ER80S-Ni1 for low-temperature toughness, and ER100S-1 to ER120S-1 for S690QL, A514 and HY-80 class plate. ER309L joins carbon steel to 304 / 316; ER312 is the dissimilar and unknown-steel rod.

Which grade of welding consumables is the strongest?

ER120S-1 has the highest yield strength in the series at 810 MPa; E120C-K4 follows at 800 MPa. Values are for each grade's default condition.

Which grade of welding consumables is easiest to machine?

EM12K (machinability good, 65/100), then ER70S-2 (62/100).

ER70S-6 or ER70S-3?

Both deposit 480 MPa (70 ksi) carbon-steel weld metal; the difference is deoxidizer level. ER70S-6 has more silicon and manganese, so it wets better, runs smoother with CO₂ shielding and tolerates light mill scale and rust — the general-purpose MIG wire for structural and fabrication work. ER70S-3 has less silicon, gives a flatter bead with fewer silica islands on clean, prepared joints, and is preferred where a paint-ready surface or multi-pass ductility matters. If the steel is not clean, use S-6.

E7018 or E6010 for pipe?

E6010 is a cellulosic, DC-only rod with a fast-freezing slag and deep penetration — the classic open-root pipe electrode, run downhill on cross-country lines and uphill on process pipe. E7018 is low-hydrogen with an iron-powder coating: smoother, stronger (480 MPa), far lower hydrogen and better toughness, so codes require it for structural steel, pressure vessels and any steel over about 0.30 % C or 25 mm thick. Common practice is an E6010 root and hot pass followed by E7018 fill and cap, or all-E7018 with a TIG root where hydrogen control is critical.