Welding Wire Length Calculator
Estimate wire length on a spool, wire consumed during a weld run, remaining wire, available arc time, and deposited weld metal from spool weight, wire diameter, alloy density, WFS, efficiency, and arc-on time.
Approximate lengths assume listed diameter, alloy density, and wire-only spool weight. Flux-cored values vary by fill design.
| Wire setup | Density | Spool weight | Approx length | Planning note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ER70S-6 .030 in solid steel | 0.283 lb/in3 | 10 lb | About 6,650 ft | Thin sheet and small MIG machines |
| ER70S-6 .035 in solid steel | 0.283 lb/in3 | 10 lb | About 4,890 ft | General fabrication and repair |
| ER70S-6 .045 in solid steel | 0.283 lb/in3 | 33 lb | About 9,760 ft | Production spray transfer or heavier work |
| E71T-1 .045 in flux core | 0.245 lb/in3 effective | 33 lb | About 11,260 ft | Effective density depends on flux fill |
| ER4043 .035 in aluminum | 0.097 lb/in3 | 1 lb | About 1,425 ft | Small spool gun and push-pull wire |
| ER5356 3/64 in aluminum | 0.096 lb/in3 | 1 lb | About 790 ft | Common marine and fabrication wire |
| Alloy family | Typical density | Metric density | Efficiency range | Length effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon steel solid wire | 0.283 lb/in3 | 7,830 kg/m3 | 88% to 95% | Baseline spool length for MIG |
| Stainless steel solid wire | 0.289 lb/in3 | 8,000 kg/m3 | 88% to 96% | Slightly shorter than steel at same weight |
| Aluminum MIG wire | 0.096 to 0.097 lb/in3 | 2,660 to 2,700 kg/m3 | 85% to 94% | Much longer per pound than steel |
| Nickel alloy wire | 0.296 lb/in3 | 8,190 kg/m3 | 85% to 94% | Shorter length for same spool weight |
| Copper and silicon bronze | 0.312 to 0.323 lb/in3 | 8,630 to 8,940 kg/m3 | 82% to 92% | Heavier wire reduces total length |
| Flux-cored steel wire | 0.230 to 0.260 lb/in3 | 6,360 to 7,190 kg/m3 | 75% to 88% | Core fill can increase length per pound |
| Wire feed speed | Arc-on time | Raw wire used | With 8% waste | Shop use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 180 in/min | 10 min | 150 ft | 162 ft | Light short-circuit MIG |
| 300 in/min | 25 min | 625 ft | 675 ft | General .035 steel work |
| 420 in/min | 45 min | 1,575 ft | 1,701 ft | High WFS spray transfer |
| 520 in/min | 12 min | 520 ft | 562 ft | Aluminum spool gun work |
| 230 in/min | 60 min | 1,150 ft | 1,242 ft | Structural flux-core pass |
| Diameter | Typical WFS range | Common spool | Best planning check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.023 in / 0.6 mm | 120 to 450 in/min | 2 lb or 10 lb | Small diameter wire disappears quickly at high WFS. |
| 0.030 in / 0.8 mm | 120 to 500 in/min | 2 lb, 10 lb, 33 lb | Good for sheet work where arc time is intermittent. |
| 0.035 in / 0.9 mm | 150 to 500 in/min | 10 lb or 33 lb | Use spool length to decide if a long job needs a fresh roll. |
| 0.045 in / 1.2 mm | 160 to 450 in/min | 33 lb or larger | Heavy wire has less length per pound but higher deposition. |
| 0.052 in / 1.4 mm | 150 to 360 in/min | 33 lb or drum | Check feeder traction and remaining drum weight. |
| 1/16 in / 1.6 mm | 100 to 300 in/min | Drum or coil | Large wire length changes sharply with diameter tolerance. |
Welding shop often have teh problem of running out of welding wire in the middle of a task. The person who is welding may think that the spool of welding wire have enough length to complete the welding task; however, it may run out before the task is complete. Welding wire is sold by weight.
The length of welding wire available in a spool of wire is dependent upon the diameter of the welding wire, the density of the metal in the welding wire, and the weight of that metal in the welding wire spool. The calculator help to find the total length of welding wire in a spool, the amount of welding wire that will be consumed during a welding job, and the length of welding wire that remains in the spool after welding is complete. The diameter of the welding wire will impact the total length of welding wire that is available from that spool.
How to Find Welding Wire Length
For example, changing the diameter of the welding wire from.035 inch to.045 inch will decrease the total length of welding wire that will be available from that spool. If the diameter of the welding wire increases, the cross-sectional area of the wire increase. The length of the welding wire is calculated from the area of the welding wire times the density of the metal.
Thus, an increase in the diameter of the welding wire will decrease the total length of welding wire available from that spool. Another factor that will impact the length of welding wire that will be available is the density of the metal of which the welding wire is made. Steel have a certain density.
Aluminum has a much more lower density than steel. Thus, a one pound spool of welding aluminum will contain a much longer length of aluminum welding wire than a one pound spool of carbon steel welding wire. If other alloys of welding wire are used, then this field can be used to enter the density value of that metal to ensure that the length of welding wire that is calculated is accurate.
Two other factors that will impact the length of welding wire that is consumed by welding is the wire feed speed and the arc time. Wire feed speed is the rate at which inches of welding wire exit the contact tip of the welding torch per minute that the welding job is in progress. Arc time is the total length of time that the welder pulls the welding torch trigger during there shift.
The total length of welding wire that is consumed by welding can be found by multiplying the wire feed speed of the welding wire by the arc time. Additionally, a certain amount of welding wire is wasted when starting a weld and when trimming welds. This amount of waste can be added to the total length of welding wire that will be consumed by welding.
Subtracting the reserve of welding wire from the total length of welding wire in the spool will allow the welder to avoid using the last inch of welding wire in that spool. For welding wire that contains non-metallic material in the welding wire, such as flux-cored welding wire and metal-cored welding wire, another value, the fill factor, must be used in the calculation of the length of welding wire that will be consumed by welding. These types of welding wire have non-metallic material in them that is incorporated into the welding wire.
This non-metalic material reduce the density of the welding wire. Thus, if the fill factor is not used in the calculation, the length of welding wire will be overestimated. The length of welding wire that will remain in the spool can be calculated.
If the user enters the length of welding wire that will remain in the spool into the calculator, it will be possible to make decisions about whether more welding wire is needed. For instance, if the calculation reveals that there is enough welding wire to perform two more welding jobs, it may be better to continue with the current job rather than change welding wire spools. If there is a relatively low amount of welding wire that will remain in that spool, it may be better to prepare a new spool of welding wire prior to use up all of the welding wire that is currently in the spool.
The reference tables located on this page can be used to understand the different inputs that are required for the welding wire length calculator. These reference tables can be used to understand the length of welding wire that will be available from common weights of welding wire from different alloys. These tables can also be used to understand the efficiency of welding wire from different metals.
These tables can be used to form an expectation about how much welding wire will be consumed by welding tasks; however, the welding wire length calculator will still provide a more specific number of feet of welding wire that will be consumed from a spool. While the welding wire length calculator will allow welders to calculate the length of welding wire that will be consumed by welding tasks, there are some variables in the welding tasks that will have an impact upon the actual length of welding wire that is consumed. For instance, the humidity in the shop where welding is performed can impact the consumption of welding wire.
The tension of the drive rolls that move the welding wire can impact the consumption of welding wire. The wear on the contact tip where the welding wire exits the welding torch can also impact the consumption of welding wire. These variables are not accounted for in the welding wire length calculator; however, it is still possible to use the length of welding wire that will be consumed to make decisions about welding jobs and tasks.
For instance, it is possible that if these variables are observed in the welding shop, adjustments could be made to the welding tasks. For instance, if too much welding wire is consumed relative to the calculation of length of welding wire that will be consumed, the tension of the drive rolls for the welding wire may need to be adjust. It is also possible to determine how many welding jobs of identical specifications will be completed with the remaining welding wire.
The length of welding wire that is in the current spool of welding wire can be entered along with the length of welding wire that will be consumed by a single welding job to determine how many jobs will be completed with the current spool of welding wire. This value can be of much help when bidding on jobs that will last over several days or when deciding if it is worth using a partially filled spool of welding wire moving to a new welding station. In order to ensure the accuracy of the length of welding wire that will be consumed by welding tasks, it is important to weigh the empty spool of welding wire.
By weighing the empty spool of welding wire, that weight can be entered into the welding wire length calculator as the tare weight. By entering this weight in the welding wire length calculator, only the weight of the welding wire will be entered into the calculation; the weight of the empty spool will no longer be entered. This is especially true of aluminum welding wire; because aluminum welding wire spools contain aluminum in the center of the welding wire, there is also a hub to which the welding wire is attached to the spool, and the weight of the packaging of that welding wire.
Additionally, it is also important to know the diameter of the welding wire. This value can be determined with a micrometer tool. By measuring the diameter of the welding wire with a micrometer, errors in the measurement of the diameter will be avoided.
By using the welding wire length calculator, a welder will eventually learn of some of the patterns of welding wire. For instance, it will become apparent that a spool of stainless steel welding wire will contain less length of welding wire than a spool of carbon steel welding wire of the same weight. It will also become apparent to the welder that flux cored welding wire will consume the remaining length of welding wire more quickly than other types of welding wire due to the increased amount of waste that is associated with flux cored welding wire.
Eventually, a welder will be able to use this knowledge of patterns in welding wire to manage welding wire more effect. Thus, the intention of the welding wire length calculator is to provide a place for the welder and welding shop supervisors to make their decisions based off accurate information about the length of welding wire that is available and that will be consumed.
