[Jazzbass]

Working on my son's car this weekend welding in a new radiator support - basically drilled out the spot welds on the old part, plug welded in the new. At first I was having problems because the wire was feeding too slow. The cable to the gun was making about a 10" radius turn on the floor, and that was slowing the wire down. If I straightened the cable out and got rid of the tighter bends, the wire fed fine.

This seems wrong - sure the radius was tight, but it didn't seem excessive. The cable isn't kinked, and the gun liner looks OK (I pulled it out - same problem afterward). Is this normal and I just need to make sure I keep my cable strait? Or do I need a new liner?

[Vicegrip]

Youccan increase the clamping tension on the cable feed wheels but. Too much tension for the wire being fed will cause the wire to bend and spill out of the feeder just before it feeds into the liner. I clean out the liner from time to time. Did it sound like it was slipping or was the feeder motor boggling too? 120v welder plugged into an extention cord?

[Jazzbass]

It was slipping. Not enough tension on the drive wheels? I did make sure there wasn't too much tension on the spool itself.

220v Millermatic 180 plugged directly into the wall.

[smdubovsky]

I have a MM 175. Any machine in this class only drives one of the drive wheels. Bigger machines drive both. Even w/ a new liner, if I twist my gun one way or the other it may not feed well. I've accepted thats just the way it is and will twist or flip it around if it slips until it works. I've always run VERY little spool tension - technically none at the moment because the nut fell off and went somewhere across the floor a few years ago. Though a 10# spool if operating at high wire speeds will unwind a bit w/o any tension.

Technically you're supposed to run as much tension on the drive as possible but still not birdcage when the gun nozzle is pressed up against something. The manual covers it. Through trial and error I've figured out the # on my tension adjustment that satisfies this. Heavier wire (0.030"+) is much easier to use/adjust than the fine stuff (0.023").

[Jazzbass]

Originally Posted by smdubovsky

Heavier wire (0.030"+) is much easier to use/adjust than the fine stuff (0.023").

This may be part of the problem too - I do have a spool of .023 in there. Maybe I'll switch that out to 0.030 and see if that makes it better.

[smdubovsky]

Yeah. The .023 goes from slipping to birdsnest in a heartbeat. The .030 is much stiffer to jump the gap from the rollers to the liner before it gets a mind of its own.

Another thing: make sure the liner is fully seated in the gas block as far back as possible. Get it as close to the rollers as you can.

IIRC, the .023 has its own size liner. You can run it in the .030 liner but not visa-versa if I recall. So double check whats installed.

[hberwald]

Mine has different slots for .023 and .030, to change, you have to flip the drive roller over...made a big difference for me...

[Vicegrip]

Originally Posted by Jazzbass

This may be part of the problem too - I do have a spool of .023 in there. Maybe I'll switch that out to 0.030 and see if that makes it better.

I only run. 023 in asmall Miller 130. I run enough tension to not slip and no more. Hats clearing a wad out wheln the wire burns back and sticks to the tip or the like. I cant say I have issues with it at all. (With a non worn out liner that is. I ran about 150 pounds of low grade no name wire through one liner and it was notched, cut up and balky at the end of its service life. 023 is a useful guage wire and I would not dismiss it for. 030 unless deposition rates were an issue.

IMO Clean it. Tune it and get on with it.

[scotty b]

I've got a MM-180 for my regular use and run .023. (.045 in the M-250 for heavier stuff ) the best way to setup the rollers is to pull the trigger and let the wire run into a solid object, ( ie: the floor, and piece of lumber etc ) and tighten the rollers until it starts to drag from the pressure, right before it starts to bind. Then back off 1/4 turn. This should be close to the best amount of tension to feed properly and not birdnest, and the extra 1/4 back will give you a touch of wiggle room in case your liner kinks, spatter build up, or worst case a glob of molten metal gets on the tip and closes it off

[Drscope]

If you've run a fair amount of wire through the machine its probably worth replacing the liner as well. They get worn internally where you can't see the problems and can really mess with the wire feed. Putting a new one in usually makes the machine run just like new!