noob can't get an arc

By texaswilkins Date 01-01-2006 00:46

Hello guys,

I am the latest new guy here. I've used stick and mig welders before but only good enough to work on the farm or on an exhaust pipe. I've never had any of my ugly welds come apart.

Santa Claus brought me a Century 220v 145 amp gas/no gas MIG welder. It's a used one and the instructions didn't make it here. I finally got an extension cord made so I can plug it in and practice. I hooked up the ground to one end of an exhaust pipe and tried to run a bead. I got a few small arcs but the wire was feeding too fast and jammed inside the machine. I fixed that several times before I think I finally got the tension on the wire set right now. In the process I pushed about a hundred feet of corroded wire off the spool so it all looks clean now. Trouble is I got no arc.

Anybody have an idea?

Bill

By billvanderhoof (****)

Date 01-01-2006 05:39

Just guessing- ground good? If you pushed 100 ft of dirty wire through the contact tip you might have built an insulator in it. Try a new tip. Check work and electrode connections at the machine.
Bill

By bzzzzzzzzzz (**)

Date 01-01-2006 18:26

I had a Century and it was stinko. I suggest turning the wire down as low as it goes, then weld onto some scrap slowly turning the wire up until you get the frying bacon sound. The one I had was very touchy as far as ground and how clean the metal was. I was using mostly solid wire with C-25 shielding. When I got a MM 220volt the whole situation changed for the better. You should be able to do some welding with your unit though. The one you have is 220 volt and only 145 amp? That seems like a low amp for a 220 volt?

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 01-02-2006 12:00

Like the others suggested, clean/replace tip.

Ensure good grounding.

May try a small 1lb. roll of FCAW-self sheilded wire on mild steel to see how that runs, the rust or cleanliness of the material isn't as important with FCAW-self shielded wire as it is with GMAW(solid wire).

Use the correct size wire for the tip/feed rollers.

Check your extension cord for excessive voltage drop.

John Wright

By texaswilkins Date 01-02-2006 18:06

I found the problem.

Apparantly I don't always meet the 10 percent rule. You know the one that requires you to be smarter than your tools. When I was trying to loosen the drive wheel tension I also loosened the handle. Once I tightened that back up the machine works just fine. If you guys don't mind I'm still gonna hangout here and try to learn from you. I'll try real hard not to drool on anything.

Bill