wire guide stick out? how much?

By pishta Date 05-18-2004 04:41

I got a welder that looks to have a wire guide (tip) that is protruding out the gas nozzle almost 1/2 inch. It is used mainly for .035 flux but I do have a gas bottle with it. Do I use another nozzle for gas (longer) or did I get the wrong tip? No name on welder, probably Italian. I may tap the goose neck from the M6 to a standard Miller type thread so I can buy some consumeables locally and not have to oder them from ???. Some look flush with the tip of the nozzle.

By Muskwa Date 05-18-2004 13:53

when welding using flux-cored wire, it is common to have the contact tip (what you refer to as the wire guide) extending 3/8 - 1/2 an inch beyond the nozzle.This applies whether you are using self-sheilded flux-core or dual sheild (gas and flux-core wire) If you were to switch to solid wire, it would need to be flush to 1/4" reccessed. Contact tip and wire stickout changes from flux-cored to solid wire use.

By billvanderhoof (****)

Date 05-19-2004 06:50

Not able to speak for every machine on earth but on the ones we use the nozzle pushes onto the insulator. Thus you are able to set the relationship between the tip and the nozzle without buying extra parts. Probably true for your machine also.
Bill

By swnorris (****)

Date 05-21-2004 21:20

Electrical stickout is the length of the wire from the end of the contact tip to the work, and visible stickout is the length of the wire from the end of the nozzle to the work. The contact tip is recessed about 1/4" for maximum protection and should not extend beyond the insulated extension guide (self shielded) or nozzle (gas shielded). The electrical stickout is longer for self shielded FCAW electrodes than it is for gas shielded FCAW electrodes. With gas shielded FCAW wires, an electrical stickout of 3/4" to 1-1/4" is usually recommended, depending on the type of nozzle, and with the various self shielded FCAW wires, electrical stickouts can range from 3/4" to 3-3/4". A longer electrical stickout increases the deposition rate by preheating the wire before it is melted at the arc, and at a given rate of wire feed speed a shorter electrical stickout results in deeper penetration.