Yesterday I am welding with my Lincoln 175 (.030" solid wire with 75%/25% gas) and ever once in a while it would just stop the 'crackling' noise and it would just feed the wire into a bright puddle. I would move to a different spot and sometimes it would work fine and sometimes do the same thing.
My first thought was the metal was not clean enough, but I could go and sand it down again and it still wouldn't work. Also, it is brand new tubing. Then later, when I had it working in another spot, I could go back to the original spot where it started messing up, and it would weld just fine. It is like something is not getting enough power or something. I tried the ground in different spots without any luck. It was like I had to just wiggle wires and move around where I was trying to weld until suddenly it would start working again. Then it would be fine for awhile.
Anyone ever have this happen before?
Sounds like your wire feed is inconsistant. First check the feed roll tension. Next try a new contact tip. Next try a new liner. How old is the wire, does it have a slight rust on the surface? The little wire feed welders like the 175 don't have the torque to push wire with much drag, so any of the listed items will cause excessive drag and the wire to feed inconsistant. Good luck
MDG
The wire is new, and I tried 2 different rolls. I think the feed is consistent, but while it is doing it, it is too bright to tell. But when I pull away and trigger, it seems to feed fine.
I put a new tip in the end of the gun.
I am unsure what the liner is? Is it the coil spring that the wire feeds through under the tip and before the rollers?
How much tension should I have on the spool of wire. I try to have just enough that it won't unspool on its own, but not sure if this is correct.
Are the feed rolls for .030 wire??
Yes, the liner looks like a coil spring. The feeder tensoin should be kind-of tight. A good measure of proper tension is to feed the wire into the palm of your hand (with a glove on ) and the wire should coil up and continue to feed. If the feed rolls slip at the first sign of resistance, they are too loose. This will take a few trys to understand the correct tension. Too loose is bad, but too thight is bad also.
Hope this helps
MDG
Not sure if the feed rolls are for .030" wire. They are the ones it came with. How do I check that?
It should have a stamp or engraved marking on the roll itself. It might be in MM. 1.2=.045 0.9=.035 and .08=.030.
I'm not sure if that machine comes with a 2 groove roll, but one side might be .030 and the other side might be .035. Take a look and see.
MDG
The arc goes out and the wire winds up welded to the work? If so I vote for inconsistant welding current. Check for bad connection anywhere in the low voltage side of the machine, both the gun and the ground. A too large contact tip could concievably do this.
Bill
Thanks for the help guys. I think it was the roller tensin getting weak over time. I did the test for the tension by holding back the wire and had to turn it down a few more turns. Seemed to be better last night, we will see for sure this weekend.
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