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Calling all welders here,,,,,,

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desertjoe View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 10:47am
 Here lately the Campbell Hausfeld 140 mig welder I have has been steadedly going south on me. I called CH and they suggested I switch polarity on the leads,,CHIT that didn't work,,just made things worse. The machine just spits all the time anymore and I am tired of fookin with it.  I see lots of "new" style migs using "Inverter technology"  and are less than half of the weight of a regular machine but that don't concern me. I would rather get a 115 machine as the 220 volt machines, while they do produce more power,,,are limited by length of the power cord. I want to be able to mig weld under my favorite tree out back which is bout 30' from the 220 outlet,!! I've about decided getting a Miller, Hobart or a Lincoln to be more trouble free but ,,,,??? There are an AWFUL lot of new chinese brands out there,,,so what are ya'll having good luck with?
 I would be using the mig on 3/8" or less as I have ole Brutus 200 amp lincoln arc welder to take care of the big jobs. 
 Anybody???
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ac fleet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 11:41am
A 30' 220 power cord is doable!---I use one all the time and its 50'. use 10 gauge wires inside the cable.
As for the new welders, they are made cheep and I will never buy one of them.
I have an old century 200 wire welder and my fav., a Linc. 225 stick unit.---these will last me for the rest of my life.
http://machinebuildersnetwork.com/
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DougG Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 11:52am
I've used them all and Lincoln seems the best
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tbone95 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 12:46pm
Joe, you said it, AWFUL.  I know yer, er, um, frugal.  But there sure is a difference in welders. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Thad in AR. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 1:04pm
Miller and Hobart are built in the same factory with the same stuff. Miller might have an extra bell or whistle. I’ve been around lots of Lincoln 120’s and had no luck. The best 120 I ever used was a Marquette.
I’ll also add my vote for a 220 and 50’ extension cord.
When it comes to 220 Wire welders Miller is king.
Find a used MillerMatic 200 and live happily ever after.

Edited by Thad in AR. - 11 Jul 2019 at 1:06pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ray54 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 8:19pm
Wink Joe were you not crowing about a cheap welder deal a year or 2 ago.........poke poke.(Shameless go easy on O'l Joe I just got him).LOLLOLLOLLOLLOL


I just use the old portable Lincoln 200 DC for best results.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote desertjoe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 8:43pm
 RAY,,,,!!!!  RAY,,,,!!!!!    RAY,,,,!!!!! chit,,,,, I was hopin nobody would remember thet little number,,,,,and,,,and I AM gonna  own up to thinkin I HAD cut a fat hog on that welder,,,but RAY,,,mayhaps it WAS a good deal as it didn't cost me a red cent,,,,,remember??  Wink 
 Chit,,,,I been dreadin that dang Shameless and HIS poker'er all day but,,,I'm ready to take my poison,,I am,,,,,LOL 
 I'm really thinkin it mabe some little ole something with it but I ain't gonna mess with it no more. I'm puttin it on the Marketplace this weekend and price it kinda cheep at $537.00,,,so it sells quickly,,,,,WinkWink

  Hey Thad,,,,,chit fire them millermatic 200  is EXPENSIVE,,ain't they,,?? Lowest price one I seen on ebay was $1523.63 and,,,and,,they wouldn't even throw in a few rolls of wire and some gloves,,,,LOL
 But I'll keep lookin,,,,they's lots of the overseas products that are of good usable quality but GOOD quality welders is something that needs to be Made in the USA,,I'm thinkin.
 Say,,,I just thought of something,,,I'll bet ole Shameless maybe gots one of them Millers or a one of them red ones in one of his many barns,,,,,ClapClap Gotta get back on his good side anyway,,,,,,Clap
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JC-WI Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 8:49pm
Ray, that still was an awful sharp pointy stick ye used on our ol' Desert Fox...
  Ye notice he hasn't figured out his picture taken phone yet...Disapprove
He who says there is no evil has already deceived himself
The truth is the truth, sugar coated or not. Trawler II says, "Remember that."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote steve(ill) Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 9:22pm
SPITTING on a wire feed is normally low GAS pressure... Are you using CORE wire or Purge Gas to weld ?..If GAS, try turning up the flow.... I  have a small Lincoln 140 amp 120 v wire feed that I use .025 solid wire with CO2 gas for all welds  3/16 inch and smaller... Anything over 1/4 inch gets the Miller 200 amp DC stick unit running 7018...  3/32 rod.
Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote LeonR2013 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 9:58pm
Probably can't beat a Miller, Joe.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote desertjoe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 9:59pm
 Hey Steve,,,the tech with CH told me wire speed was too fast, so I cut it back to .5,,any slower and it would stop rolling out,,,still spitting, Then I increased the shielding gas  rate,,still spitting. Took the gun apart and removed the liner and blew it out but it was nice and clean as I had cleaned it bout 2 months ago when issues started. 

  Yeah,,,JC,,,ole Ray,,he been talkin to ole Shameless on the sly and sharin them poker'er jabs,,,I can tell,,,,but,,,,but,,,I'm still gonna worry bout him after the next earthquake,,I am,,,,,,,LOLLOL Chit,,,,I'm outa here,,,,,,LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote desertjoe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 10:03pm
 Oh ,,I totally agree with you Leon and all the other Miller lovers,,,but gosh dang are them things expensive,,,!!! maybe I can pawn thet last half acre down below and get me one of them nice Millermatic 200's like ole Thad is sayin bout,,,,Clap sigh,,,
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote truckerfarmer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 10:28pm
Check your feed rollers. If they are getting worn, could be part of your problem. Another problem could be your wire. I used to use KT wire from local farm supply store, and had some of the same problems. Bought last spool from welding supply store and it's a world of difference. Cheap wire has bigger tolerance in thickness, and if you run your fingers over it you may notice burrs on it. Another thing is how old is your wire. If it has been through a couple seasonal changes, such as summer to winter and back to summer in an unheated shop, might be a light rust on it due to condensation. Make sure spool is turning freely on spindle and make sure wire it is feeding off spool smoothly. Sometimes you just have to open up the door and trigger out a couple feet an watch what's going on inside to see what's causing the problem.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shameless dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 11:15pm
GOOD JOB RAY! yeppers...ya'll know if that ole Joe wasn't so chea…! he'd go to the dump and grab him one outta the pile! if'n he sells that ferd, he still won't have nuff to buy a good welder. if he sells one or 2 of them green mowers, that might get him nuff for sales taxes. (poke,poke,did I forget anything?)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JohnCO Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 11:51pm
Can't help you with the problem on that welder, Joe.  I have a Miller 210 wire feed which makes me a halfway decent welder.  I was told that the difference between a Miller and Hobart is that Miller has copper windings and the Hobart aluminum, never took one apart to see.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Leop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 12:45am
I recommend that you watch a few videos from Jody who runs a channel called "Welding Tips and Tricks" on YouTube.

I like Jody because he is a pro. I like learning welding via video because it is a very physical and audible art. For example we all hear that a proper Mig feed should sound like bacon frying. Actually hearing it made my welding improve a lot.

He and others also include debugging videos for equipment, welder technique, consumables.

But by far the best videos up there are a variation of "How to make the best welds you can with consumer level equipment". One guy shows how to get excellent results on a Harbor Freight Tools low end welder. By low end I mean the lowest end of thier already low end welders.

Check out a channel by Ave about the new orange welders from HFT. They actualy turned out to be pretty good machines.

At least those are the resources that have helped me the most.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Leop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 1:39am
BTW I have the following welders:

Miller 330 - old huge beast, impossible to blow up, welds great. Con - super heavy. Cost me $350 used on Craigslist not including bottle or torch.

Miller econotig. Welds great, cant blow it up neither. Paid $900 on Craigslist for welder, torch, consumables, bottle. Hold thier value excellent.

Miller synchrowave 300. Impossible to blow up. Coveted welder by pros. Paid $900 off Craigslist, cart, cooler, and bottle included. My best by far.

Snap On MIG. Paid $1,200 off Craigslist . Trouble now and then but mostly due to poor welder, lack of feed mechanism maintenance, use of cheap wire.

My wife says I need one tig and one mig and get rid of the rest. I should have married a welder i guess.

Tig was harder to learn but I like it cause i add the wire myself. Mig is always shoving it in.

I am an electrical engineer and have designed many switching power supplies. Nothing wrong with them. They are light, efficient and easy to controll so that tricky power curves can be created that make a crappy welder look like a good welder.

If you buy a well designed inverter/switcher welder then they should do you good. The issue to watch for though is cost. Initial, and maintenance. This is the primary reason i have gone old school.


In theory the switchers should be cheaper to build and maintain. In practice they are not.

The huge transformers in any of my welders cost more to build than an entire switcher. However, that transformer will last longer than most of the electronic components in a switcher. Remember, welding is basically a short to ground!

If you could fix a board in your switcher when something went bad then the above wouldn't matter. Most components are in the 25 cent range, and even the expensive IGBT and Mosfet transistors are at the most $30 each.

But you can't fix those boards or have them fixed inexpensively because neither you, nor even authorized service centers are allowed to get schematics.

Debugging these days is for the most part a board swap excersie and they are allowed to put test boards back into stock. Ypu are not allowed to return a board that was not needed after you confirmed that the new board did not fix the problem.

Oh, and some companies really bend you over for new boards, often because they dont bother to repair bad boards that they get back. Even if they do, the average cost to send the board to China or the board house is $10~$15 dollars.

Even if you persisted and debugged a board without schematics you are often still stuck because the larged chips are marked with a special part number for the customer. The generic part is 100% identical to the specialy marked one, but no one will tell you what it is.

I can fix my old school welders with an ohm meter. Everything is generic. Short of a short in the main transformer's windings the welder will never die. Often the price of copper makes fixing a transformer uneconomical, but i have still done it using wire from another damaged transformer if i have one lying about.

All the above listed welders are great machines. A lot of the machines designed and built Australia (ESAB) are great. Many of the newest models from china are also dang well designed; I used to fix Lotus plasma cutters part time and they were not rhe worst design i had ever seen!

What I recomend is that you pick the features you like, then the model from each vendor that fits those requirments, including used welders.

Once thats done do a quick online parts search for each of the welders you are considering. A random 10 min search per welder for similar parts across all the welders in your list is plenty; mother board, power board, etc. After that you will know which welder you want to buy if you only want to buy one more welder in this lifetime. That's what I did.

Often the cheaper welders are easiest to fix and weld almost as good.

I did however just turn 51, and my back does look at those little light weight switcher jobbers with envy, so there is that to consider too.

Hope this helps.

Leo



Edited by Leop - 12 Jul 2019 at 2:21am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote desertjoe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 3:37am
Originally posted by shameless dude shameless dude wrote:

GOOD JOB RAY! yeppers...ya'll know if that ole Joe wasn't so chea…! he'd go to the dump and grab him one outta the pile! if'n he sells that ferd, he still won't have nuff to buy a good welder. if he sells one or 2 of them green mowers, that might get him nuff for sales taxes. (poke,poke,did I forget anything?)

Naw,,,"Good Buddy",,,,,I think you and ole Ray pretty much covered everything,,,,still havin some issues sittin down for too long,,,,,Wink But,,,,but,,,I will survive,,,
 OH Chit,,you plumb forgot to even give me credit for the CHEVROLET Silverado I just stol,,er, bought,,,,,Clap in case you missed my post,,I'll refresh your memory. I just bought the nicest Silverado I have seen in a long, long time,,!! ALL Black inside and out,,,I think has every option they had back then even includin the Blair type 5 lights across the  top of the cab (You'ld like them) (1st poke)
 I bought this CHEVROLET just KNOWIN you was gonna brag on ole Joe but NNNNOOOoooo,,,sheeesh,,,just can't win for losin,,,,,,Wink
 Anyway,,Body as straight as can be and inside is gonna clean up real nice and even has a "felt" type headliner that is in perfect shape (it black too),,,,I'll tell you what ,,if you like Black,,this sob is for YOU,,!! Not sure if odometer is kosher or not but only showin 77,523 Clap Has factory AC, cruise control, PB that all work, The little 305 has a miss that don't bother me to awful much. 
 The only'ist thing is the steering column is a friggin mess,,,PO said they tried to steal the trk and tore up the column is why he decided to sell. I got the whole column out and even the tilt mechanism is broken,! I want to keep and repair this column, if possible as it ,,,,caiuse it black tooooooooooLOL

AND,,,,AND,,,I ain't gots no green mowers,,!!!! well,,,lemme back up a bit,,,I do gots just one little ole JD push mower,,,but I ain't used it in a year,,,,does that count,,??LOL
 By the way,,,if I could get my friggin phone transfer fixed,,,I did happen to pick up another rider that is now ready for re-sale,,,,,it black too,,,!!!Wink I gotta go,,,,
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote desertjoe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 3:57am
 Hey Leo,,,many thanks for thet great post,,,I feel much better now,,,,Wink Well,,I'm not an EE but,,but I wish I had studied more,,,, Yeah, I been readin lots bout the new inverter type welders with the IGBT technology and that is where my concerns lay. I've talked to a few rig welders that complain bout issues with some of the "boards" constantly giving them issues and like you say,,,you buy it and it yours if fixes your problem or not. I would rather have an old school wire machine, as I'm not a bells and whistles kind of guy,,,just give me a good heavy machine that will fry lots of bacon and i be very happy guy.
  I DO agree with your wife,,,,you gots TOoooooo many welders,,,you want I should send you my mailin address,,,,????Clap I promise I'll take good care of whichever one you send,,,,,Clap 
  Many THANKS for the help, Leo,!!   OH,,,and welcome to this group of misfits,,,I NEED all the help I can get what with some of these guys (ain't callin out any names just yet) always wantin to pile on,,,,,LOLLOL Chit,,I'm outa here 'fore they wake up,,,,,
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote desertjoe Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 4:09am
 Hey Trucker,,I'm thinkin you may be onto something as I do get the bacon fryin sound now and then but more of the "then",,,,and,, your suggestion of maybe all them  cheep rolls of wire ole Shameless sent me ain't too swift and only agravatin the problem,,,because it do come and go all the time from spittin to fryin,,,,I'ma goin to weldin shop first thing and see if they got a part of a roll they want to bargain for ,,,,,,,,WinkWinkWinkLOLLOL
 Naw,,,,seriously,,I'ma gonna get me a roll of the best'est solid wire they gots and also check the feed rollers real close and,,,and,,Trucker,,,since I don't know what you looks like,,,I'ma hold off on  the "kiss on da cheek" this time,,OK,,??LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Leop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 5:06am
If you like the way the welder used to weld, and you are cheap like me, you might want to reconsider fixing it. The two components that are most likely causing you problems are $6.00 and $18.00. And the parts at those prices are the same or better as the original ones! Yes, cheap welders are in some ways total rip offs, but you allready own it so why worry about that now.


When Mig welders sputter it means that the wire-speed/voltage/mass-of-base-metal ratio is not correct.

This can be due to improper settings or a problem with the welder. Since the OP said it used to weld well then we can assume he knows how to weld and that the problem is with the welder not the weldor.

Sputtering is caused by the weld circuit being broken. This is due to using too much power, or feeding the wire into the weld puddle too slowly.

It is rare for the welder to break such that it feeds more power than the weldor called for. The more likely issue is therfore that the wire is feeding too slow or feeding erraticaly.

We can nonetheless check the welder for an overpower problem by using a volt meter to check the voltage from the tip to the work clamp. It should vary when the voltage knob is turned up to down. Specs should be in the welder's manual.

Next Make sure the wire passes through the torch without much force. If it does not it might mean the tip is melted and a bit tight, or the inner liner of the torch lead is worn through and the wire is encountering lots of friction. Often a sticky torch lead only manifests itself when it lays a certain way, and this often fools people into thinking the torch lead is okay when it is not. This torch is equivalent to rhe factory torch, and yes campbell hausfeld probably paid around $4.00 for your torch.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mig-Welding-Gun-Torch-Parts-Fit-CAMPBELL-HAUSFELD-WF2150-WF2000-Wire-Feed-Welder/183619720867?hash=item2ac09696a3:m:mhSVgBW7FXFhWHkRDUQj_vA&redirect=mobile

If the tip and feed rollers are stamped with the same wire size that you are actually using then you may need to tighten the feed roller pressure, loosen the spool resistance, or both. If that doesnt fix the problem a new feed mechanism like this one will work:

https://www.ebay.com/i/172135828462?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=172135828462&targetid=484681047731&device=t&mktype=pla&googleloc=9032143&poi=&campaignid=1497793372&mkgroupid=60383707640&rlsatarget=pla-484681047731&abcId=1139456&merchantid=101706952&gclid=CjwKCAjw36DpBRAYEiwAmVVDMHBYZ6-A-by0XxwZ4ESsKSHcqK741YW-kLmzCogwPAR0KBGS9IWr2hoCzWwQAvD_BwE

Here are okay instructions on how to measure voltage and wirespeed:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=%23&ved=2ahUKEwi_n_m0jq_jAhWsB50JHUYzCPgQwqsBMAB6BAgLEAU&usg=AOvVaw0VTJzWxrN8ZFOD4xbU2nov

To make sure its not operator error both of these short videos are helpfull

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=%23&ved=2ahUKEwi_n_m0jq_jAhWsB50JHUYzCPgQwqsBMAF6BAgLEAg&usg=AOvVaw0VTJzWxrN8ZFOD4xbU2nov

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=%23&ved=2ahUKEwi_n_m0jq_jAhWsB50JHUYzCPgQwqsBMAJ6BAgLEAs&usg=AOvVaw0VTJzWxrN8ZFOD4xbU2nov



TO LEARN THE DETAILS Of HOW MIG WELDERS WORK, AND WHY THEY SPUTTER READ THE NEXT OPTIONAL SECTION.

Ever drop a wrench across a car's battery terminals? The wrench melts in half right! When it melts clean through the circuit is broken and the shower of sparks and molten metal stops. If we wanted to weld we could use the metal from the melted wrench; I have done exactly this to weld a cracked component on my 4x4 in the back country so that i could get home.

But if we wanted to keep welding after the wrench melted in half then we would have to keep throwing wrenches on after the previouse one melted in half. This on off on pattern is the sputtering mentioned in the post.

A welder gets its power from the wall socket instead of a battery. It reduces the 115 volt current down to about 50 ~ 70 volts. A stick welder uses ac current and a mig welder uses DC current. However you can mig and stick weld with either AC or DC.

In stick welding the equivent of throwing a wrench across the terminals of the power supply is a weldor feeding welding sticks into the weld puddle. In a mig welder the welder pushes welding wire into the weld.

When stick welding the weld will sputter if the welder does not feed the stick into the weld puddle fast enough. In mig welding the same thing will happen if the mig wire is not fed in fast enough (assuming all other settings are correct) How fast is fast enough? It depends, but with regard to sputtering:

The bigger the metal the more voltage you need. A higher voltage makes a hotter arc and a hotter arc melts thicker metal than a cooler arc. Arc temperatures vary based on how big the welder is and its voltage setting, but they range from around 3000 to 20,000 °C.

The mig wire is thiner then the metal you are welding, so it melts faster. We therfore need to feed it into the weld faster to keep the arc going then we would at a lower voltage setting.

A table came with the welder to get you in the ball park. Put in your wire size and thickness of what you want to weld and it will tell you what voltage and speed to use; then tweak the speed to eliminate sputtering, but not so fast as to freeze the wire into the weld puddle.

If you follow the table and the welder still sputters then somthing is wrong with the welder, and whatever it is is slowing the wire feed speed too much, or delivering more voltage than it should to the torch head.



Edited by Leop - 12 Jul 2019 at 5:15am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Thad in AR. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 5:21am
Joe I went through a rough spell with my MM a while back. I thought I had a bad capacitor. I replaced the liner, cleaned the rollers polished up the axle the roll spins on and changed wire. All good to go. I believe the Arkansas humidity got to my wire. I keep two of those wire cleaners ahead of my rollers. The first one gets a squirt of WD on occasion. I have blown liners out with air and squirted WD and air until it comes out clean. Check the ground cable connections.
Oh and keep an eye on alien city Craig’s list. Time for a 220 wire feed.👍 I see them for $500 to $750 quite often.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Leop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 5:23am
Thanks for kind words Desert Joe. Im no professional weldor, and I don't design welders, but a lot of this is just common sense and an understanding of how companies make money these days.

Check out my last post. Yes, your torch head cost Campbell $4.00 or less. Feed roller mechanism - maybe $9.00. Entire welder in the box and shipped to Home Depot, $65 max!

Those are cheap prices, and longevity will reflect them. Sad but true.

Good luck on finding a boat anchor if you go that way. And if you pick a switcher that aint so bad neither. Just more cash short term and long term.

Cheers to you.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Leop Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 5:32am
Originally posted by Thad in AR. Thad in AR. wrote:

Joe I went through a rough spell with my MM a while back. I thought I had a bad capacitor. I replaced the liner, cleaned the rollers polished up the axle the roll spins on and changed wire. All good to go. I believe the Arkansas humidity got to my wire. I keep two of those wire cleaners ahead of my rollers. The first one gets a squirt of WD on occasion. I have blown liners out with air and squirted WD and air until it comes out clean. Check the ground cable connections.
Oh and keep an eye on alien city Craig’s list. Time for a 220 wire feed.👍 I see them for $500 to $750 quite often.


My wire got a touch rusty once and caused havoc. The clearance through the tip is tight, and the rust just made the wire too fat. I had to throw the entire roll away. Now i buy small spools in case it happens again.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DMiller Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 6:19am
Hey joe, increase that wire speed and turn UP the heat, that sputter is from losing contact or continuity and may be from too LOW a voltage setting. In that consideration you get a shield effect from the wire you just put down. Get some scrap 1/8" sheet stock and keep ramping UP the heat until you get a burn thru then back down. Seen it all too often and I use a Miller 210 that was performing similarly until a buddy of mine came over and did what I just explained. Zig Zag stitch, start at one side of seam, cross to other and pause JUST MOMENTARILY then sweep back, try it you will like it.

I still use stick for strength welds, 7018 rod. As for pretty and limited spatter/sl*g, MIG.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Thad in AR. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 6:20am
Originally posted by Leop Leop wrote:

Originally posted by Thad in AR. Thad in AR. wrote:

Joe I went through a rough spell with my MM a while back. I thought I had a bad capacitor. I replaced the liner, cleaned the rollers polished up the axle the roll spins on and changed wire. All good to go. I believe the Arkansas humidity got to my wire. I keep two of those wire cleaners ahead of my rollers. The first one gets a squirt of WD on occasion. I have blown liners out with air and squirted WD and air until it comes out clean. Check the ground cable connections.
Oh and keep an eye on alien city Craig’s list. Time for a 220 wire feed.👍 I see them for $500 to $750 quite often.


My wire got a touch rusty once and caused havoc. The clearance through the tip is tight, and the rust just made the wire too fat. I had to throw the entire roll away. Now i buy small spools in case it happens again.

II’m lucky if I use 1 or 2 small rolls a year. I agree small rolls now.
Joe also make sure your tips will slide over the wire easily. I check mine and use a tip cleaner as necessary.
I once had problems similar to what you describe. Wire would get tight in tip in spots.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shameless dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 7:50am
the wire I sent Joe was baling wire...now ain't that funny that he would even try? I told ya'll he was CHEAP! LOL (poke,poke)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote DMiller Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 7:55am
MIG gun tips and cones are considered Consumables, as they age they also corrode or develop burn markings internally as externally as that is where the wire receives its energy, I replace mine roughly twice a year low use, sometimes in hard use twice a week. I use a good quality Spatter Shield on the cones comes in a dip tub just poke the gun in it to minimize spatter build up collection.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote shameless dude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 8:16am
I always used an old refridgerator to store wire and sticks in when between welds of anything. worked great keeping moisture out/off items stored inside.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dusty MI Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jul 2019 at 8:35am
Many years ago I bought a new Lincoln 140. Which is 120 volt, because I figured it would be easier to use an extension cord. 
Well that don't work, the wilder pulls a little over 20 amps when turned full up.
I had used #10 romex and 20 amp outlets with 20 amp breakers, when I built my new shop.
Because of this weldor I had to go to a 25 amp breaker. Never have used an extension cord with the welder. 
What seems strange to me is the welder came with a 15 amp cord cap.
This set-up does work well.

Dusty   
917 H, '48 G, '65 D-10 series III "Allis Express"
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