mig welder troubles

HI all, I'm at my wit's end.......

problem is the mig wire (0.6 mild steel) keeps jamming in the cable / tube....

the wire spool is new (15kgs) and have changed the liner with a brand new one, which is a close wound metal spring..........still jamming......have now bought a quality new torch and cable complete (£100)..... the torch is a professional Binzal type, 4m long........still the same problem......

having installed the new torch, the wire gets slowed down enough for the driving wheel to spin...tighten the tension screw and the wire ends up in a knot.....

now taken the new torch to bits, when feeding the fresh wire thru no problems but screw back on the bent part (head of the torch) the wire get's very very slow......remove the bent part, at the same feed setting, all OK.....

I've used mig's since they first came out.....this machine is a quality unit and like me semi retired but "still working" ...sometimes......hahaha.....

This machine has only been used for mild steel welding since new.......

also, the machine is stored and used in a warm room, kept constantly at 22C

year round....NO damp problems........

never had a problem quite like this.....which at least the grey cells can remember.

Question:-

is there a new Teflon type liner to replace the spring type..?..if so what results...

where exactly does the weld wire get the current for welding..is it the copper nipple on the end ?

surely not the liner...as when using ally wire then u use a plastic liner (I think)?

any help would b most grateful.....

thanks Clogs

Have you checked that the new reel of wire does not have any rust on it ?

Les.

If it is a new reel is it def .6mm? If it were .8 it would pass through the liner but not the tip?

Tried a new tip anyway?

Edited By davidsuffolk on 20/08/2015 20:33:03

first things first, take a photo of your wire feed to include reel through roller and post it for apraisal. Sounds like something is out of alignment. Its normal for the wire to get tight around the swan neck. The charge is applied either at the roller driver or as it enters the torch 'hose'. You might have an oversize wire - have you measured it? Have you checked the feed roller is correct / matched to wire diameter? How easily does it run with the tip removed? Get back to me? where do you reside?

You might try asking on the mig welding forum. **LINK**

edit - it sounds as though I'm dismissing the replies you get here! Of course, I'm not, but you might get someone over there that has the same make of welder, liner and torch that you have and might be familiar with your particular problem.

Edited By Steve Pavey on 20/08/2015 20:37:09

You can try a teflon liner, you're right,normally used with aluminium wire.

The welding current is introduced at the tip, not through the liner.

In the past we have changed to a smaller wire spool, say 1 or 2 kgs, Don't know why it helps, but it seems to.

It also prevents 10Kgs or so of wire going rusty when the welder sits for a while.

Also have a very close look at the drive rollers, but the liner sounds like the issue.

Silly question, but you are using the right side of the feed roller. One side is for 0.6mm, and the other for 0.8 and 0.9mm wires. If you use the wrong side, the wire skids between the roller and causes all sorts of problems including arcing and bunching. The 6mm groove is the shallow one on the roller, the other is a little bigger. Also make sure that the wire spool is free to rotate. Don't do the thumb wheel up too tight.
Good luck
BobH

Might not be helpful but my old 130 Cebora started jamming the other day and found the 5kg roll of wire was having problems unwinding as if it was not wound evenly and was trapped by wire on top of the extracted wire.

I don't bother with the 0.6 wire as I always end up having feed problems, I always use 0.8

Steve

4 metre long torch is a bit long for 0.6 wire.

Try using a 0.8 tip and see if it feeds ok.

Check the drive rollers ,the rollers for steel wire have knurled grooves and this may be worn or you may have a set for aluminium in there they have smooth grooves ..

I remember using a mig with a long torch lead and had to make sure the lead was as straight as possible between the machine and torch ( not twisted ,curled up or bent aruond the welding bench etc) as this caused no end of trouble.

Ian

thanks one and all 4 the quick replies......

I've been using MIG's almost since they first came out......

as for using 0.6 wire, always welded light steel car bodies and light fabrications, so .6 is just a habit.....

the wire is def 0.6 along with a new set of correct rollers (first thing I tried) ...the drive wheels are always set so that if there is a problem they just spin/slip on the wire......the wire spool is in perfect condition

it's stored in a hot cupboard with my stick welding rods at about 25C,,,absolutely no rust.....

having the tip on the header makes no difference....

the 4m torch was always kept/used as straight as poss.....but it's never been a problem before...been using a 4m torch on this machine for about 10 years without trouble...this one is around 2 years old.....just got up one morning and the troubles started....used the machine a week ago with no trouble at all.......crazy.....

just for fun I'm gonna try a Teflon liner......

SO, have just ordered a new 3m torch and a 5kg roll of 0.8 wire....we'll c how this goes.....

just wish I could justify a new TIG....£1500 is a lot of money for DIY use......

thanks Clogs

I have a boc migmaster unit ( a cebora 130) I was fed up with the wire snagging or not driving smoothly so I bought a euro connector and fitted that to the welder then i can fit a new euro torch easily

My welding supplier sells euro torchs for a bout 30-40 £ and they are european made ones

and it makes it easier to transport the unit to onsite jobs

Having said all that I recently bought a esab buddy tig...mig hardly gets a look in now

I had the problem 2years ago and when .it did feed it was very jerky. The trouble was that the wire liner had taken up a set where I wound it round the machine it took weeks to de discover this .The wire inner had taken a set unwound the cable and pulled it straight problem solved.

Run the wire through the gun and allow it to coil up on the floor the cast or coil should be about twice the spool or reel diameter this would show the correct tension on the feed rollers

Spent ages with a similar problem at work. Changed everything that we could (including the whole euro torch assembly). Problem persisted until the day we changed the reel of wire. Couldn't see or find anything wrong with the old reel, but changing it cured the problem

Always try removing the tip and blowing the torch backwards with an air line and see how much dust comes out the other end BEFORE spending money. A surprising amount builds up over the years.

You may have bought a torch with a different problem, the neck should not slow the wire down a noticeable amount

Bob, Martin, Dave,

I think "clogs" would have found the solution by now. After all, this thread is over three years old!

John

I do wish people wouldn't wake up old threads with current advice