have a welding issue, need advice/troubleshooting

[BTL-A4]

I'm getting ready to weld some steel square tubing together, so I was practicing on scrap. It was going fine until the wire wouldn't ignite, it just came out and sputtered. I didn't change anything from when it was going fine.

Pictures:

The curved bead on the left is from when it was running fine. The mess on the right is what it's doing now. Wire comes out, sputters, sparks, doesn't get going in a nice, sizzling bead.

Settings:

Primeweld MIG180 welder, running on 220V
Material: 16Ga steel tubing
Wire: 0.8mm AWSER70S-6 MIG wire
Gas: 100% CO2, 25 CFH
Welder settings (I used info on welder):
17.3V
208 inch/min

I've cleaned the tip and played around with the tip angle. The ground is connected directly to the part, as before when it was working.

What am I doing wrong and how do I fix it?

Thanks!

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Make sure your gun lead isn't kinked or has too many tight curves/bends causing the wire to bind up. Also check the tension in the drive wheels.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Like mentioned above, make sure the wire is running smooth and not jamming up.

I personally like a 75/25 argon co2 mix, not saying that’s your problem, just a preference .

 

[Jswain]

Try 220-250ipm & 19-20v

It may have been working as you had the gun angled just perfectly then moved it and added some more resistance.

You could also probably lower your gas flow to 15cfh or less, if you are inside with doors etc. closed. I'm a big fan of CO2 for mig, cheap as hell & works great.

Also you said you cleaned the tip, but try replacing it if the above doesn't work, sometimes they just make the wire hang up after they've got some spatter in them or weld back to themselves. I always try cleaning, but if it becomes a problem again replace.

 

[Old Man Roger]

You could also probably lower your gas flow to 15cfh or less

Ya, with a 75/25 mix, I run like 10 indoors.

 

[danielbuck]

Make sure your gun lead isn't kinked or has too many tight curves/bends causing the wire to bind up. Also check the tension in the drive wheels.

this, definitely make sure there are no sharp bends in the gun cable. The drive wheels, if they were working fine before, they should probably be working fine now, but doesn't hurt to try tightening them.

Also clip the end of the wire before starting. if there's a ball on the end of the wire it will often not start as cleanly. Often times I'll clip the end of the wire before every time I start.

And as always, make sure the ground clamp is securely clamped to bare metal.

 

[jack stand]

Ground clamp position in the exact same spot as when it was working well?

 

[no704]

Check your shield gas is flowing from the nozzle.

 

[682bear]

The brown staining around the weld leads me to think you have a gas flow issue...

-Bear

 

[thunderalley3]

Make sure your wire spool is free and is not binding because of low/crossed wire because it was wound odd.

Also check your wire drive wheels to make sure there is not build up on them as well the tension is set correct on them.

I am not familiar with that welder but I had a lincoln that would give me fits about every two spools of wire and I would have to clean the feed wheels etc. I thought it was the wire but I run the same stuff in my miller and never have an issue.

 

[BTL-A4]

Thanks to all! I think the issue was the ground clamp needed to be on the part, not the table. I found I needed to move it to various locations on the parts I was welding to get it to work well. I also turned down the feed rate to about 170 and the gas to about 20. I also made sure to cut the tip back to the copper-colored part of the wire. The hose wasn't kinked at all, but I made sure it wasn't in a looped pile.

Here's some pictures:


I'm a total noob at this, hence the holes blown in the metal (I need more practice). This is handle for a vacuum sled I made. I've grinded down the welds and made them look prettier. I even managed to get the sides and top parallel and square.

Thanks again for the help. I really appreciate it.