Why can't I weld!!

[53 hemi]

I'm getting pretty frustrated this morning.

I'm not a welder, but I'd like to learn. I think I'm in that danger zone of ' enough knowledge to think I know something '.

I was given a free welder. It's a Solar 2171 gas less wire feed 110v job.

All it has for switches is a min/max range and a high/low power. I can't find a manual online.

I'm using a dedicated 20a breaker for it.

Man. I can't weld anything with it. Just a spattering mess. I've got a pretty thin piece of flat stock that I'm just trying to lay a bead on. It won't even get it red on the other side, and I can knock the bead off with a hammer. I've tried a couple of different pieces of scrap metal and all with the same results. What am I doing wrong!?!

 

[sberry]

While I am certain one actually has workied at some given time,

I was given a free welder. It's a Solar 2171 gas less wire feed 110v job.

This pretty well sums it up. Thats not to be a smart azz but its pretty much the reality.

 

[53 hemi]

Yeah, I know. Free is what it is. It was in the basement of a bar I worked at, it had burned up a wire inside. I fixed it up and have been struggling with it for quite a while.

 

[Bar Ditch]

If you really wan't to learn to weld take some take some classes or if thats not in the pocketbook, go to welding tips and tricks on youtube. As far as your welder goes the usual reason something is free is that it needs repair. Free a lot of time costs money.

 

[FMC]

check ground clamp wire and connection. set power and feed to max, make a pass and post a pic

 

[930dreamer]

I have a HF gasless 120v setup, I can't run a bead with this to save my life.

 

[53 hemi]

 

[Ron Lombardo]

... first is the wire solid or flux core ... solid you should wled WITH GAS and flux core you can weld NO GAS .... check the polarity inside the machine ... this would cause the splatter ...

 

[53 hemi]

It's flux core, 030". How do I check the polarity?

 

[53 hemi]

Alright, I guess I've got bigger problems. Different voltage at different outlets. Renting *****.

 

[EvilWelder]

Try a spool of Lincoln 211, the cheap wire is just that cheap.

 

[Kevin54]

I'm not much of a welder either although I do have a gas or gasless Lincoln. You'll get quite a bit of spatter from flux core wire, but it will weld. Maybe turn up the amps but slow down you're wire feed some. Also "Solar" is a "Century" welder and then bought out by "Lincoln" from what I understand. A manual for any gasless welder should tell you what you need to know. If you have a welding supplier near you, check with them for a manual. If I can find mine for my Lincoln, I can scan it and send the file to you. I'm just not sure if I can find it though. I'll give it a shot.

 

[koditten]

I think you have way too much wire speed and not enough heat/amps. Can we get a pic of what the setting are running at when you show a pic of the weld.

My first welder was a century/solara and it worked perfectly with or without gas. I knwo everybody wants a Miller or Lincoln, but you should be able to get this to weld. Keep us posted. We like a challenge.

KO

 

[Professur]

If the metal clean clean clean?

 

[fflintstone]

Take any classes you can. I have been welding for 20 years and recently took classes at Lincoln electric for both MIG and TIG. Highly recommend them.


http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/education-center/welding-school/Pages/welding-school.aspx

As for your immediate needs try slowing your wire feed speed and upping your amperage. Are you using old wire?

Jody at “weldingtipsandtricks.com” has excellent videos for all types of electric welding.


http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/index.html

 

[53 hemi]

sorry - i left the shop. there are no settings for speed. as stated earlier, only a min/max range and low/high power.

 

[Ironhorse]

I'm getting pretty frustrated this morning.

I'm not a welder, but I'd like to learn. I think I'm in that danger zone of ' enough knowledge to think I know something '.

I was given a free welder. It's a Solar 2171 gas less wire feed 110v job.

All it has for switches is a min/max range and a high/low power. I can't find a manual online.

I'm using a dedicated 20a breaker for it.

Man. I can't weld anything with it. Just a spattering mess. I've got a pretty thin piece of flat stock that I'm just trying to lay a bead on. It won't even get it red on the other side, and I can knock the bead off with a hammer. I've tried a couple of different pieces of scrap metal and all with the same results. What am I doing wrong!?!

Try Turning up the power all the way and hold the gun as close to the metal that your welding as you can, make sure your ground clamp is on a bare part of you metal as well. Hit the triger for about a 3 count and see if you still get splatter or if your wire stuck or started to bead up to the metal...if it stuck either way...you pretty close in power ( if it blows a hole thru it way to much power and start form the other end low power and up) ..so you just keep doing this till you have it dialed in...( just on a scrap piece...when it is all dialed in..you can start your project)

 

[srmofo]

sorry - i left the shop. there are no settings for speed. as stated earlier, only a min/max range and low/high power.

I started on a similar chi-com unit from craftsman. Most of the time I would have the unit on the 3rd highest power level. IIRC it was max range/low power. any thing less that, and the unit wasnt doing its job even on the thinnest of materials.

Those units splatter like crazy. Thats a good thing. If you can learn to hold a steady bead while standing in a shower of sparks, once you switch to a better machine you will leaps and bounds ahead of the curve.

I held the the tip close and moved at a steady speed making little " m "s. The little "e"s tended to build up too much slag. If it gets hot and starts to burn through, pull the tip from the surface but keep moving at the steady speed.

You really have to watch the puddle on the little units and learn to understand what is going on with the metal.

IMHO it sounds like you need better instruction on how to weld coupled with a little practice and experience. Watch some videos and try again.

 

[Jagmandave]

I think he found the problem already, low voltage at the outlet he was using.

If you can get good outlet voltage, you should be able to get a bead started. Once you do, then you need to follow what the other's are saying, slow your movements till you see the puddle moving with your tip....

I've had my cheap welder for 20 years or so and it does great - still. I do have gas and solid wire tho. However, it's limited on settings too, so I really have to pay attention to my weld puddle and penetration and adjust my movement accordingly.

Fresh clean wire and a good clean surface to weld will help you too.

 

[hunter1151]

Trying to "learn" how to weld with one of these would be like trying to learn to ride a bicycle with 2 flat tires going up hill..........yeah you will eventually get it but man, what a tuff way to learn. If I had an extra welder, I would just send it to you. What these guys are telling you about taking a Vo-Tech welding class at a junior college or a night class at a high school will do you a world of good and it is cheap to do. Learning to weld opens up a whole new world for you. Hope you don't lose interest because of the shyt box you are starting with.

 

[koditten]

I don't know if I agree with that Hunter. I learned to weld on one of these rigs. It was tough but after I mastered it, any other machine was gravy. Welders are expensive, classes are expensive, some of us don't have the time or the money to go the organized route. Just start welding and find what works. You can learn without classes, you just have to be willing to ask for people critisize your work.

Thats what we are here for.

KO

 

[Var1able]

I would recommend starting with a new spool of flux core. Then make sure that your machine is in electrode positive. There is likely a switch somewhere, could be on the front or inside the machine. Likely around the feed wheels if its inside.

try working small circles as you move along the material. Go slow, spatter is going to happen. If you think your going to lay something amazing with a poor quality process and no experience its just not going to happen.

Stuff like this is done by a experienced welder with a TIG machine, which is the best common form of welding out there if you want to make something look good. IMO flux will never look this good.

Your trying for something kind of like this.. I know this looks like it might be stainless but its actually mild steel.

Its a Poor workman that blames his tools. We use a 110 machine to build roll cages and in all honesty as long as you take your time it works fine.

 

[hunter1151]

I don't know if I agree with that Hunter. I learned to weld on one of these rigs. It was tough but after I mastered it, any other machine was gravy. Welders are expensive, classes are expensive, some of us don't have the time or the money to go the organized route. Just start welding and find what works. You can learn without classes, you just have to be willing to ask for people critisize your work.

Thats what we are here for.

KO

It was in no way meant as a put down or criticizing, just stating the difficulty in trying to learn: 1. on your own and 2. starting with a welder that has difficulty built into it. When I learned how to weld in the sixties......it was gas welding, then arc, then mig then tig. Everyone who has ever wanted me to "teach" them how to weld I have given the same advise. If you can, take a class, (this is where I disagree with you), unless you are in Timbuktu, you should be able to find a Vo-Tech or Vo-Ag class that will teach the basics of welding. There are a lot of these around that are government subsidized.

 

[hunter1151]

I would recommend starting with a new spool of flux core. Then make sure that your machine is in electrode positive. There is likely a switch somewhere, could be on the front or inside the machine. Likely around the feed wheels if its inside.

try working small circles as you move along the material. Go slow, spatter is going to happen. If you think your going to lay something amazing with a poor quality process and no experience its just not going to happen.

Stuff like this is done by a experienced welder with a TIG machine, which is the best common form of welding out there if you want to make something look good. IMO flux will never look this good.

Your trying for something kind of like this.. I know this looks like it might be stainless but its actually mild steel.

Its a Poor workman that blames his tools. We use a 110 machine to build roll cages and in all honesty as long as you take your time it works fine.

So you are saying you could build roll cages with the welder the OP has, remembering that a poor workman blames his tools.............lol........oh and get some fresh wire while your at it

 

[lilredex]

If no classes are available, this is a good place to start:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/tutorial.htm


It probably looks a lot like this one which was made by Century. It is difficult to get these to perform properly as "gasless" but a conversion to "gas" will change its personality 180*. I did a DIY conversion on mine and it is OK now. Keep in mind that it is a low output welder and is only capable in doing exhaust and body work, etc.

Send me a PM if you wish further details on the conversion.

This is it here.....

http://london.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-tools-power-tools-Solar-2171-Welder-W0QQAdIdZ409299727

 

[srmofo]

^^^^my guess is it looks more like this without the wire feed speed.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-wire...p-00920568000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

Its a cheap gasless machine that can not be converted to a gas machine. Like I mentioned earlier perfect for learning on without a heavy investment.

Ill snap a pic of mine tomorrow as its at the shop where is gets used occasional to tack up small irrelevant things. Ill grab a few pics of an exhaust I welded up it with also. A friend wanted to cut his resonator off, and despite my protest, he insisted. It wasnt a week later I was welding the resonator back on,lol. So I have the old pipe still at the shop with the flange on it.

 

[KenS]

It's flux core, 030". How do I check the polarity?

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet:

Your 110-volt welder, including its wire roller, liner and contact tips, are designed for .024 wire. Running .030 wire will cause intermittent feed and slipping feed roller, jams, birds-nesting and poor, or no, penetration and assorted other problems.

Switch to .024 (or .023 to .025) flux core wire, make sure your feed roller and liner aren't damaged, treat yourself to a new contact tip, and stick to sheet metal or thin plate and you will be able to weld material your machine was designed to handle.

The Solar 80 AMP. Welder SOL2171 (click here)..., is a rebadged Century Manufacturing Co 2171 Wire Feed Gasless 80 Amp Welder (click here...

Click here for a PDF copy of the owner's manual.

 

[MoonRise]

KenS,

Nice find on the PDF of the manual.

But your statement "designed for .024 wire" is incorrect according to the manual (that you found and posted the link to).

Per the manual (on Page 9 "SELECTING THE WELDING WIRE"), the machine uses 0.030 FCAW wire of the type E71T-GS.

If you are unsure of what wire type you have or if unsure of the 'quality' of the wire you have, I'd suggest going out and getting a small 4 inch diameter spool of some Lincoln NR-211-MP wire. That wire is pretty much made for use with the small 120V FCAW machines (although it also comes in bigger spools and bigger diameters for use with bigger machines as well).

To 53 Hemi, check all the connections you can in the machine and try to make sure they are all good (not loose, not corroded, etc), then give a visual all over the rest of the machine for anything not 'right' (worn contact tip, crushed or kinked gun cable/hose, clogged or cruddy nozzle, incorrect wire tension on the feed rollers, etc, etc).

Make sure you have a good connection from the work clamp (aka the 'ground' clamp) to the workpiece. The small(er) lower-output machines don't have a whole lot of 'extra ooomph' to begin with (output voltage or amperage) and if you have a 'bad' connection from the work clamp to the workpiece you can end up with nothing but problems.

RTFM (the PDF) that KenS nicely found online for you.

I agree with both sides of the machine-vs-man dilemma. If the machine is working, you can weld with it (within its limits). But those limits (and the available adjustments) on the machine can sometimes make it harder to get things 'just right'.

But if the machine isn't even working properly, you'll pretty much never be able to get welds or decent welds. You mentioned "burned up wire inside". If that wire burned up because of some other sort of problem inside the machine (wire burned up as an 'effect' of a problem and not the 'cause' of the problem), then something else may still be wrong with the machine. Or even if the burned-up wire was the initial 'problem', something else may have fried as an effect of the burned-up wire.

 

[KenS]

KenS,

Nice find on the PDF of the manual.

But your statement "designed for .024 wire" is incorrect according to the manual (that you found and posted the link to).

Per the manual (on Page 9 "SELECTING THE WELDING WIRE"), the machine uses 0.030 FCAW wire of the type E71T-GS.

The specs I had for the part numbers for this welder were:

Century Manufacturing Co 4309 .024 MIG CONTACT TIP

I can't find a part number for an .030 contact tip. Perhaps the OP can check the current contact tip for size and post that. I'd also like to see the spec stamped on the drive roller, and see if the drive roller is double grooved for .024 and .030.

Experience tells me that most 110-volt welders are okay with .023-025, but struggle with .030-- especially with an inexperienced operator behind the torch. I know a bunch of guys with Hobart Handler 140s will take exception to this, but I also know that the Hobart-Miller-Lincoln 110-volt-class welders are in a different league than the Century-class.

p.s. I recently traded my old 110-volt Miller Sidekick (the later model with polarity reversing terminals above the drive roller assembly) that laid a sweet bead on sheet metal with 75-25 gas. The thing weighed a ton and the scrap value of the copper in the transformer was probably worth as much as the machine. Kinda sorry I let it go.

 

[O_M_Jeep]

My daughters best freind is a pipeline welder, very very skilled, he can take my HF flux-core and make a bead that looks like it was done on a big Miller or Lincoln, artistry. I do ok with a pipeliner or even the 140 or 180 and do just fine, with the HF, a spattered mess, I just go for ugly but good penetration as I mostly weld out of view.

A good welder can use a bad welder, a bad welder can use a good welder, a bad welder with a bad welder, you can get it done, but it isnt going to be presentable.

 

[aka Larry]

I spent $60 for a welding class at my local CC and it was worth every dime. I guess it's *possible* to teach yourself, but the end result will take much longer and you'll burn up a lot of material doing so.

 

[MoonRise]

Per the PDF manual, last page, the 0.030 contact tip is just a standard Lincoln/Tweco 'small' 0.030 contact tip (Lincoln p/n KPH11-30, or whatever the current number is for the 'small' tip with an 0.030 hole ) or a standard Tweco 'small' contact tip with an 0.030 hole (11-series with an 0.030 hole, usual Tweco p/n for that would be 11-30).

You can get those tips at lots of places. Lowes, HomeDepot usually (at least around here) have the Lincoln tips, your LWS should have (or be able to quickly and easily get) standard Lincoln/Tweco tips, or you can just search online and get them there.

I don't know of any 0.023/0.025 FCAW wires. 0.023/0.025 solid wires, sure. Smallest usual FCAW wire is 0.030 (because of having to roll the metal of the wire around the tubular flux core).

 

[sberry]

Yes, its designed for 030 and electrode NEGATIVE for cored wires. There are some small cheap machines that you can get to work, they are hit and miss. About like a HF grinder, some guys have them work forever, have some crapped when new and nothing fixes it and they are not worth fixing. Also with wire, the Heat" or amperage IS the wire speed, cheap machines often have "heat" on the voltage control.

 

[KenS]

I don't know of any 0.023/0.025 FCAW wires. 0.023/0.025 solid wires, sure. Smallest usual FCAW wire is 0.030 (because of having to roll the metal of the wire around the tubular flux core).

Thanks MoonRise, I stand corrected. I have always used either gas mig or stick, although I keep a spool of flux core for emergencies.

 

[z28snksknr]

Try a spool of Lincoln 211, the cheap wire is just that cheap.

This will help. I had HF wire initially and it was simialr results - spatter and no penetration.

Try going nice and slow and turn up your wire speed and heat. That will get more heat into your piece and get more penetration, and let you practice your technique and get your "bead speed" right. Pic looks like you pulled too fast to me.

When I graduated from my Century (Lincoln) 120V flux core to my Eastwood 175A MIG, I realized it was the machine keeping my welds ******. After somewhat mastering a flux core to get decent welds, the MIG made me look like an expert.

 

[taumac]

weld too cold.... turn up heat. Polarity make sure it electro neg. Makes a big difference.