Help...why won't my welds hold

[fred d]

Lincoln 180 mig 220v
.030 Wire speed setting 5 of 10
Heat setting D of A-E
3/16 square tubing to 3/16 plate

Looks like weld is not getting good penetration
Glob setting on top

 

[MP&C]

Pictures?

 

[Zeke]

You might try slowing down the wire speed quite a bit and dwelling in the puddle once you get it established. If you blow the end off the wire, speed it up until it will stay in the puddle. Also you have a huge disparity between material thickness. You need to bear down on the plate and let the puddle creep up to the tubing. You're not getting any heat into that plate and consequently no penetration.

 

[fred d]

You might try slowing down the wire speed quite a bit and dwelling in the puddle once you get it established. If you blow the end off the wire, speed it up until it will stay in the puddle. Also you have a huge disparity between material thickness. You need to bear down on the plate and let the puddle creep up to the tubing. You're not getting any heat into that plate and consequently no penetration.

???
Plate and tube are same thickness

 

[bullnerd]

Polarity set right?

Go to welding tips and tricks.com and watch some videos, it will be much clearer.

 

[fred d]

Here is tube to tube

 

[fred d]

Here is tube to plate

 

[fred d]

I ground to clean metal also

When I bumped the smaller tube it came off with 4 different big tack welds

 

[fred d]

Polarity set right?

Go to welding tips and tricks.com and watch some videos, it will be much clearer.

Not sure how to change that
Cables came attached from factory

Will check out the link

 

[brownbagg]

You might try slowing down the wire speed quite a bit and dwelling in the puddle once you get it established. .

on my machine i would have that wire speed at 30-35

 

[GTA Matt]

You sure your gas is on and flowing correctly?

 

[Duker]

Polarity set right?

Double check polarity as Bullnerd suggests. Also as Zeke suggests slow down and let the puddle flow. The welder can do quite a bit (I own a 180 as well) so I know the welder is capable of what you were trying to stick together.

Edit... check out this link for setting polarity....
http://geekbeat.tv/lincoln-electric...setting-the-machine-up-for-flux-core-welding/

*

 

[vpd66]

I don't know that machine, but if it puts out 180 amps max you need to turn it up to get good penetration on 3/16" steel. Also are you using shielding gas?

 

[fred d]

You sure your gas is on and flowing correctly?

You guys are asking great questions
Just don't know how to answer

Yes gas is on 75/25 mix set @ 10lbs
Not sure how to make sure of flow

 

[fred d]

Ok
I think the polarity may be backwards

Ground clamp is on the + post

 

[Duker]

Ok
I think the polarity may be backwards

Ground clamp is on the + post

If the work clamp is on the positive you are set up for flux core not gas. There is one issue solved...

*

 

[GTA Matt]

You guys are asking great questions
Just don't know how to answer

Yes gas is on 75/25 mix set @ 10lbs
Not sure how to make sure of flow

Do you have a flow meter or just a pressure gauge on the regulator? If thats just 10 psi of pressure, you might need to turn it up, or set it when its flowing. Out of habit, I always hold the gun up to my ear and pull the trigger to listen for gas flow before starting. You should hear an initial large rush of air, then it will taper off. If it tapers off a lot, its set too low. You should have a steady shhhhhhh noise. Not soft, but not overly loud or harsh either. If you have a flow meter, I'd set it to 15 cfh and fine tune from there.

Also, make sure your wire stickout isn't to far. You want to keep it pretty tight.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

You sure your gas is on and flowing correctly?

my thought too.

 

[Zeke]

???
Plate and tube are same thickness

Glad you found the problem. But 3/16ths tubing does not have a wall thickness of 3/16ths. I can see now by your pics that you have some kind of sq tubing that has a 3/16ths wall. That's not how it's called out at the supply place.

BTW, I've been welding on this for 3 days now so I know a little.

 

[fred d]

Do you have a flow meter or just a pressure gauge on the regulator? If thats just 10 psi of pressure, you might need to turn it up, or set it when its flowing. Out of habit, I always hold the gun up to my ear and pull the trigger to listen for gas flow before starting. You should hear an initial large rush of air, then it will taper off. If it tapers off a lot, its set too low. You should have a steady shhhhhhh noise. Not soft, but not overly loud or harsh either. If you have a flow meter, I'd set it to 15 cfh and fine tune from there.

Also, make sure your wire stickout isn't to far. You want to keep it pretty tight.

Will check the flow when the trigger is pulled tonight

In regards to Wire stick out, still learning how to maintain proper distance.
Think one of my problems on this front is I don't clearly see what I am welding clearly. I have an auto darken helmet, but at times have trouble seeing the exact spot I am trying to weld. Messed with helmet this weekend and seems to be a lot better

Thanks to all who have offered help/suggestions

 

[MarkG]

Did you try actually WELDING or just a few tacks, as shown in the pics? A tack isn't going to hold much regardless of any settings. You have to at least run a bead to get some heat and fusion going!

 

[Playwme]

Mine was set up from factory for the gas less wire. I had the same issue until I reversed polarity to suit gas.

Edit- I see you already found that. I think the gas less wire runs the toothed roller as well. Check that one too.

 

[bullnerd]

How's your vision? They make magnifiers (cheater lens) that will help if you cant see up close.

I think you'll be able to see much better once you get it working right.

 

[fred d]

How's your vision? They make magnifiers (cheater lens) that will help if you cant see up close.

I think you'll be able to see much better once you get it working right.

Vision is about normal for my age I guess(55) but I wear contacts.
Funny you mention the magnifier. I bought one a while back at NT, but put it "up". Will look for that tonight as well

Thanks for all the input, you folks are awesome

 

[creativecars]

Find a few pieces of scrap about the same thickness and practice a few beads.
Practice seeing the beads and the weld melt into the metal.
Tack welds into the 'V' take some practice to do well. You have to bump up power a bit to get penetration since you are there only for a few seconds.

 

[TLCObsession]

At our age, a bright light helps the work.

 

[Guster]

At our age, a bright light helps the work.

Goes for any age. Work light when welding should be bright enough to see the work through the darkened welding hood/helmet without welding. Should also be set up so that it lights up the work without getting light from behind creating bright reflection inside the welding hood/helmet or the user casting a shadow over the work.

Often people lighten their autodarkening helmets enough to see rather than lighting up the work and leaving the helmet dark to protect themselves. A lot of old weld teachers used to prefer to teach people to weld outside in the bright sunlight because it is hard to beat the old sunlight for work light.

 

[mikhett]

Make sure you don't stick yourself in the ear with the wirefeed! I set my flow @20CFH.

 

[bullnerd]

Make sure you don't stick yourself in the ear with the wirefeed! I set my flow @20CFH.

LOL, yeah I pictured me doing that when I read it too.

 

[ddawg16]

I don't see how polarity would make a difference.

Those look like cold welds. Not enough amps.

Gas issues tend to make it splatter real bad.

 

[ilovevocs]

Local welding supply should have something like this.

https://www.arc-zone.com/shield-gas-flow-tester-50020


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BD1]

Check the door of machine or manual for your START SETTINGS. Go HOTTER and see how it runs on a trial piece. I say 20 CF too and looks really cold.
Your STICK OUT should only be about a 1/4 '' . The long the wire extends the less heat and penetration you'll get. Close less stick out is maximum penetration.

 

[brownbagg]

there are some people, that just not need to be welding, just go ahead and hire it out

 

[sberry]

The polarity makes a difference and that machine is set about right. Turn the gas up a pinch. Same machine, D 5.5 030 c25 Pic 4 and 5 are the same bead, 4 is front and 5 back, I left a little spot to be able to see the penetration, this is done from the front

 

[Brad J.]

My 180C is pretty much worthless at making good tacks. They just break off easy. Now if I run a bead and get heat into the part then it welds good. It's just soft at the start I guess. I just use it only for bodywork now. Never been that happy with the performance on thicker stuff. In the past I had to run 2 passes or pre-heat on 1/4" with .30 wire before I would trust my life with a weld. 3/16 should be OK if you slow it down. Mine likes a lot of wire forced in.

2 passes are ugly so I either tig or use my miller 250 for 1/8" and larger.

Been a good welder, just not what I thought for thicker stuff.

 

[sberry]

This machine is very good and one of the best arcs in the industry.

 

[cbogg]

there are some people, that just not need to be welding, just go ahead and hire it out

And there are some people who are eternally helpful. If it weren't for people learning new things, you'd still be living in a cave trying to club out a dinner. Oh wait, a club is a tool too, so, gathering grass? That doesn't require any skill. Or tools.

 

[kerrynzl]

there are some people, that just not need to be welding, just go ahead and hire it out

There is a huge difference between a welder and a fabricator which is why I learned to weld myself
Most welders I've hired want to stand around watching me set up the work for them ,then they zap it together [while bitching to me about all the hard work they're doing]

Welding is an easy skill to aquire, but sometimes it takes a lifetime to master.
Fabricating is where the skills are really needed.

 

[AndeiH]

when you get things working right you will see the puddle a lot better. i hope switching polarity fixed your issue.

GO 'STROS

 

[Playwme]

I don't see how polarity would make a difference.

Those look like cold welds. Not enough amps.

Gas issues tend to make it splatter real bad.

It makes a massive difference on this machine. Unfortunately , the instruction booklet is very unclear on this (not that I read it). It wasn't until I read a random post on here that I checked the book. There's 2 separate setup sections about 5 pages apart, one for flux core and one for gas. They both have a different instruction for polarity connection but neither one states that there is another way to do it.

They can be a finicky little machine to set up but once it's right it's a very capable welder for the homeowner.