Mig welder question

[Sumboodie]

Not sure where to ask. Figure several on here are well experienced welders.
I've burned plenty of rod and wire over the last ~25 years but I'm by far a pro.


MIG welder... the electricity/current path that wire has is sent to it through the tip at the gun, right?


Have a Power Mig 255 at work, and it'll weld nice for maybe 10 seconds, then weld like **** for a few seconds. Acts like you'd be welding on poorly prepped metal or it's suddenly has a poor ground connection.


The tip, 0.035", is well worn, could probably put a 0.045" wire though it.


I suspected that was the issue, so I asked about replacing the tip. Was told no, that the tip isn't doing anything and it'll weld without it.

 

[Sumboodie]

Frustrating that I was tasked this project as it was discovered I can weld decently, but then my experience isn't worth a $3 tip.

One thing that frustrates me is having to make stuff work just because of poor maintenance of tools and equipment.

$3500 welder, but no to a couple dollar tip.
I explained a plasma cutter needs a water separator at minimum. Dessicant filter is ideal.
Otherwise it'll kill consumables from the moisture in the air. Those tips can be expensive. The brand name ones are around $30 for a set.
Have a TP filter on the shop air but needed about 100ft of air hose to where we were working.

Instead we had to run it straight off a truck's air brake system (loaded with moisture).

 

[The Cobbler]

I am pretty certain the worn tip aides to poor welds.
My buddy was having trouble with his Mig, it had a horrible tip on it. I gave him a new one from mine & it was like a new machine
I've not done enough welding with my machine to wear a tip

 

[Sumboodie]

I am pretty certain the worn tip aides to poor welds.
My buddy was having trouble with his Mig, it had a horrible tip on it. I gave him a new one from mine & it was like a new machine
I've not done enough welding with my machine to wear a tip

I usually replace on my Power Mig 175 every couple 10lb rolls of wire, when the wire doesn't fit reasonably snug anymore.
Been a good welder, have run probably 500-600lbs of wire through it in the last 15 years.

 

[dr_clyde]

Tips are consumable, they wear out or get damaged pretty easily.

Contact tip and ground are the first thing I check when having trouble with a mig welder.

 

[MushCreek]

Sounds like a worn tip to me. I've worked plenty of jobs where they wouldn't spend a penny to save a dollar. For the price of tips, I'd buy a few, and swap one out when I used the welder. Keep the good ones in your tool box. I usually didn't stay long at places that cheap.

 

[Walkers]

Usually the contact tip and liner are the things to replace to fix most MIG welder problems. If it persists, feel the ground (work) clamp wire connection after running some welds. If it is hot at all there is a bad connection there. If those 3 things don’t fix it post back.

 

[Donnie O]

Check the liner, replace the contact tip. Check the ground clamp. Also make sure the drive rolls are not wore out. Also check the wire tension. It might need more pressure on the drive roll.

 

[APEowner]

Worn tips can certainly lead to bad welds but I suspect you've got a worn liner or other feed issue. If the tip is that bad then the rest of the machine is likely to also be neglected. Feed issues can sometimes be helped by making sure that the cable assembly is as straight as possible.

 

[dr_clyde]

You guys act like contact tips are legacy parts. They’re designed to be replaced often.

 

[csp]

You guys act like contact tips are legacy parts. They’re designed to be replaced often.

Which "you guys"? Literally every person so far has mentioned replacing the tip.

 

[dr_clyde]

Which "you guys"? Literally every person so far has mentioned replacing the tip.

Eh, probably hyperbole on my part. I just read a couple comments on how tips are lasting several spools of wire, and to hoard tips in your toolbox like they’re some hard to acquire scarce resource

Tips are cheap. I buy them in bags of 20 or so, probably once or twice a month. If there is any issues at all, I encourage my guys to swap a tip before anything else.

Just seems weird to me that a company or an individual would worry this much about something that only costs a buck or two.

 

[MushCreek]

I mentioned hiding them in his tool box because if the business is too cheap to buy them, I'm not gonna leave 'em out for the next guy. I've bought a lot of consumable tools over the years b/c the boss wouldn't. I make a point of showing him the tools, the receipt, and tell him that they're not for anybody else to use.

 

[IndyGarage]

Obviously stuff like tips and connections are the place to start.

I had an older HTP Mig welder that was doing something similar and it turned out to be a very large capacitor inside the welder going bad. It would weld great for a few seconds, and then it was like it just lost power or something. Replaced the capacitor and it welded great.

 

[ZRX61]

I suspected that was the issue, so I asked about replacing the tip. Was told no, that the tip isn't doing anything and it'll weld without it.

Tips are cheap as chips, just buy a few. If anyone else at work uses the welder swap the knackered tip back for yours when you get done welding.

Here ya go:

Lincoln Electric Co Tip Contact 350A Tapered .035 (0.9Mm) 10/Pk: Mig Welding Equipment: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

Lincoln Electric Co Tip Contact 350A Tapered .035 (0.9Mm) 10/Pk: Mig Welding Equipment: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

Or you can buy a 10pk at Horrible Fright for about $10.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

The first welder Miller made in that series , the 250 is considered the worst welder Miller ever made,. I have second worst, the 250x . They started really hot and took a while to settle down. There is a fix on the Miller forum site. Not being much of an electronics type I haven't done mine. But what I do is start somewhere else, and when it settles done move to where I want to weld. Crank her up a little and try that.

 

[Sumboodie]

Tips are cheap as chips, just buy a few. If anyone else at work uses the welder swap the knackered tip back for yours when you get done welding.

Here ya go:

Lincoln Electric Co Tip Contact 350A Tapered .035 (0.9Mm) 10/Pk: Mig Welding Equipment: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

Lincoln Electric Co Tip Contact 350A Tapered .035 (0.9Mm) 10/Pk: Mig Welding Equipment: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

Or you can buy a 10pk at Horrible Fright for about $10.

No such place here.

Amazon takes about a week. Project is now.
I dug into the welder (has a storage compartment) and found parts for it.

Even if it costs $1, I'm not paying for it out of my pocket.
No thanks!

 

[Bdflies]

A supervisor who thinks he’s saving money by not replacing consumables, is a perfect example of The Peter Principle.

Early in my career (at our family owned welding supply), I did service work on customers equipment. Many calls were complaints about MIG equipment not working well. I always carried lots of contact tips, nozzles and insulators, liners and feed rolls. I replaced a LOT of tips and liners…. It wasn’t unusual to service a half dozen guns in a shop. After seeing the improvement, in the first machine, the next guy wanted his gun 'tuned up' and so on…. My standard speech was "Replace the contact tip when you put a new roll of wire on and replace the liner every Friday afternoon." I remember one welder scoffing that "no way he should have to change tips and liners that much!" I smiled and agreed with him. "You're right. You don’t need to change them. I make good money, replacing tips and liners… and I can come back"

And then, there was the shop foreman who bought 7/64” tips for the guys running 3/32” cored wire. I explained that the machines didn’t run as well when the tip wore too big and that he was starting out with "pre-worn" tips. He insisted that 3/32” tips were too small for 3/32” wire.

 

[ZRX61]

Even if it costs $1, I'm not paying for it out of my pocket.
No thanks!

What business are you in?

 

[Sumboodie]

Usually the contact tip and liner are the things to replace to fix most MIG welder problems. If it persists, feel the ground (work) clamp wire connection after running some welds. If it is hot at all there is a bad connection there. If those 3 things don’t fix it post back.

Wasn't hot, but it vibrates while welding. Leaned against it and did a WTH was that!

I mentioned hiding them in his tool box because if the business is too cheap to buy them, I'm not gonna leave 'em out for the next guy. I've bought a lot of consumable tools over the years b/c the boss wouldn't. I make a point of showing him the tools, the receipt, and tell him that they're not for anybody else to use.

Brought a tape measure, markers, etc from home today.

What business are you in?

Equipment Operator. Doing shop work currently till a new contract starts in a week.
Everyone else was laid off for 2.5 weeks.

 

[Walkers]

Vibrates?!? Hmmm. Post a pic of what you have.

 

[Terra Nova]

Even if it costs $1, I'm not paying for it out of my pocket.
No thanks!

I don't understand this attitude... I mean, I get it, the company should provide the consumables. But you know they won't and it's obviously aggravating you enough that you made several posts on it. Isn't a couple bucks of your own money worth it to make your job and your sanity better?

 

[Ign]

The tip is the first thing I change too if experiencing problems.

That said, I've run .035 tips with .030 forever. Seems to reduce feed problems on baby wire feeds. On my Lincoln 256, though, I still run .035 tips with .035 wire, but Lincoln's drive system is seriously overbuilt. Oddly -- and depending on district -- my HD actually carries tips that fit my big Magnum gun.