welding ground issue

[topher5150]

I have an older Miller Sidekick MIG welder, and as far as I can tell it's a pretty good welder, I don't have anything to compare it to. I have had it for two or three years now and it acts up every now and again. I've had where I attach the ground to some bolt head or some rusty tab and run it all day with no problems, I move the welder and ground to the other side go to weld, and nothing. I'll even put the gun as close to the ground wire as possible it might arc a little some times I'll spend more time finding a good ground than actually welding. Usually, it only seems to only act up when I'm welding something large like a frame or a car body.

 

[The Cobbler]

are the jaws of your ground clamp tied together with a copper strap?
take the cable out of the clamp. cut it back some & re clamp it. clean up the jaws where they contact the work .
it could be a coincidental issue too,
look at the ground connection inside the machine?

 

[BD1]

Placing ground on dirty rusty metal is not good. Wire wheel or grind clean the ground clamp area.
Typically, the furnished ground clamps are junk. Invest in a brass ground clamp.
There's a variety available. Here's one.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G1CP5C4/?tag=atomicindus08-20


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[Crazyjake8493]

You want a clean spot for your ground clamp, always take an extra minute to grind off rust/paint/mill scale wherever you want to put your ground clamp.

And as mentioned, you can't go wrong with a good ground clamp. If your clamp does not have the copper strap in between the jaws, scrap it. Those ones are worthless. The clamps with a copper strap are better, but the brass clamps are the best for sure.

 

[GeoBruin]

When I'm welding large tubing or something I can't get my clamp around, I have a length of 1" wide braided copper I wrap around the tube a couple times and then clamp to that. Of course I also prep the tube with some Scotch Brite first.

 

[Zmann]

I have been known to purposely weld my ground clamp to my work

there I said it , almost out loud

 

[unslow1]

I had a guy make me a twisted knot of heavy gauge wire to clamp to the work piece when the metal isn't good. It helped a lot. It may be hard to visualize but makes several individual spikes in contact with the metal. Same principal as the link but no insulation and heavier gauge wire.


https://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/images/xbetter-ground-2.JPG.pagespeed.ic.nxULbNcNRC.jpg

 

[BD1]

I do metal artwork and made up an auxiliary
Small ground clamp. It's from a battery charger. Besides being a perfect ground, the clamp can be used to hold the piece you want to weld to the project.
No arc jumping as the ground takes hold. Really nice for small work.




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[topher5150]

ok thanks for the help fellas