Wire coming off spool binding up

[koditten]

I do a fair amount or mig welding. I use just shy of 2 44# spools of mig wire per year.

It seems that every other roll of wire gives me issues. The wire will get crossed on the spool and bind up. I'll have to open the cover and hand feed the wire until the spool revolves enough to start pulling off wire. Needless to say the waste of time and the waste of welding wire is exteamly frustrating.

I take great care to start the wire from the tag end that is tied to the side of the spool, but I swear, someone took the wire and wound it under one or to of the lower wraps.

I know there is no cure. Just deal with it until the bad acting part of the spool it consumed.

Rant over.

KO

 

[sberry]

I only had it happen a couple times, was a particular brand and size for a short while.

 

[zkling]

Uhm, I can't recall ever having that issue. What brand wire do you typically use? What happens when it binds up? Do the drive rolls spin or completely stall. Does adjusting tension help at all? If it is every other spool I'd be talking to the supplier.

 

[pepi]

If the tension on the spool is loose and you are tacking, the spool can coast just enough to cause what you say. When I set up the drag I use quick short bumps to set the drag. If you see loose or wire shifting looking down from the top, the drag is on the sloppy side. As the wire is used up does it become less of a problem? Bet full rolls give you a bigger fit with this, because the mass of wire = weight = momentum = coast. Not an expert but I would be looking at the drag, experienced a similar problem first time tuning my mig.

 

[koditten]

Nope, the wire is embedded in the lower layers of wire. I actually have to pull the wire in one direction and rotate the spool bacwards. This frees the wire until it does it again in 5 minutes or less. Very frustrating.

I have no idea of the manurfacturer. I get my wire from AirGas and always .035 in size.

There is no issue with the drive spools or the tension. I'm pretty savvy about how those work.

 

[zkling]

Probably Radnor? I'd be talking to airgas or someone at the wire plant but be prepared for them to question you. What machine are you running on?

 

[koditten]

MM250, which I bought from AirGas.

I'm not too deep into the spool, if it does not clear up soon, I will take it back and talk to the AirGas Manager. They've been good to me.

Its very expensive losing production for these little annoyances. Down time cuts deeply into profits when you weld on a small scale.

 

[zkling]

MM250, which I bought from AirGas.

I'm not too deep into the spool, if it does not clear up soon, I will take it back and talk to the AirGas Manager. They've been good to me.

Its very expensive losing production for these little annoyances. Down time cuts deeply into profits when you weld on a small scale.

I feel you on that one amigo. I had to price out some high nickle rod today for a potential incoming job. I'd see what they have to say. Maybe take a few pics with you. My experience with the local airgas has been hit and miss.

 

[theknurl]

friction on the spool.....as the guys said


went to Air Gas with a friend.....they treated him like ****...

"hey go to my guy, Rich at Sims"
for 40 years before that it was Ken

my Father went to AB Sims from the '30s on, me from the '50s

I have never paid a penny in demurrage....neither did my Father

have a valve leak, no question a new full tank

need just a couple rods for a special project.....no problem they open a box and just hand them to me

my welder started acting up, their service guy calls me back in 10 min and walks me through the checks

the last time I ever go to a welding supply it will AB Sims

my Father bought from the Grandfather, AB, in '76 I bought my 300/300 from his Son, my last tanks etc came from the Grandson

 

[Dr. Pepper]

I've recently noticed mine doing the same. Like you said, very frustrating, especially since I have my machine and tank inside of one of those small shopping carts. I have to disconnect the gas lead to the back and lift it out. Very time consuming. Nothing like ruining a nice bead because of a wire snag!

FWIW- Lincoln 135 with Hobart .030 wire. 10# spool. Had it happen on multiple spools.

 

[kerrynzl]

I do a fair amount or mig welding. I use just shy of 2 44# spools of mig wire per year.

It seems that every other roll of wire gives me issues. The wire will get crossed on the spool and bind up. I'll have to open the cover and hand feed the wire until the spool revolves enough to start pulling off wire. Needless to say the waste of time and the waste of welding wire is exteamly frustrating.

I take great care to start the wire from the tag end that is tied to the side of the spool, but I swear, someone took the wire and wound it under one or to of the lower wraps.

I know there is no cure. Just deal with it until the bad acting part of the spool it consumed.

Rant over.

KO

I had the same problem when I learned to weld.
Basically the spool is becoming a “Flywheel” when you stop welding and it unravels a few layers.
When you start welding again the wire is trying to pull itself from underneath all the layers that have unravelled on top of it.

If I tightened the tension on the spool, it wouldn’t feed. If I tightened the feed rollers it would cut the wire.
A friend came round to borrow my welder [he used to service them] and said the POS was impossible to use.

He did 2 things.

1 : clean the liner with methylated spirits
2 : Align the rollers so the feed was in direct alignment with the liner.

Then tightened up the tension on both the rollers and the spool

My 20 year old welder has never been better

 

[koditten]

No "flywheel effect" is going on. It looks exactly like the wire was wound overtop the top layer. Imagine a "half hitch" knot. This is the only way I can explain it.

I have another trailer to do next week, I'll try to get some pics.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

KO

 

[kerrynzl]

No "flywheel effect" is going on. It looks exactly like the wire was wound overtop the top layer. Imagine a "half hitch" knot. This is the only way I can explain it.

I have another trailer to do next week, I'll try to get some pics.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

KO

Have a go at welding then suddenly stop, then have a look again.
The rollers pull the loose wire from underneath and tighten it up.

The only issue I've ever had with **** wire is it sticking in the liner [so I couldn't get a consistent weld ]

I buy the best wire available [ it doesn't cost much more ]
I always joke about spending more on toilet paper than I do on MIG wire.

Kerry

 

[NASTYZEN]

Every so often, I run across the same problem. A real pain in the *** when it binds and the wire burns back into the tip. I thew one away that was doing it non stop when about 1/4 still on the spool.
I had one a while back that had uneven wire diameter and it would stop when it got to thinner areas... That one was made in Mexico and also had a really thin layer of Copper on it that would corrode when the humidity got bad. I took that one back.

 

[APEowner]

I had that happen once from a poorly wound spool. My supplier swapped it out without issue.

 

[1grnlwn]

I have come to realize not all spools of welding wire are created equal. I have a spool that literally will not run. The guy at airgas suggested that it may be tension wound in the wire which when unwound it twists an humps in the liner causing drag. It seams that everyone wants to sell their own wire now of unknown quality. Do you have this problem with every spool? If so it could be machine related. If not every spool could be spool related. May need to find new supplier for wire. Sorry no expert here just observant.

 

[BigMike782]

Was the spool shipped UPS at any point? or if it was straight off the pallet in the store the pallet could have been dropped.
If the spool gets dropped on it's side the layers shift/slide and it causes tangles.....or breaks the spool

"and also had a really thin layer of Copper on it that would corrode when the humidity got bad." The copper IS thin and is only there as a function of drawing the wire.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Not the Copper that was corroding, the wire underneath it.
The other spools I have are fine. Just the one from Mexico that had corrosion problems.

 

[kd3pc]

Was the spool shipped UPS at any point? or if it was straight off the pallet in the store the pallet could have been dropped.
If the spool gets dropped on it's side the layers shift/slide and it causes tangles.....or breaks the spool

dropped

this is what my supplier said, when I had the same problem on two recently purchased spools. Graciously swapped them both out for two "new" ones where the box and the spool looked perfect.