Anything welding

I get what you mean.

It's like, I have to "turn up" the heat a lot on a 215 to run the same wire/gas on the same steel compared to the 255. Kind of like a smaller motor with less torque versus a larger one.

With a transformer based machine, I feel like I'm running with a big block that never runs out of steam.

 

I don’t feel I’ve found the max for the 215 yet on 220v. But I’m only welding 3/8 at most snd 90% of the time it’s 3/16 with 1/8 overlays or 1/4 or .120 wall tubing. Once I made my own settings I really started to Enjoy the 215.

 

My issue with the "new gun" philosophy is that there really isnt anything in a gun that cant be replaced with much cheaper parts. Unless the cable is damaged, its a trigger switch, liner, diffuser, contact tip, and nozzle. And only some of those can interrupt the arc.

In 20 years, hundreds of machines, thousands of people, hundreds of thousands of pounds of consumables .... i have seen 1 "bad gun". Oddly enough, I have seen more rolls of "Bad wire", approximately 10 or so, due to a maladjusted spooling line at a brand new facility, and one that was just crap from a crappy no-name brand from who knows where.

Im not saying it cant happen, but statistically its improbable at best.

Unless the wire is rusty in spots from moisture, my bet is still technique, based on present undercut and the spacing of puddles in the pictures, and training a few thousand people on GMAW-S.

 

Don't forget running a fan to keep the operator cool.

It's hot out and many of us have a fan to cool things down so we don't drown in our own sweat.

The fan will blow your cover gas away and you will end up will lots of the symptoms listed above.

 

I’m talking the actual material. The tube and plate make a deep joint there, ie the weld not filling entire void and think from all the grinding etc there was dirt or grinding dust in the joint contaminating the weld. 9/10 when it does it, I see rust or dirt or paint next to the weld.

Air gas was saying more than likely the liner than the gun but that they see if you coil the liner and gun when storing or pull on it to much, it causes issues and number one issue is popping while welding.

I feel the other welds I showed came out close to perfect with a good heat ring considering the plate is 3/8 and tube is 1/8.

not knocking your experience was just showing that mot all welds come out Instagram perfect.

 

This was my first thought then the sweat rolled down into my eyes and thqt told me the fan had vibrated the other way lol.

 

Makes sense, and a great way to learn. You get more mileage out of filler than base material, and the carbon base really doesnt change the way the puddle runs too much.

 

I forgot the off grid ! so how is that working out?

It can`t hurt to change the liner new gas diffuser and contact tip . I am sure you already checked for splatter in the nozzle.

How many pounds of wire have you run through the gun?

Is it a constant problem wire wrapped under the top layer so every turn of the spool it glitches enough to cause a problem.

You have ruled out bending the gun enough to put pressure on the liner causing the feed to stop.

When this happens do you stop and restart or are you able to just weld through the issue?

 

Off grid is alright. Just have to start the generator to run anything 220 but it’s right next to the garage so it’s not to bad. Everything seems to work fine off the generator but it should since it’s an 11kw kubota lowboy generator. A switch in the garage to start it would be nice and may be a later upgrade.

yeah tip is clean and I tried a new tip and diffuser or whatever the tip screws into.

no clue on pounds of wire. I’m guessing 15-20 11 lb spools and a few 2 pounders In between.

not constant and not at any certain angle. I thought it got worse when I bent the liner trying to get into an odd angle but that’s been ruled out as well. More or a glitch or I just can’t find the scenario to replicate again.

sometimes I can weld through it and it won’t do it the rest of the weld and sometimes I stop to salvage the weld and it’ll do it after another 1/2 or so of welding. Odd and which make me think dirty material because if I burn through it it’s fine the rest of the weld. And only did it on That one joint of the 8 or so welds on that entire crossmember.

 

I welded with 6011 rods for the first-time last night. Everything I read was accurate: deep penetration; great on very rusty material; welds will look terrible; slag almost impossible to remove.

Man do they penetrate, even on low amperage. I welded some 1/8" angle that was solid rust. I set my amperage down to 60 and was having to be careful not to burn through. I know, higher amperage and move quicker. 90 amps is a good start point for these rods. Point is even at the very bottom of the range they still burn through thick rust and penetrate deep enough to join metals. At low amperage, they didn't work as well on clean metal as on the rust covered stuff. These seem like they'd be a good rod for off-roaders who carry a small welder for emergency repairs.

Not posting pics because anybody who has never welded with them will think I just suck. I called a friend later. He welded professionally for a while and he confirmed that 6011 is almost impossible to look good, but it is the best for joining rusty iron. He said they used them on heavy equipment repairs.

I don't have a lot of time stick welding, so if somebody disagrees, okay. This is just the first impression of an amateur.

 

You dont need a new gun unless it's physically broken. You can rebuild guns all day, but your issue isnt likely the mig gun.

Side note, running off generators can be problematic as sometimes they are not holding the most consistent current with the varying stick out of welding by hand.

 

Yeah this has been an issue since before I started off the generator and was at the old house welding off a 220 outlet in the garage

 

Not really sure just what your comparing the appearance with. It has a distinct appearance I would not call it ugly

Where you using the tight whip pattern with a medium arc length ?

6011 was developed as a AC electrode for the good old Lincoln Buzz Boxes .

Before switching over to wire feed in the field 6011 was the good to for tacking.

I wish I had pictures of some of the root passes from the olden days with 6010 on my test coupons

 

If its enough breeze to make cigarette smoke drift its enough to interfere with your shielding gas coverage.

 

At first glance I think thats a shielding gas problem, I may be repeating what others have said, I didnt dig too deep.

 

Cool a welding thread!

did a small job for one of my dad’s customers last weekend. It was fun, I’m trying to get better with stick and also trying to save for a mig welder

 

Got this Kohler engine project a bit ago.

Left head exhaust port was boogered up pretty bad by the previous owner. The pipe going into the muffler was completely detached.

I don't own a Tig unit, so my MM 250 was gonna have to do the job

Forgot to mention. These mufflers for the Kohler engines start at $100. Half hour of welding netted me some beer money.

And if anyone cares, the engine purrs and the muffler sounds great!

 

I had a similar issue that ended up being a feed issue. Cleaned my liner, swapped tips and used wire lube and that corrected it. I usually take too long to swap out my tips so when they get bad, it’s really bad. The wire lube also helped a ton especially on long days when I’m welding a lot.

 

Badass!

Always love seeing old stuff kept in service with some welding done.

 

You would love to see what welding keeps going in the strippins and Coal Breakers .

Things that were worn out before you were born. Built long before the added alloys extended service life.

Hours and Hours of Hard facing it got much easier when they started switching to wire instead of stick electrodes.

In my youth all part of paying your dues .