practicing with my new mig Question ?

[Jeff Lary]

Is it normal for a gas less mig to spatter alot? Also it is able to use gas,what kind of gas do you get .and how is it connected to the unit? On the back of my Craftsman it has a sort of ridged push on nipple coming out at the top rear and on one of the shelves there was a short length of heavy wall black rubber hose about a foot long. I got this unit used from the orig owner they never used gas i was wondering if that hose might be from the factory to make the gas connection?

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Excess splatter is a sign that you don't have your voltage or distance right. Experiment with higher and lower voltage, shorter and longer stickout, and you will get a feel for what works. There should be a table of recommended starting settings somewhere on the machine or in the manual.

As for gas, depends on what you are welding. I'm not familiar with your machine so can't help there.

 

[KWentling]

Generally you want to turn the volts up or wire speed down to reduce spatter. The wire stick out will also make a difference. The innershield wires do produce more spatter, so you aren't going to eliminate it. The gas most commonly used gas is 75/25. Straight CO2 works also giving more penetration but more spatter. You will need a flow meter to hook that hose to and you need to reverse polarity to use mig wire.

Kim

 

[Jeff Lary]

Yes i saw the reverse for gas instructions .I was practicing on a peice of 1/4 plate, rusty and all next time i will clean the area also. I need to practice alot there is a awefull big diffrence in how much of a weld puddle i make compared to my lincoln stick. Not much at all does not seem to be enough actually.The person i bought this from only used it to repair some quarter panels on a jeep she was fixing up .So it is quite possible that the wire i have in it now is very small maybe too small for other uses. I cannot see the size as the label is facing away from me ,unless it is hidden by the nut.What size is the most common to use for welding 1/8 and up like the thickness of a mower deck and up?

 

[Shield Arc]

Here you go Jeff.

 

[firefighter jim]

Argon/Co2 mix for mig, argon for tig. Your machine will have to have a gas solenoid in it and of course a regulator for your gas bottle. If welding with innershield, you need neither............

 

[Jeff Lary]

thanks for the information it looks to me like i want some 0.45 for most of my stuff.

 

[Jeff Lary]

Just went and read whats in there now called Firepower by a company called Thermodyne it is .030

 

[Shield Arc]

Will your machine handle .045?

 

[Transit]

Jeff, I do not know which Sears model you have. Most Sears Migs are in the 90-140 amp range which makes the practical limit 1/8 to 3/16 inch stock, if you are using 1/8 - 3/16 in stock to practice with, your mig will not give the best results and be misleading. Shelf shielding wire of any size will run hotter than the same size solid wire and when correctly tuned will always have more spatter than solid wire. 0.045 wires may be too large for your mig; it is intended for 180+ amps. Like stick, wire brands will give different results.

 

[Jeff Lary]

well if i had just waited to see your resonce it would have been eaiser probobly.To answer you both no i do not think it will handel 045 it has 030 in it and according to the info on the door that is as big as it does handel.I have discovered a couple of things .I have been in the yard praticing and the wire stopped feeding so being the crazy Mainer i am i took the spool out and looked her over.It had the wire buried under a couple of wraps i had to use pliers to get it freed up again.I put it back in and where i used pliers the wire then broke. So i re-feed it through the feed roller and re-tentioned it...too tight by the way and it re-broke again . I did tis 4 times before i calmed down and tightened more gently the spool and the tentioner now im gonna tell you that is one fussy s.o.b. I think it is now under control. Or so i thpought I welded about 6 good 4 inch welds then the welder started tripping the circuit breaker thats when i discovered it was a 15 amp breaker and not the 20 amp required. So i will have to replace the breaker with a 20 amp if that is possible?.I had a first notch electrician do my shop so i guess i will have to ask him if that can be done

 

[Jeff Lary]

Jeff, I do not know which Sears model you have. Most Sears Migs are in the 90-140 amp range which makes the practical limit 1/8 to 3/16 inch stock, if you are using 1/8 - 3/16 in stock to practice with, your mig will not give the best results and be misleading. Shelf shielding wire of any size will run hotter than the same size solid wire and when correctly tuned will always have more spatter than solid wire. 0.045 wires may be too large for your mig; it is intended for 180+ amps. Like stick, wire brands will give different results.

why do you say if i am using 1/8--3/16 it will not give the best results? You are by the way correct on this size range as far as what the welder is ment for smaller too i believe. If it is ment for that size why would'nt i get good results practicing? I have been working on an old mower blade making passes.It is'nt that i dont believe it's that i dont follow what you are trying to tell me. thanks for the advice keep trying i'll get it soon i hope.

 

[Shield Arc]

How far do you want to go with your welding?
Maybe PM Mark and ask him to sharpen his pencil for a new 220-volt Mig welder.
There are deals out there, I paid $300.00 for my Mig welder. 200-amps, 100% duty cycle. Then I added other feeders to it.

 

[Jeff Lary]

You my boy have f-a-r to many toys!!! No really for me i got all the welding stuff i need i guess and with you guys around for advice,...well i got all you got and more

 

[Shield Arc]

You my boy have f-a-r to many toys!!!

Yeah I'm an addict:ashamed:, I have eleven welding machines, CNC O/A & plasma, Ellis 1800 band saw. And way too many tools to mention. And I'm only a hobbyist! Just think what I'd get if I did this for a living!:laughing:

 

[kevinj]

Yeah I'm an addict:ashamed:, I have eleven welding machines, CNC O/A & plasma, Ellis 1800 band saw. And way too many tools to mention. And I'm only a hobbyist! Just think what I'd get if I did this for a living!:laughing:

If you done it for a living you probably could not afford all those toys!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Shield Arc]

If you done it for a living you probably could not afford all those toys!!!!!!!!!!!

I worked as a professional weldor for many years, then went into rigging full time. I would only go back to welding if there weren't enough weldors available.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

It does sound as if you have a gas connection on the back. You'd need a regulator for sure. But .045 really large. Unless you have a big welder, it probably won't handle it very well. A welder like the Everlast inverters with Arc force adjustment will keep spatter down to almost NIL. Most transformer MIGs will still have a good bit of spatter though. But its not anywhere near the amounts you'd have with flux core.

 

[KWentling]

So i will have to replace the breaker with a 20 amp if that is possible?.I had a first notch electrician do my shop so i guess i will have to ask him if that can be done

Probably not possible if he only installed a 15 amp breaker. That would indicate he only used 14 ga. wire. You need 12 ga. for 20 amps.

Kim

 

[kevinj]

I worked as a professional weldor for many years, then went into rigging full time. I would only go back to welding if there weren't enough weldors available.

I have collected a couple machines over the years.