Mig gasses

[Cord]

Yea, I've had some problems with the tip dragging and too much feed pressure. This would cause the wire to kink right after the rollers. I just got it dialed in where the pressure feels about right. Was able to put down a good 30-40" of globular weld with no feed problems.

So, the burn back when using spray wasn't technique as much as feed roller pressure? It was stumping me how my position/clearance/angle hadn't changed but the wire would suddenly burn back.

 

[DHJR43]

I have found sometimes tips don't drag at cooler temps but after running a length of bead they apparently get hot and expand up on the wire and then if the roll tension is light enough the rolls can start slipping. how thick are you welding ?

 

[Cord]

Yesterday I was ranging between 1/8" and 1/4", mostly 1/4.

 

[Renze]

I'm currently using 90/10 gas which I really like because of how pretty the welds are. The problem is that I can't do any out of position welds because the puddle drops out. I was wondering if this was a temperature/wire speed problem or if it was the gas? I have a bottle of C02 that I try, but I wanted to ask here first...

My brother complains about my 350A MIG because i must often adjust it before he can weld vertical or above hand: I dont want to Vee every weld so put the wire to 11 and burn a deep bead, but need to put the wire feed back to 7 in order to weld topdown or upper hand. My brothers own 180A machine runs thinner 0.8mm wire and maxes out at 4m/second wire feed. He can weld any position without adjusting, but mine is doing allmost triple the welding, if properly adjusted.

When i bought it it had 0.8mm wire feedrolls, but that didnt work: i had a 4 meter hose package on the torch, instead of the standard 3m. it allways kinked the wire in the hose because 4 meter is too much to push a wire. I now run 1mm which does way better.

 

[GT2]

Not an expert, but I think you run higher power with CO2 because it is a colder gas.
I've welded mostly with CO2 and have no problems at any angle. However as others have said, a lot of it is experience and technique.
I have also welded a fair amount of mix gas, and it does burn differently. I found it to burn hotter. I just had to adjust my technique and had no real problems.

 

[Stihlrunner]

I agree it is probably more technique than the gas. However, if you switch to CO2, you'll have to switch regulators. I use CO2 cuz the gas is cheaper and I was given 2 old bottles. 75/25 gas is a little "prettier" but not much and supposedly using CO2 pentrates better...

Are you sure about needing a different regulator? I'd never heard that. Both on my home welder and work mig we switch between Argon/CO2 mix and straight CO2 with no issues.

Mostly we use the mix, I think it goes by the trade name Cougar around here.

 

[SHORT KID]

I think my small Lincoln just uses an adapter for the different tanks. I use 75/25 so I never tried it. :thumbsup:

 

[hog987]

Are you sure about needing a different regulator? I'd never heard that. Both on my home welder and work mig we switch between Argon/CO2 mix and straight CO2 with no issues.

Mostly we use the mix, I think it goes by the trade name Cougar around here.

If you are doing a lot of welding with the C02 sheilding gas than you will want a regulator with a heater on it or things will freeze up. When I was welding in the one shop I would sometimes use 75 pounds of wire a day with C02 gas

 

[Renze]

If you are doing a lot of welding with the C02 sheilding gas than you will want a regulator with a heater on it or things will freeze up. When I was welding in the one shop I would sometimes use 75 pounds of wire a day with C02 gas

My oxygen bottle sometimes freezes up on the propane/oxygen torch, and i get the regulator on my MIG iced, but it never froze... But expanding gasses DO take up a lot of heat from the environment...

Oh, and when you're used to heavy welding i've got a question: Are there any contact tips that last longer than the standard ? I have a 350A welder, i didnt take the water cooled torch because it was 500 euro more expensive, and hobby is just hobby. But my frustration is that i burn the tips blue within 10 minutes of full power welding, so the wire rips pits out of the contact tips so it jerks. The temperature of the toch in my hand was never a problem, just the tips burning. Any advice plz ?

 

[Groo]

90/10 is a spray transfer gas. When I use it for short arc, it turn out not so pretty (and probably lacks penetration) in my experience. I've heard 98/2 can be used for both spray and short, but it is primarily a spray gas too. I rented a big bottle of 90/10 that I am trying to use up myself. I have thought about picking up a small bottle of pure CO2 and a second regulator to mix after the regulator, but I think that is probably way more advanced than my skill set. since you already have a bottle of it....why not try to mix it down to 75/25?