DUH Moment and Liners

FredH · Mar 2, 2013

Another Update on my Longevity Migweld 200 : Not sure if I mentioned this before but when I first loaded wire into machine , I used a roll of H.F. .035 flux core I had sitting in shop . Long story short , Feeding sucked . Little investigating and converting metric to decimal figured out I was trying to shove .035 wire through a .030 tip , DUH Moment for Sure .:confused2:

With a knurled roller I installed ( More researching to discover that other brands use same size shaft on their feeders thus was able purchase that knurled roller ) , Feeding is Way , Way better . Well , I got to thinking this morning , If that was a .030 tip first installed , What is the Liner ???

So , I pulled the liner and although it is made for .035 , .035 is at the top limit of that liner , ( they are color coded after doing more research ) . So off to the internet again , and ordered 2 new liners , they are for .035 to .045 wire , thus .035 will be at the lower limit of liner rather than max of liner .

Only issue I have found with machine was found yesterday , " Wave Form " knob appeared loose ?? Unscrewed tiny screw in knob and removed knob . The nut holding the rheostat to the face of welder was loose ?? Appears it was overtightened and thus broke the threads off the end of the rheostat ( plastic ) . Well Pooh , How to fix ? Ended up taking off the washer and just using the nut and was able to catch enough thread to pull up snug . Easy fix . Sending back to Longevity in Hayward not a option . Shipping both ways would be MAJOR $$$$ for such a trivial issue , which to me is not even a issue , At least I was not worried about it .

Will post pictures on my current project , ( which is converting a home built front loader frame into a dedicated 3 point sprayer instead of my current setup using a pallet and tying up my 3 point carry all ) , someday , will probably wait till done but have been taking pictures through out the build .

Just another " Duh " moment in my everyday life . Usually only have one a day , like the vitamins . Guess I wont need to really worry about it until they increase and happen more than once a day .:thumbsup:

Fred H

Shield Arc · Mar 2, 2013

I don't buy the minimum wire size for liners. My Lincoln K-126 flux core only gun will take 5/64-inch wire as well as .035 wire. I always buy the biggest liner I can get for any of my guns.

rankrank1 · Mar 2, 2013

Keep running that HF wire and you will get plenty of experience changing those liners out. Nothing clogs up a liner quicker than that HF flux core crap. I will no longer use it under any circumstances (and I prefer flux core for my needs/uses). That HF stuff never welded that well to start with and the little savings you gained on the wire was quickly consumed in excessively short liner life -not to mention feed issues.

I like Hobart Fab 21b (or E71T-11). It is one of the few flux cores wires that is okay for multiple pass welding. Many of the *.GS suffixed wires are not suitable for multiple pass welding.

Shield Arc · Mar 2, 2013

In my opinion Hobart's 21-B is the best non FEMA 353, (Seismic) wire you can buy. If I remember correctly Hobart has a 3/4-inch maximum thickness limitation on it. Before the Northridge earthquake in California I can't tell how many 1-inch side bend plates tests I took with 21-B, never failed a one.

FredH · Mar 2, 2013

Oh , The H.F. wire has long been pulled from machine . Doubt it goes back in either welder mostly likely trash can file is best bet . :thumbsup:

Only took me what a month to think if the tip was .030 , What is the liner ?

Never Said I was a fast Mover , Guess I can't say I am a Fast Thinker either . :laughing:

Fred H

FredH · Mar 8, 2013

Well got new liners , ( Bought 2 for a better deal than just buying 1 ) . Installed last night but have yet to weld . Did feed the wire through and felt I could tell the difference just in feeding the wire . Before I could sometimes " Feel " the wire catching or hanging / rubbing going through the liner in the gun portion but now , it is smooth sailing . :thumbsup:

Fred H.

muddstopper · Mar 8, 2013

Well, after reading this thread a few days ago, it got me to thinking. My miller has had sticking and jabbing issues for a while now. I sort of figured it was just because the wire was old and had some light rust on it. Was at the welding supply today an on a whim, I decided to get a new liner. The one in the machine is the one that came on it. While removeing the old liner, I noticed the end was way back in the handle, just didnt look right. Installed the new liner and left it a little long, but not so long the tip wouldnt screw back on. Fired it up and welded like new, even with the old wire still on it. Dont know if it was the old liner worn out, or dirty, or maybe it was because it was installed a little on the short side, but it aint jerking and stopping now.