miller m10 mig gun repair?

[muddstopper]

I drug out the miller 175 mig the other day to do a little patchwork. Welder wouldnt feed the wire at all. Swapped liner for a old one, and it still didnt feed. Why didnt I throw away that old liner when I installed the new one last time,Duh. Thats when I found the old liner had a kink in it where I probably let a piece of heavy metal fall on the lead. Anyway when I was trying to blow some brake clean thru the assembly, I had cleaner running out of the side of the cord and the cover had a split in it. I ordered a new liner that I havent received yet, but I got to thinking, if the cover could leak out liquids, then it sure could leak out gas. It made me start thinking, does the gas flow thru the liner, thru a tube under the rubber covering, or just how does it get to the welding tip. Can I just patch the cover and stop the leak, Can I remove the rubber covering and replace/splice a tube inside, or is a whole new gun in my future. I have looked for a diagram of how the gun is assembled but havnt found anything

 

[bamboozled]

I would say a new gun and liner are in your future because you never, ever use brake cleaner to clean anything you are going to weld on, let alone weld with.

brake cleaner and welding - Google Search

 

[muddstopper]

what you say is true about brake cleaner, but not all break cleaner is made the same.

 

[Big Barn]

Bill. USAWeld.com (HTP America) has 15 foot replacement gun/whip assemblies for under $150 I think.

I have Bernard guns only on my Miller's but apparent they get pretty good reviews.

Terry

 

[flyerdan]

The gas flows through a translucent plastic tube that also houses the liner; it in turn is protected by the outer core and black rubber casing. Something dropped is fairly common in ruining liners, not so often in puncturing the whole whip but it can happen. Introducing brake cleaner probably did some damage to the rubber compounds in the whip where the break is.
I don't know if you can find just the whip, but since the brass fitting that plugs into the welder and the gun and handle are ok, that would be a far less expensive way to go. If you can't locate just the part, a welding supply store might be able to rebuild it for you, but it would probably be about the same as a new assembly online.

 

[muddstopper]

I believe the 15ft whip is $129, but could be wrong. USAWeld is where I ordered my new liner. My LWS wanted $25 for one liner and $15 for 10 tips. I bought 2 liners, 30 tips, and , and 2 gas nozzles for $38, ( I am hard on tips and nozzles) with free shipping and no tax. It was a no brainer. I should have them by the end of the week as they where shipped Monday. if I hadnt of had to work on brothers bushhog a week ago, I wouldnt even have known My liner was kinked. I hadnt struck and arc in several months. I'll try installing the liner and see if I have gas flow, if not, I'll just order a new gun and save my old parts for future screwups. UMM, might see how much a spool gun cost while I'm at it. I had to buy a new aluminum spinle housing for my mower last weak becasue I didnt feel like tigging the old one. With a spool gun. I "might" have tried to mig it.

 

[BukitCase]

If you end up getting a new gun I'd check with Miller before buying a 15 foot gun - AFAIK, most of the smaller units are NOT rated for a longer gun. The 175's came with a 10' gun, as did my older version MM211 - the newer MM211(b) has a down-firing drive and WILL handle a 15 footer.

I asked Miller if I could use a M100 gun in 15 foot (for my MM211(a) and was told that there was a good chance I'd burn up the drive (and warranty didn't cover it under those conditions) -

That's ONE of the reasons why I sold the 211 when I found a killer deal on a 252 with 30A spool gun, dual running gear and extra tanks... Steve

 

[muddstopper]

My welder, millermatic 175 came new with the 15ft gun and I havent really had any problem with it feeding. One new liner is probably 10 years, until now. Of course I dont weld with it every day either.

Well, I lied. Got curious and went and measured it. Sure enough, whip is only 10ft, not 15ft. Dont hold it against me, men have been know to lie about the lengths of certain tools.

 

[yomax4]

Gun length is determined by wire size. 030-035 will run through a 15' gun. 023 not so much. I'd put a liner in it and run it. you can get a low cost flow meter that goes over your nozzle to test CFH out put on the gas. It the regulator says 15 CFH and the flow meter says 12-15 CFH, you are in business. If not you may have a leak or a bad O-ring. I would't throw down $120 on a worry. Chances are all you need is a liner.

 

[muddstopper]

Put the new liner in yesterday and made a few welds. Gas is flowing thru the whip, and wire running like it should. Now if I can just watch where my drops are falling when using the torch, I might be able to keep it working.