Wire Welder Question

[digger2]

Heres a problem i had with my Lincoln mig.I kept having to turn the pressure up
on my feed rollers to get it to work right.Finally,i took the wire guides out and boiled them (in water)for about 15 minutes.Then ,i took a piece of scrap welding wire
and kept working it thru the guides until it worked freely.Guess what,thats what the problem was.RUST BUILDUP INSIDE THE WIRE GUIDES.In my case it had nothing to do with the liner.
After i put it back together it worked like new.I dont know how your machine is set up but my Lincoln has two wire guides.One before the feed rollers and one after.Wont cost you much but your time to check it out.

Digger2

 

[digger2]

Oh by the way......My wire guides were STEEL....there may be brands out there with plastic or nylon in them,in that case i would'nt boil them.
Digger2

 

[ALHILLDIRT]

Heres a problem i had with my Lincoln mig.I kept having to turn the pressure up
on my feed rollers to get it to work right.Finally,i took the wire guides out and boiled them (in water)for about 15 minutes.Then ,i took a piece of scrap welding wire
and kept working it thru the guides until it worked freely.Guess what,thats what the problem was.RUST BUILDUP INSIDE THE WIRE GUIDES.In my case it had nothing to do with the liner.
After i put it back together it worked like new.I dont know how your machine is set up but my Lincoln has two wire guides.One before the feed rollers and one after.Wont cost you much but your time to check it out.

Digger2

I have steel or brass guides on mine. I thought I had checked them but won't hurt to try again.

 

[ALHILLDIRT]

Not sure what fixed the problem, but problem solved for now. I took everything apart and cleaned piece by piece. Appears there was no one thing, just a combination of problems. Works great again. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[Bill_C]

Great, glad to hear it's working OK.

 

[mountainbil]

the answer to humidity problems is an old upright freezer gutted to be used as a cabinet with a light bulb. I put My welder in it with all electrodes and the mig when I'm not using it. A 15 watt bulb keeps it warm and humid free. Bill

 

[Taylortractornut]

I just got a new liners for my old Miller matic 35, I dont use a wire welder much but I didnt want it sitting there, I had moth balled it for a about 2 years, not using it then got a liner. Its an old GA20C hose and gun. I didnt have 385 for a new 15 foot set up so I found a liner for 45 bucks. I got it in and set then had a small spool of wire. I hadnt been in the shop in a week and went out and used it without checking the wire and it started miss feeding, I panicked and check the wire sure enough it had spots on it bad and the liner blew out rust. It has a filter wiper but it was worn a little. I pulled the wire and blew out the liner. Then gave the end a few shots of PB Blaster. and ssquirted some blaster on the filter and i re crimped it. I unrolled more of the wire and found that I had gone past the rust I welded a bit with it and it fixed it.

 

[alltoys]

Here is another cheap wire cleaner before it goes into the brass (steel) guide. Take a squeezable ear plug hold it sideways to the point of the wire push the welding wire through it. Push the wire through the guide, ear plug stays tight on the inside putting firm but not to tight of a grip on the wire keeping dust and dirt out the guide and liner. Works better than the felt wire cleaners and throw it away when you change out the spool.

 

[ALHILLDIRT]

Here is another cheap wire cleaner before it goes into the brass (steel) guide. Take a squeezable ear plug hold it sideways to the point of the wire push the welding wire through it. Push the wire through the guide, ear plug stays tight on the inside putting firm but not to tight of a grip on the wire keeping dust and dirt out the guide and liner. Works better than the felt wire cleaners and throw it away when you change out the spool.

Slick idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[xlr82v2]

Here is another cheap wire cleaner before it goes into the brass (steel) guide. Take a squeezable ear plug hold it sideways to the point of the wire push the welding wire through it. Push the wire through the guide, ear plug stays tight on the inside putting firm but not to tight of a grip on the wire keeping dust and dirt out the guide and liner. Works better than the felt wire cleaners and throw it away when you change out the spool.

That's a great idea!! My roll of .030 is about done, I'll do this when I change rolls!