(09-25-2016, 03:52 AM)Vinny Wrote: The problem was with the welder. Not me, the actual machine. I could hear the feed pulsating. Perhaps it's too tight but it will feed just fine when not welding. Shouldn't be a problem with the mains, it's a short feed from the panel and nothing else is on it (I also use that circuit for the plasma cutter) and nothing else was running.. The tip is new. I did notice that I had to to increase the power when I switched from flux to mig (yes, I changed the polarity). The wire is definitely stiffer than flux wire but this happened when the cable was straight. The steel was ground just before I started.
The cold welds were probably from the flux wire. I intentionally took the pic to hide the welds! To put the legs on I had to grind the welds After the grinding, the welds had full penetration. After grinding you couldn't see where it was welded.
Pulsating feed, and still burning?
Sounds like the wire speed is fast and bottoming out or hitting the surface before it has become molten. If you are sure of the heat range, dial back the wire feed, small increments. Can also raise the heat to get the surface to a molten state quicker, to accept the cold wire.
The only way to see penetration is to section the material, a heat halo around the weld area also indicates a good weld.
Unless the welder is particularly old or has had flux core wire run as the primary filler, the liner should be good to go for a fair amount of time.
My welder is ten years old, has run an easy 80 lbs of wire, .024 & .030, changing the contact tips only. The most frequent need for a liner change is for alum mig welding.
How much does the mill weigh and is your welder 110 or 220 ?
greg
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