Help Welding a Welder Cart

[Highpower]

(04-12-2012, 01:47 PM)f350ca Wrote: I press the trigger a couple of times then cut the wire with side cutters, or if real lazy just let it burn off.
Greg

You bring up a good point here Greg. Every time I get lazy it comes back to bite me in the end. You are humming along running a nice looking weld bead, and reach the end of your pass. So you move on to your next section to be welded, and are ready to strike up another arc. Then you notice this big ole "bugger ball" hanging off the end of your wire covered in soot.

Do yourself a favor.... and snip off the wire to make sure you start every bead with clean filler metal. The arc will start easier, you'll have less garbage/soot/porosity while you form your weld puddle, and your quality of life in general will be greatly improved.

[EdK]

(04-12-2012, 02:01 PM)Highpower Wrote: Sure it does Ed. Just flip down the spring loaded tension knob on your wire feed rollers, and let the upper roller pop up. Just as if you were going to load a new spool of wire. Leave the wire in the gun - just leave the top roller loose.

Doh!

[Mayhem]

My welder is an old 3 phase Transmig 275. It is a large welder on wheels and as such, it has my welding caddy sitting on top. Now I cannot be bothered to take the caddy off, unscrew to the side/top panel to get to the rollers every time I purge the line.

So, I decided to put a SPST toggle switch in line with the spool motor (24v DC), so I can turn the wire feed on/off. I also added a 3 phase power switch to the control panel as well, as these machines never had them. You turn them on/off at the wall.

Remember also to clear the line and wind out your reg after closing the bottle at the end of the day. This will take the pressure of the diaphragm and give your reg extended life.

[ETC57]

Hay Mayhem,

Ya wana hear somthin funny?

I just realized I haven't been bleeding any of my gas lines even though that was one of the first things I learned about welding way back when. Amazing what a person forgets over time, thank's for the reminder!!

Jerry.

[arvidj]

(04-12-2012, 12:19 PM)EdAK Wrote:

(04-06-2012, 11:08 PM)Highpower Wrote: Purge the gas line for 2 - 3 seconds before you start your first bead only. (No wire feed.)

So how does one purge without feeding wire? I really don't want to have to unload the wire from the gun every time I start up the welder just to purge the line. My welder doesn't allow for purging without feeding the wire.

Thanks,
Ed

Actually I think it may actually turn the gas on before it feeds wire. At least mine does. That way the shielding gas has 'set up' around the area to be welded before the arc is struck. On mine I can define the time the gas is on before the wire feeds and the current flows. It also does the same at the end of the weld to ensure the weld is surrounded be gas as it cools ... assuming I remember to leave the gun in place over the end of the weld.

Knowing this I can purge the line by either pulling the trigger and releasing it as soon as I see the wire move a few times ... done if I have used it recently ... or the other way is to simply turn the wire speed down as far as it will go and purge it for 10 seconds or so and simply cut off the wire if it has been a long time since I last used it.

Arvid

[Mayhem]

My single phase welder has (for the lack of a better term) a 2 stage trigger. Pull it a little and the gas will flow, pull a little more and it will feed wire. Not on my 3 phase welder. That has a hair trigger! If you lay the torch down wrong it will spool wire. I think it will do the same if you just look at it some days!

[EdK]

My welder doesn't have any fancy features to help purge the gas line but I like Arvid's idea of turning down the wire feed when purging so I don't waste so much wire. Maybe after the warranty expires I'll put a switch in like Mayhem did.

Thanks for all of the ideas.

Ed

[Highpower]

(04-12-2012, 10:55 PM)Mayhem Wrote: ... If you lay the torch down wrong it will spool wire.

I wish I could say that I have never done that, but.....

Older Miller machines are instant ON, meaning that when you pull the trigger you get gas flow and the set wire feed speed - now.

Newer Miller models (like Ed's) have an added circuit that gives you instant gas flow but it starts off the wire feed at a slightly reduced feed rate, and then ramps up to the full set speed. The delay in bring up the wire feed to full speed is supposed to help prevent sticking the wire when starting an arc. The duration of the slower starting speed is about 1 second, and then jumps to full speed.

After using my older MM185 machine so many years, I thought there was something wrong with my newer MM140 welder when I first got it. Then a Miller service tech explained to me - "That isn't a bug.... that's a feature!"

arvidj: What model mig welder do you have that allows you to set the post and pre-flow on your machine? It doesn't sound like a typical homebody type welder.

[EdK]

(04-13-2012, 06:50 AM)Highpower Wrote: Newer Miller models (like Ed's) have an added circuit that gives you instant gas flow but it starts off the wire feed at a slightly reduced feed rate, and then ramps up to the full set speed. The delay in bring up the wire feed to full speed is supposed to help prevent sticking the wire when starting an arc. The duration of the

I've never noticed that and the manual doesn't say anything about that feature. I'll have to watch for it the next time I fire up the welder.

Ed

[arvidj]

(04-13-2012, 06:50 AM)Highpower Wrote: arvidj: What model mig welder do you have that allows you to set the post and pre-flow on your machine? It doesn't sound like a typical homebody type welder.

Lincoln Power Mig 300. Not sure where that might fall on the homebody type welder spectrium.