Hello I have a Clarke 150 te mig welder a got it secondhand anyway the problem is the spool is forever getting tangled creating cinks in the wire. The whole spool mechanism just doesn't seem right making wire pulse. When spool is screwed tightened to much the wire can not be fed through. Anyone else had this trouble with this welder or similar can I buy a new mechanism for the welder? Here are some pics thanks
the spool just needs to have enough tension to stop it spinning freely, so that it stops the spool from unwinding. it should be easy enough to turn, so you'll have to make sure the spool isn't binding. you'll also need to make sure that you have the drive roller the correct way round. in that photo it looks like you'll be using 0.8mm wire
Another thing could be the reel, is it a reel that came with the machine? I notice it's damaged, if it's been allowed to "bird nest" it can become coil bound I think the term is, with one coil trapping the next one, so it won't unreel smoothly. The better 5 kilo reels are advertised as precision wound to allow the wire to unwind smoothly. Worth sorting out as its a useful machine.
The wire on the spool is more than likely to be sticking due to the mess it's in.
The spool may not be tensioned correctly.
The debris/dirty condition around the drive unit suggests the liner may be well clogged up.
The wheel with 0.6 has two grooves and must have the correct groove to match the wire, either 0.8 or 0.6, the wheel is reversible by loosening a small alan screw, sliding off and turning around.
Basically I would suggest a good service is well overdue.
As Gaz & Cumbriasteve says, the liner could well be shot, on top of this, most of the smaller welders were supplied with a liner similar to windscreen washer tube. The wire tends to bind up on the plastic & won't feed properly. The metal liners make a huge difference to the feeding resistance. If you take the tension off the wire & pull it from the torch end, there should be virtually no resistance.
Thank you all for your replies. I bought this second hand and in this condition unknowing to the problems I've had with it. I think a service is my best bet!
it looks to me as though a coil of wire is falling off the reel and due to that as its pulled through it kinks, the way I read is, its not birds nesting due to the liner, the kink in the wire is not passing through the rollers