Clarke 100e occasional dodgy arc

[Lawnmowerboy]

Hi all, got the welder out and set up to weld some patches on grass topper for a friend and one minute it welds beautifully and the next it sort of spits and dosent actually arc up and produces a very tall round bead that i can pull off with a pair of pliers

i have replaced the earth lead with a thicker piece of jumper cable and a decent sized chocka block connector
i am thinking of doing the same with the torch power feed

i am using co2 gas and 0.8mm wire with a newish shroud and tip

the wire feeds smoothly and is on around 4.5-5 and sometimes welds beautifully with these settings

Could it be a loose capacitor rivet/dead cap or bad connection somewhere

any suggestions?

will

 

[tombardier]

are you welding in a breeze? or not preparing the surface enough so you're hitting rust or other contaminants as you weld? have you checked that the wire feed is smooth etc?

to be fair, I got rid of a welder once which did the same thing, and I became convinced that it was knackered, as I did everything to get it working properly, and in the end, I just gave up and got a new one, and never struggled with the same issues again! it's too early to say with yours though, because you haven't really set the scene! :0

 

[slimjim]

I used to get that when I used CO2, I think it was caused by splatter partially blocking the nozzle where the gas comes out of, CO2 means more splatter, so it did it more often than with mix

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

Ok i'll try cleaning the shroud up and changing the tip

wire feeds smoothly, recent metal liner, brand new steel, no mill scale didnt think of the breeze.

 

[Bristolbulldog]

My Clarke 100e wont weld nice anything under 5.5.

The minimum it's set to is 6, and never over 7 where it also never welds properly.

On say 2mm steel I would use feed 6, switch positions "a" 3, minimum. Or "a" 2 maximum.

Give that a try. Also turn the welder off, and pop your ear next to the nozzle, run the gas for 5 seconds, is it consistent and easily audible?

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

Not a chance. It welds the best on about 3.5

 

[craig2001]

I have the same problem with my Clarke 90 turbo. It runs nice and will then spit kind of like an in consistant wire feed which makes the arc go "tat tat tat tat " resulting in almost no penetration and bubbley welder like you said. Now I'm in a garage so wind isn't a factor and iv tried everything to change this the wire feeds fine when not in contact with metal even when I hold it and resist the feed its strong I'm thinking of getting shot of the welder now so if anyone knows what this happens I'd like to know also

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

Hi ive now fixed mine. the earth lead was hanging off inside the welder barely attached so when id done a bit of welding the connection got hot and the resistance went up!

try changing your torch liner for a metal one from machinemart or weldequip ect. only a £5 makes the world of differencde