Clarke 160te (blowing flame?)

[nomininolife]

Hi Guys

Possibly a strange one,

But I am have problems with my welder 'blowing a flame and melting the metal rather than welding the pieces together.

The steel is all new and clean with a clean earth, it is Mini bodywork so I am using the lowest power setting. If I turn the setting up 1 then all I get is the flame.

Any help is gratefully appreciated


David

 

[malcolm]

Is your wire speed too low or the wire getting stuck? Have a look at the wire speed video to see where you are.

Failing that.... er... what shielding gas are you using?

 

[Wozzaaah]

Doesn't sound like you have enough wire coming out, is the machine in good order, is the wire clean, is the feed tension adjusted properly and is this a sudden phenomenon or has it gradually got worse over time?

 

[nomininolife]

Thanks for the replies, I have tried different wire speeds, the machine is about 6 months old, the wire is in good condition. The wire tension appears to be fine (it doesnt slip and doesnt seem to bind). The gas I am using is BOC Argoshield. The problem only seems to have started since I welded a sill on (upside down). I reconstructed the inner sill and it was fine, a good hour or so welding, but not constant.

David

 

[malcolm]

Have you replaced the contact tip? Easy to mess them up when overhead welding, and it would cause the wire to stick during welding (but seem fine when you test it).

 

[nomininolife]

Yes I have replaced the tip.

 

[nomininolife]

So the general consensus is that it is a wire feed problem?

I will go through it all this after and let you know what/if I find

Regards

David

 

[malcolm]

It does sound like you have an arc but not enough wire to fill the crater so the arc blows through. You could post some photos of some welds (or attempts at welds with the problem) and we might spot something in them.

 

[nomininolife]

Will do

Thanks

David