clarke pro 90 won't work

[dale809]

i have lent a clarke pro 90 to weld some stuff on my land rover, the machine works fine and the wire feeder, but everytime i start to weld the wire breaks?? so i cant get a weld going. any suggestions?
cheers

 

[rtbcomp]

Where does it break, at the nozzle or between the spool and the feed rollers?

 

[dale809]

the nozzle, when i unscrew the nozzle the spring inside the swan dont look to clever, ive bin doing abit of searching and do you think it may be the swan neck needs replacing?

 

[rtbcomp]

If it's iffy I'd certainly replace it.

I'm assuming you get a spark when the wire touches the workpiece, so perhaps the voltage is set too high for the wire speed and you're getting burn back? try turning the voltage down and/or wire speed up. It may be worth trying a new nozzle too.

 

[madkayaker]

does the wire feed smovely or jerky?

 

[dale809]

it moves smoothly, and it does spark then it just breaks off, could just be setting the votage to high then i am a novice at welding so might not be working due to me?

 

[madkayaker]

what feed rate have you got set to? Mine uses between 5-6

 

[dale809]

i had it on low wire speed, ive just noticed the wire isn't in the middle on the nozzle, it touches the side if you get me,

 

[malcolm]

I don't quite understand what the problem is. Do you have to dismantle anything to get the wire to feed through again? - maybe post some photos.

If the wire breaks after it comes through the torch then your torch is far to far from the metal. Should only be about 5mm between the brass tip and the metal. Might be worth a quick read through the tutorial and the settings calculator in there.

 

[weldequip]

ive just noticed the wire isn't in the middle on the nozzle, it touches the side if you get me

The copper tip should be central within the chrome gas shroud, if it's not it's likely that the threads in the neck have gone; the tip is ****** & the wire will touch the side of the gas shroud when feeding...causing it to 'arc out' when it touches. Replace the neck, neck liner, tip & gas shroud
weldequip

 

[greyshirtguy]

If you cannot do a photo easily enough, then perhaps the following diagram might be of some use in describing your problem a little more......you could refer to the parts by number or name...

 

[dale809]

that pic is spot on mate! i haven't got the red thing (num 4) on mine, i presume that just screws in?(to num 3). thus keeping it in the middle stopping it from "arcing out" ?? cheers

 

[weldingscotty803]

you have no tip then. weldequip will have some
ive got a few i have no use for in the garage. you can have them for a couple of quid.

 

[dale809]

will they fit my machine? how would i pay for them?

 

[Wozzaaah]

Well there's yer problem!

The contact tip is the part that transfers the welding current to the wire which is why it's sputtering and arcing all over the place.
When you buy some, get a bag of 15 or so from a welding supplier, you'll soon wreck them when you're learning and blister packs of 5 will cost you more in the long run.
Treat yourself to a couple of spare shrouds too.

 

[dale809]

ive got some tips. now the welder works fine! thanks for all your replys! its good how so many people are helpful on here!

 

[rtbcomp]

Thanks for letting us know, it's good to know that a problem's been solved!