Contact tip issues

[Tommyf]

Hi guys,
I have changed my contact tip recently and I noticed written on the old one it said 1.0 and I am using 0.8mm wire. I changed the tip to a new 0.8 and ever since the wire seems to jam a lot more easily. Should I change it back to a 1.0mm tip or is there something else I need to do? Also I have just bought a reel of 1.0mm wire so should I use 1.2mm tips with this . Many thanks, Tom
Ps. I have a mb25 torch with a red liner fitted

 

[BrokenBiker]

What wire are you using. Cheap wires can be a bit bad for consistent size, some parts are too thick for the tip and some wires have a seam that causes issues

 

[Tommyf]

Lincoln ultra-mag

 

[Robotstar5]

The contact tip size should match the wire used. Lincoln is a good make but are the tips branded?.

 

[BrokenBiker]

-as above was going to be next question. ive found that regardless of the job you are doing, buying good branded welding consumables is a must if you want good welds

 

[Jan]

A tip cleaner is always an investment. They cost sod all and will remove any swarf that may be in there from the often poor manufacturing techniques or (lack of) quality control. Depending on the age/condition of the liner there could be some crap coming down the line to compromise feed integrity.

 

[BrokenBiker]

if all else fails find someone with a lathe and get them to run a 0.9mm drill down the bore and open it up a bit

 

[Tommyf]

Thanks very much I'll get some new better quality tips and give them a go .

 

[Sparkey]

Hiya Tommy!
Lincoln is a good brand so your wire should be fine...just remove the tip, blow trough the liner with some compressed air, place a new tip (the SAME size as your wire) and it should be good as new!! wirefeed as smooth as a baby's ...uhm behind! lol

 

[Ed.]

As others have said, for steel mig wire same size tip size as wire size, for Allly, a smidge larger or a special tip designated for Ally, they are usually slightly oversized, as Ally expands a bit more than steel as it leaves the hot tip.

 

[Jim Davey]

One thing people overlook is actually screwing in the tip properly. It must be wound all the way in and nipped up gently with pliers or a spanner (no need to go mad, soft copper threads and gorilla grip make a poor combination) but if the tip is left loose they can't transfer their heat away into the body of the torch and seize.
I'd recommend the next size up if welding flux cored, or dedicated aluminium tips for ally (slight larger clearance and higher grade copper as a rule) but you want 'on size' tips for mild.
As said Ultramag is excellent stuff, no issues there.
Lastly have you got enough gas flow to cool the torch sufficiently?

 

[Jan]

A smidge of copper grease on the threads wouldn't hurt.

 

[RST Driver]

Hello,

you can stick a 1mm drill through a brand new TBI 0,8mm contact tip. Bought the ones from TBI industries which is a well known brand for torches etc..
Did I eventually get a special aluminum contact tip?!

Thanks for help.

Best regards,
Phil