HELP!! Small problem with gas and wire

[Poggle]

Ok, finally got round to using the bottle of Co2 that came with the machine. 0.8 wire, 0.8 wheel, speed about 8/10, power (?) at second from top. When I try weld it chatters and judders and lays down huge mounds of weld, blows holes in half mm steel with consumate ease and wont lay a beed at all on a bit of 20x3mm steel strip......................The gasless did a better job!!! And yes, the metal is spottless and the power cables have been put back from gasless to gas. The wire drum turns freely as do the wheels. i don't know if I should turn the wheel setting down or up either. And the gas is flowing from the bottle anyway, cann't hear it from the nozzle coz the machine makes such a noise when pressing the trigger to hear anything
John

Edit. Just redone the gas and it is flowing perfectly, loads of pressure at the nozzle. Didn't realise the gas could escape when the machine was switched off. So, is it power or wheels or feed????

 

[Wozzaaah]

Why on earth are you trying to weld 0.5mm steel?
Get yourself some proper steel to practice with.

Sounds like your wire speed is too high and maybe you're holding the tip too far away.
To set the wire speed up, choose the appropriate power setting and put the wire speed control at 5, set the correct angle of dangle and tip distance and start welding.
Turn the speed control knob as you weld until you just start to feel the torch being pushed away from the workpiece then back the speed control off until the pushing stops.
Make sure you keep the tip distance consistent as you turn the speed control.
That should give you the optimal wire speed for each power step.

 

[Poggle]

Why on earth are you trying to weld 0.5mm steel?
Get yourself some proper steel to practice with.

Sounds like your wire speed is too high and maybe you're holding the tip too far away.
To set the wire speed up, choose the appropriate power setting and put the wire speed control at 5, set the correct angle of dangle and tip distance and start welding.
Turn the speed control knob as you weld until you just start to feel the torch being pushed away from the workpiece then back the speed control off until the pushing stops.
Make sure you keep the tip distance consistent as you turn the speed control.
That should give you the optimal wire speed for each power step.

Coz all i have right now is .5 scrap Ok, will do all that and see how I get on Will do it on the 3mm stuff though........... Oh, what distance do you reckon is a good one? I was trying it at 10mm from the nozzle?

 

[Wozzaaah]

Chuck it in the bin, it's a waste of time messing about with tin foil like that, you won't learn anything and you'll probably never weld anything that thin in the real world.
8-10mm stickout is about right.

 

[Poggle]

Chuck it in the bin, it's a waste of time messing about with tin foil like that, you won't learn anything and you'll probably never weld anything that thin in the real world.
8-10mm stickout is about right.

Right, done all that and I am getting lots of brown residue and a weld that looks like its been done by a luke warm soldering iron. I get no continuous weld spark like in an arc welder. it is almost as if the wire is juddering back and forth as I weld. Have loosened the drum with no effect, don't know what to do with the feed wheels though. Could they be too loose or too tight? Is there a way of sussing it out? When I run the wire through my hand it doesn't feel like it is sticking/juddering?

 

[Poggle]

Ok, discovered I had swapped the .9 wheel for the spare.9 wheel. cHanged them over and still no difference to teh weld, I know I have a slight shake but this looks like I have the Palsy!!! And I forgot to say, the welder is "switching" off and on as I weld? No continous "sizzle" going on.
So much for a three hour time pwriod to repair my exhaust!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am now on day three and no further forwards

Right, wire speed up full blast is like WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mega sparks and splatter and bits flying every where, the interesting thing is that the wire speed knob actually goes PAST where the fastest speed is meant to be!!!! So, with it hovering around the last mark and a mm beyond I get a decent spark if I hold the nozzle well within the 8 to 10mm of the metal. I also think I am looking for perfection as well which I wont get with Co2.

Still, it is all practice and all the newbies can read all about my woes and hopefully they wont make the same mistakes

 

[thestig]

if possible try changing your gas to an argon mix,
i found it more forgiving than co2 when it comes to playing around with wire speeds.

 

[Daz1968]

On my welder if it appears to cut out and weld how you describe the wire feed normally needs turning up to get a smooth arc, I tend to estimate power required then just increase wire speed until it sounds right,

 

[CKJDJK]

You said you were using the gas you got withthe welder. A disposable one? You may be out of gas by now "I am getting lots of brown residue and a weld that looks like its been done by a luke warm soldering iron" hence the brown residue. You will not get a decent weld if out of gas and this will make it impossible to get the other parameters right.

 

[biffa]

If you were using it as a gasless welder did you change the polarity?

 

[Poggle]

If you were using it as a gasless welder did you change the polarity?

Yes, first thing I did

 

[Poggle]

On my welder if it appears to cut out and weld how you describe the wire feed normally needs turning up to get a smooth arc, I tend to estimate power required then just increase wire speed until it sounds right,

Did that and it is fine.

 

[Poggle]

Ok, when I actually got the exhaust off of the car and saw the weld line my mechanic did two years ago, I stopped worrying about things. He is a bloody fantastic welder and his weld wasn't smooth etc and so forth like I was expecting a weld to be like. I guess I need to stop thinking perfection and dig out the angle grinder coz there be no way a smooth weld and flat can be done.
Anyway, ta muchly for all you answers and help

John

 

[Wallace]

John, be prepared for a very frustrating day welding an exhaust, particularly if it's a silencer box. What looks like good clean metal is often wafer thin because it's corroded from inside and the clean outside is an aluminium or zinc coating, this needs to be ground off. Expect a lot of big holes! If it is zinc coated you will see a white fluffy deposit, the gas from this is poisonous.

Mike

 

[Poggle]

John, be prepared for a very frustrating day welding an exhaust, particularly if it's a silencer box. What looks like good clean metal is often wafer thin because it's corroded from inside and the clean outside is an aluminium or zinc coating, this needs to be ground off. Expect a lot of big holes! If it is zinc coated you will see a white fluffy deposit, the gas from this is poisonous.

Mike

I wont be welding the box Mike. It is a bend in the actual pipe that has four hole sin it and a split. The holes range from 1mm to 4mm diameter and the split is about 4cm long with the split width around 0.4mm wide. The area is heavly rusted and pitted though so, I was going to make a "coller" from 1mm steel to fit round the pipe and weld it shut as it were. Oh, while I am at it guys, have just discovered Inches Per Minute Will be having a play with this isea tomorrow. Also, I see that for gas welding the feed wheel has to have a smooth V in it, not the "toothed one that is used for gasless welding? Well, NONE of the wheels that came with the kit has a smooth V wheel........

 

[Poggle]

Final update chaps and any chappesses. I saw a vid on Youtube about inch per minute? Sooooo, I did it. 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand etc till six. this gave me 27 inch of wire, so, I had a play with that with regards to what others were telling me about the wire "pushing" the torch away from the metal? Worked a treat guys. At 120 amps and 23 inch per foot speed she is singing sweet as a nut now. No lumpy weld at all. BUT, the slightest breeze on the torch and it goes to pot unless I am welding close to the metal. Am using Argon and C02 mix as well.