help!...welder acting up, or is it me?

[jpmillermatic]

Hey all, love this site...great resource

So my problem is this:

I welding some thicker metal (thicker for me, which means between 1/8 and 3/16) with my Millermatic 125 and it has started to act funny when I turn up the settings and try to weld...

here is what it is doing:

it starts then stops, then starts then stops repeatedly and I cannot run a bead or get any kind of rythem going. It has not done this before and its very frustrating. I have adjusted the settings lower and several variables in between and still cant get it to arc continuously.

Could it be the following:

1) bad ground
2) slow wire speed
3) not enough power from the outlet

When I just pull the trigger, the wire feeds fine and steady.

can anyone tell me whats going on?


thanks in advance

JP

 

[normspanners]

is the main contactor clicking in and out as it cuts out? maybe the overtemp switch is faulty it will be situated by or on the main transformer somewhere and will have two small wires connected to it. google -- temperature protection switch images then ONLY if you are sure you have it, bridge it ie connect the two wire together, try a weld if it works then that is the fault.

 

[500e]

Stitch\pulse setting ?

 

[normspanners]

Stitch\pulse setting ?

good thinking sometimes the obvious doesnt slap ya in the face!

 

[chunkolini]

Spot weld knob on mine drove me daft with similar symptoms.
Cue nearly snotty phone call to the supplier who managed to keep a straight face.

 

[jamster]

Hi have you tried moving your earth clamp closer to where you are welding if this will give a better arc if not then i would be looking at the temp cut off switch...

 

[owas]

I was getting this problem too when i was working on my large shed project, i couldnt clamp it close to the weld area and the welds were comming out splattering etc, moving the clamp closer def helped!

 

[BrokenBiker]

I had this on a tig in work. it was pulse set to one pulse every half second. drove me made and I ended up migging it. looked quite daft when I realised what the problem was

 

[jpmillermatic]

thanks very much, guys...Ill have a look tonight. I was at a friends house when this was happening and now back home, where Ill try it again on my own electrical circuits....

Earth clamp was close with good contact ( I think) , I dont hear any clicking from the machine, other than everything slowing down and or stopping between welds....

noob question: where would I look for a pulse setting or tack weld setting on a miller?....


thanks!

JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

thanks very much, guys...Ill have a look tonight. I was at a friends house when this was happening and now back home, where Ill try it again on my own electrical circuits....

Earth clamp was close with good contact ( I think) , I dont hear any clicking from the machine, other than everything slowing down and or stopping between welds....

noob question: where would I look for a pulse setting or tack weld setting on a miller?....


thanks!

JP

Okay, some more information on this:

I do not have a pulse/tack feature

Got it home and it was doing largely the same thing...so I adjusted the settings back a bit and that helped alot...I dialed back the wire speed and it calmed right down. then I dialed back the power and began getting good weld puddle, ect...(I think it was actually "bouncing" with a wire speed that was too high...though it did not hit the metal and jump back, its more like it made contact, then lost it, then gained it, ect)

The flux core wire is definitely a factor...


Im still getting a bit of a pulse with the machine...Its much better, and I can time how I move the gun, and get decent welds...but I want to get BETTER and this is getting in my way...

any suggestions?....


(I did do a lot of welding last night and my new gravel driveway conditioner rake is really taking shape, but I know I could be doing much better!)


JP

 

[jpmillermatic]

problem solved!

So I found out why my welder was acting up...

I had inadvertently tightened the wire spool too tight...which was causing the wire to be fed at different rates as the motor would pull on the wire until it released a bit, then bind up again, then release, then bind....

Now it works great again!


JP