Hi chaps,
I got hold of a sealey 150a supermig a few months ago and have recently tried to get a proper feel for the machine before I start fabricating or welding anything. It came with an old pub bottle gas of CO2 which is still on it but I bought new 0.8mm wire, new tips, new shroud and have been trying to source a newer style regulator to accommodate using argon instead of the CO2. In the meantime though, I have been told that it should still give reasonable enough welds with the CO2.
The problem is that the welds it lays down are very inconsistent. For a few seconds the weld will lay down nice and smooth with good penetration and then the wire will suddenly start physically pushing against the parent metal causing your hand to move. The arc begins to "pulse" as the wire pushes the torch away, the weld no longer penetrates and just sits on top of the metal and then it will start welding back to normal again. It makes it impossible to tack or weld anything. It does this regardless of the wire feed speed, the power setting, the metal thickness, gas flow rate etc. I have done the visual external checks i.e. torch is not cracked or broken, wire feeds through machine smooth and consistent, same with the gas.
Assuming the parent metal earthed well and the steel is clean, can anyone think of anything I've overlooked. The fact that, one moment it will weld really well and the next it won't has me at a loss.
Appreciate you looking.
I got hold of a sealey 150a supermig a few months ago and have recently tried to get a proper feel for the machine before I start fabricating or welding anything. It came with an old pub bottle gas of CO2 which is still on it but I bought new 0.8mm wire, new tips, new shroud and have been trying to source a newer style regulator to accommodate using argon instead of the CO2. In the meantime though, I have been told that it should still give reasonable enough welds with the CO2.
The problem is that the welds it lays down are very inconsistent. For a few seconds the weld will lay down nice and smooth with good penetration and then the wire will suddenly start physically pushing against the parent metal causing your hand to move. The arc begins to "pulse" as the wire pushes the torch away, the weld no longer penetrates and just sits on top of the metal and then it will start welding back to normal again. It makes it impossible to tack or weld anything. It does this regardless of the wire feed speed, the power setting, the metal thickness, gas flow rate etc. I have done the visual external checks i.e. torch is not cracked or broken, wire feeds through machine smooth and consistent, same with the gas.
Assuming the parent metal earthed well and the steel is clean, can anyone think of anything I've overlooked. The fact that, one moment it will weld really well and the next it won't has me at a loss.
Appreciate you looking.