Need some advice

[dale86]

Guys, i need some MIG welding help please..

I'm new to welding and I have come across a problem today, which i havent had before..i dont know if its an equipment/setup fault or something i am doing wrong.

I am just trying to tack a 1mm thick stainless tube to a 12mm thick mild steel flange. (an exhaust pipe to a flange)

Its a bit arkward to explain but when a try to make the tack in the join, it refuses to arc..the wire feeds out, touches the metal, gets stuck and then i just get a buzzing sound.

However, If i try to place a tack/or run a bead on either of the metal peices seperately it welds fine.

The problem is only there when i try to put a tack in the join of these two metals, it refuses to weld at all.

I havent had this problem before when doing this exact same task on the same setup, so i dont understand why this is happening now.


I am using a Clarke 150T with 0.8mm stainless wire, and argoshield light gas.

 

[roofman]

Guys, i need some MIG welding help please..

I'm new to welding and I have come across a problem today, which i havent had before..i dont know if its an equipment/setup fault or something i am doing wrong.

I am just trying to tack a 1mm thick stainless tube to a 12mm thick mild steel flange. (an exhaust pipe to a flange)

Its a bit arkward to explain but when a try to make the tack in the join, it refuses to arc..the wire feeds out, touches the metal, gets stuck and then i just get a buzzing sound.

However, If i try to place a tack/or run a bead on either of the metal peices seperately it welds fine.

The problem is only there when i try to put a tack in the join of these two metals, it refuses to weld at all.

I havent had this problem before when doing this exact same task on the same setup, so i dont understand why this is happening now.


I am using a Clarke 150T with 0.8mm stainless wire, and argoshield light gas.

have you tried fixing the earth and starting the weld on the 12mm side then pool it over to the 1mm thick stuff....from where ime sitting it appears to be an earthing problem between the 2 metals

 

[outofthefire]

Have you got a good earth?

 

[dale86]

I suppose It does seem to be behaving like an earthing problem when trying to weld at the joint, but i didnt understand why it welded okay on the metals seperately.

The wire feeds out, hits the target metal, gets stuck to it and stops feeding.

I did clean up the earth clamp and tried wrapping it in copper wire...but it made no difference. But perhaps thats not good enough and the cable and clamp are goosed. Both metals are clean, as is the earthing point, and the joint is tight with no air gaps.

I have read a few people saying the standard earth clamp is poor on the Clarke models. I guess i should upgrade the earth clamp and perhaps the cable to eliminate that as a possible cause.

Thanks for the responses so far.

On a side note and maybe related, i have been keeping my MIG welder in the shed, i used it a couple of weeks ago and it was fine doing the same task... and now its playing up....are there any precautions/maintenance i should take while storing it in there over winter to protect against low temps/moisture etc

 

[roofman]

I suppose It does seem to be behaving like an earthing problem when trying to weld at the joint, but i didnt understand why it welded okay on the metals seperately.

The wire feeds out, hits the target metal, gets stuck to it and stops feeding.

I did clean up the earth clamp and tried wrapping it in copper wire...but it made no difference. But perhaps thats not good enough and the cable and clamp are goosed. Both metals are clean, as is the earthing point, and the joint is tight with no air gaps.

I have read a few people saying the standard earth clamp is poor on the Clarke models. I guess i should upgrade the earth clamp and perhaps the cable to eliminate that as a possible cause.

Thanks for the responses so far.

On a side note and maybe related, i have been keeping my MIG welder in the shed, i used it a couple of weeks ago and it was fine doing the same task... and now its playing up....are there any precautions/maintenance i should take while storing it in there over winter to protect against low temps/moisture etc

pretend your mig is another child in the winter...if you cant take it inside the house then make sure its well wrapped up with a thick blanket and a dummy

 

[chunkolini]

pretend your mig is another child in the winter...if you cant take it inside the house then make sure its well wrapped up with a thick blanket and a dummy

And if that does not work give it a good beating

 

[roofman]

pretend your mig is another child in the winter...if you cant take it inside the house then make sure its well wrapped up with a thick blanket and a dummy

And if that does not work give it a good beating

 

[dale86]

Just thought i'd update this, i replaced the earth clamp today with a proper screw down type clamp, and it works perfectly now.

Thanks for the advice.