New welder problems

[Tilabi]

Hi guys

About a year a go I brought a second-hand Clarke Pro 90 MIG welder. I have not really used it but last week I decided I would finally practice my welding as I need to weld something up soon.

Well I've been practicing now for a about 3 days using 0.8mm wire and hobby gas CO2 but I just cant seem to get it! every time I do it I just get balls and blobs of weld which look a mess. and I cant get a nice weld. I've tried it on every speed with the same results and to me it seems like the wire is juddering a bit and cant get a constant Spark it just splitters, splatters and crackles . The motor on the welder is also quite noisy and sounds a bit like when reversing in a car, it sounds the same without the wire clamped though, is that normal for a pro 90 MIG ?

I'm not really sure if its a problems with the welder or more likely a problem with my technique
The best result's I've had its when I turn the speed right down to 3 and I did get a nicer frying noise for a few milliseconds but that soon went and from the instructions that seems too slow. I suppose my shaky hands don't help either lol

I'm currently using a very small piece of this metal about 5mm thick , I understand this welder wont penetrate that but at the moment I'm just trying to get a decent weld. ive tried loads of thing but nothing seems to help

Anyone have any ideas please

i'm ashamed of these but pictures are attached

 

[haigy]

Metal isnt clean is usually a sign of popping.

Bad earth can stop constant feed.

Im a newbie myself but always remember to clean as much off as poss. And decent earth as welding is all about a circuit.bad connection wont make a decent weld.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Is the wire juddering because it is hitting the weld pool and then burning back?,if so the wire feed is too fast or the voltage wants turning up for more power,

 

[haigy]

Very true gordon.

I 4t the pictures dont look like they have been cleaned up.

Put a picture of your welder up and im sure i can advise roughly what setting u need

 

[Tilabi]

Hi Guys

A picture of my welder is below. I can also confirm the metal was clean before I welded I cleaned with a flap disk on an angle grinder before I welded and its nice and shiny, the last picture was shiny metal done today , The others were previous ones but I left them outside in the rain

 

[pedrobedro]

Get some 2mm steel you will not get 5mm hot enough to make a weld pool so it sits on top like a caterpillar.

 

[haigy]

Mine is similar to that and i have wire on 6 then depending on what im welding i try min 1 n then if that aint enough try min 2. Then max 1 max 2. Its different on everything you weld but wire speed is the same.

 

[Tilabi]

Thanks for the suggestions guys , Ill have another go if a few days.

Does anyone know if its normal for the motor to make such a noise? Its hard to describe, I said like a car reversing but I've been thinking and its actually more like kind of like a kids electric scooter/car noise if you have ever heard one.

Haighy - Thanks ill try those settings - I have a feeling you could be right about the bad earth - while I was welding earlier the same thought crossed my mind because of the way it was acting and the Spark seemed intermittent, however I was confused because The earth clip was attached to freshly grinded shiny metal I actually even checked to see if the earth cable inside the welder and under the rubber sleeve but its fine - I do have a big welding magnet will that be any better ? or will it be better to attach mole grips to the metal then the earth clip to those?

Pedrobedro - Ill see if I have any thinner metal but at the moment I would just be r
happy if I even managed to get a weld pool which looked like a caterpillar. even if it just sat on top lol.

I have another question. can anyone tell me how much I should open the gas regulator and which settings it should be ?? When I brought this welder it only had empty disposable bottles but I have brought a big hobby gas bottle and the guy sold me dual regulator but I'm not sure of the settings. The guy at the shop told me to use 10cfn which is hardly even open on the regulator is that right ? I can hear it coming from the end of the welding nozzle

 

[haigy]

Whatever im weldin i alway attacb an offcut with few tack welds and attach earth to your fresh steel.

You dont need alot of gas really.

You have got gas wire in it havent u.not flux core.

Flux core is silver
Gws wire is copper

 

[haigy]

Your feeder wheel is set to the wire size your using.there will be 2 grooves.

Usually 0.6 and 0.8 for the wire to sit in and be fed. If thats wrong then itl slip on the wire. Making a louder noise your describing

 

[malcolm]

The guy at the shop told me to use 10cfn which is hardly even open on the regulator is that right ? I can hear it coming from the end of the welding nozzle

Ought to be around 10 litres per minute not cubic feet per hour.

 

[Tilabi]

Hi Guys,

I have not been on the welder for about a week but I had another go at welding today on a bit of 2mm steel I got from the local scrap merchant.

It took me ages to clean the paint factory paint off the metal but it came up well with a flap disk.

My latest attempts are below and I feel like I am getting might be getting somewhere;, the settings were on the highest for my welder; 2 MAX, because anything lower I was struggling. Tell me if you think are they any better

I am also a bit confused as to the wire speed. someone has suggested that the wire speed should be set at about 5- 6, however I can only seem to manage to get a constant spark and that nice frying noise when my welder is set to 1,2 or 3 (see pic) if I go above 3 the weld splitters and splatters , I've tried moving faster and moving the torch further away but it doesn't seem to make any difference. what I am doing wrong?. Once I turn the welder up to 4 it become much harder; to me feels like the wire is either stuttering or the spark is intermittent and its hitting the weld pool.

Finally, the other the day I changed my tip and put a new wire reel in and I notice that the nozzle where I screw in my tip is very short and jagged like its been snapped off in the past. I have now filed it flat but the tip does only screws in a little bit and it very near the holes. I was wondering if you guys think it will be ok or does it need replacing? and does it affect the weld - guess I'm looking for excuses lol. see pic below

Many thanks in advance

 

[pedrobedro]

Wire speed differs from unit to unit unless they are identical and calibrated the same. Don't try to use the same settings as someone else as your style may differ as well with a lower wire speed and slower gun travel plus the tip to metal distance. Find what works for you. Don't block the holes or you will not get gas cover, you could extend the holes a bit but as long as the tip is secure it should be o.k.

 

[christofloffer]

you need a new torch i think. that look like its either been broken off or been cut down. the tip on mine threads right into the head and it looks pretty much the same (except its about 5-8mm longer). it could have been snapped, its amazing how easy it can be to step on things if there is more than one of you around. or it could have been cut, i recently bought a pair of clarke shrouds for my machine and it said they matched but they were 6mm too short and the tip would stick out, if the last guy had cut it down to fit them instead of buying the proper longer shrouds (a mistake i now know to check before buying). as pedrobedro said, make sure those holes dont get blocked too. i would say replace it.

the noise you mentioned is not a huge problem. mine does it too and has done since it was new. it gets louder the faster you go because the motor is working harder. its not deafening but its loud enough to notice, its never been a problem though and even my friends brand new clarke welder does the same.

 

[Cobbler]

You can buy just the swan neck from Weldequip at £9.98 if the rest of the torch is ok

 

[Richard.]

.8 wire is a bit thick for a 90amp limited machine. Step down to .6 and try 80/20 gas . I've not used that machine before so I don't have any good settings for it but by making the two changes above your welding will look awesome.