Newbie wire problems....

[M8KWR]

Hi all,

I have a clarke 160, which i brought from ebay.

The weekend a friend came round to show me how to use it so i was not fighting in the dark, but we had wire feed problems, so yesterday i had a service kit, and then tried to fit it last night.

All went well, or so i thought until the wire stopped coming through. The wire was not been pushed up the torch lead. The problem was inside by the wire feeder, it had kinked.

So i sorted that out, and tried again.

To cut a long story short, I think the welder i brought was missing bits, and the bits i had in the service kit, i guessed to where they should go, and some bits i had not got a clue. The part in question was a small wire thing, that was slightly larger the one end, and i assumed this went into the swan neck.

But due to more wire problems, i moved where i put this and now it is broken.....

I took the swan neck off and how i left my welder late last night was with the wire just popping out from the brass square thing in the handle, and not going any further.

The wheel that feeds the wire, stamped on mine (which i can see) is 0.8 does this mean that i am using the 0.6mm side or not?? That may be a problem i thought about when i was trying to sleep.

Any help, comments, insults, would be welcome. I just want to learn to weld

Thanks

 

[wyn]

I'm pretty sure that if the drive wheel says 0.8 on the side you can see, then that is the groove that the wire is running through. (the 0.6 groove will be nearest to you,the 0.8 furthest away)

Yes you will be using the 0.8 groove.

 

[malcolm]

Here are some instructions for installing a torch service kit and wire liner (they are for a SIP but the torch will be similar enough that you'll know what goes where). Ought to be possible to pick up a swan neck liner by itself.

One thought is the swan neck liners can sometimes be supplied a little long. If you absolutely can't get the tip on then you might try shortening it until the liner rests neatly into the depression in the back of the tip.

Make sure the end of the wire is positioned as close to the rollers as possible (that stops it from kinking).

There should be 2 groves in the wire roller, a big one and a small one. The 0.6mm is the smaller one That's how I figure it out as the markings are confusing. Normally it will be the one closest to the edge marked 0.6.

 

[M8KWR]

Many thanks, a new swan neck liner it is then.... from looking at the installation guide, that is the only position i never put it in. I put it on the top side of the brass square thing.

But even so the liner never reached to the tip, would this be a problem? As from what i have read, if you are feeding wire through you it is recommended to do so with the tip off.

 

[malcolm]

The liner should reach the tip. With the tip removed the liner tends to sit near the end of the swan neck, and the tip compresses it a little so the liner sits inside the back of the tip once it's been screwed on. If there is a gap you could have the wire buckling inside the torch. If yours was too short it was probably the wrong one.

 

[clevinski]

I have a Clarke 180EN, and in mine the drive roller labeling is as Wyn describes. When you can see "0.8", the wire is in the 0.8 mm groove, but that groove is farthest away from the side of the roller labeled "0.8".

 

[SType Mark]

Topmig Turbo 150 and steel wire liner

I have been battling with my Topmig Turbo 150 i bought new several years ago but its use is in increasing demand nowadays and its not producing the goods. Welds are sporadic and seem to be at odds with wire feed. Seems that when the arc strikes the current is taken away from the wire feed motor so the arc stops etc. and so a stop-start situation starts. The original feed pinch-wheel roller was badly eccentric around its square drive so I bought a new one. A little better but still not what I would call CONcentric. I have shoved a socket behind the wire feed posts to maintain pressure on the feed rollers and wire alignment with the liner and I think that has cured the feed slipping problem but I am still very far away from achieving the 'sweet-spot' on most jobs.

Question #1: Is there a steel liner available for the Topmig 150 and, if so, is it the same as the one Malcolm so ably fitted to his Migmate under?

Q#2: Is it likely to make any real difference to the wire feed problems brought on by what i think is a too small motor?

Q#3: Is there an alternative wire feed motor on the market which will upgrade the Topmig to something approaching a good machine?

Q#4: Am i wasting my time with the Topmig with its slightly eccentric feed wheels, poor liner lifespan, (using rust-free wire), and general tediousness and should I give up and go and buy something which is capable of actually doing what it says on the tin?

Please help as there is a sad Jaguar in my garage with lots of new expensive panels waiting to be welded but I don't have the confidence in this machine to progress right now!

Thanks guys!