Sip Top Mig 140 Turbo Help Please?

[tellyman]

I bought one of these about a year ago and have only used it a couple of times. I am running it on pub co2 gas and can not get it to weld right at all it is very inconsistant and poor quality. All it seems to do is spit and spatter everywhere. If you set the welder on a scrap piece of steel it will weld ok for a bit then you move to weld something else it is as if the wire speed has changed
Any help would be great.
Before i launch it

 

[Wozzaaah]

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the wonderful world of SIP welders . If you do a forum search for SIP you'll find many others with similar problems, though yours sounds a bit more severe even though it's had very little use. Low-end SIPs suffer from a poor wire-feed system which can be very troublesome. Using pure CO2 doesn't help either, argon/CO2 mix is much better and really reduces spatter. What thickness steel are you welding and what power setting and wire speed setting are you using?

 

[shenion]

If the wire has any corrosion, it will feed poorly (and clog up the liner.)

If it has a plastic liner, it may be worn.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Good point, if the machine's a year old but has had little use then it's probably the same wire that's been in it from new. Like Shenion says, ANY rust, no matter how slight will cause problems.

 

[tellyman]

No rust on wire and the welder is on its third reel of small wire
It seems to do this whatever thickness you are welding from 0.6 to 3mm.
It is as if the wire speed allters itself

 

[Wozzaaah]

Ah! now you're talking, there was a similar thread not so long back. Do a search for 'sip wire feed' and I'm sure you'll find it.

 

[ian of fev]

i had an old sip machine years ago had the same probs changed the wire liner tip new wire swan neck helped a bit
but never seemed to work right (think its just the sip thing)

 

[malcolm]

Post some pics of some random welds for us to look at tellyman. Could be something as daft as the gas regulator not working properly.

 

[tellyman]

The welder has got a removable euro torch and a steel liner. Is it any good or should i look for another welder?

 

[weldequip]

Replacing the wire liner certainly won't do any harm... they are only around £5-6 & should be replaced fairly regularly, but I'm afraid the main problems are likely to be with the poor SIP wire feed assembly/electronics, so it will never be 100% Changing to Argon/CO2 gas will also improve things
weldequip

 

[tellyman]

have seen a 2nd hand cebora panther 160 for sale are these better machines?

 

[weldequip]

The wire feed assembly on those is not the best & they are over priced new in my opinion, but a better machine yes... what kind of money?
weldequip

 

[tellyman]

It on e-bay at the moment how much do u reckon its worth? Also my topmig has the wire feed on the top of the machine not on the side does this make a difference?

 

[weldequip]

Want's a good clean & you are relying on the seller's word but should be OK yes. You will notice a difference in performance but not massive, so I wouldn't be giving much more than £200 for it (ignore the £500 paid new, it's what it's worth used!).
SIP make a noise about the horizontal wire spool mount giving "improved wire feed" (and then stick that wire feed on!) but it doesn't make any real difference... look at all the major industry players, they all use vertical mount wire feed.
weldequip