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Chris Stevens
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The reel I have has been damaged in transit, and is already starting to unravel. If I fitted it to my machine I am 100% certain the wire would get pulled down the side, and jam the wire feed mech.
- Thread starter roofman
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Chris Stevens
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I will post a pic of damaged reel tomorrow, and maybe even try it on the Kemppi and see if it feeds smoothly or not.
Thats one of the issues. The reels get damaged but so the plastic ones. Its often the couriers that damage them. You find that the big users taking pallet loads dont get many damaged unless they drop them themselves
Also some wire feeders have small centres and they can fall off because the Inserts are cheap and nasty
Also some wire feeders have small centres and they can fall off because the Inserts are cheap and nasty
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Chris Stevens
Guest
Been buying MIG wire online for about 5 years now, all plastic reels and not one damaged. First steel cage wire, and its damaged and useless...............
Its handling........buy the odd one and they dont stand much abuse, buy a pallet and they are fine. Its a bit of an issue but the other side is the recycling. Its a compromise and the more the plastic is outlawed the more of an issue it will become.
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Chris Stevens
Guest
Trouble is not many members of this forum are buying Mig wire by the pallet, so the OPs warning about wire spools seems very helpful to me. Certainly wouldnt have found the ESAB wire I have on a metal spool wasnt usable without opening it first.
Thats true but I assume their suppliers are. It needs highlighting to them that handling is important. Its a strong pack but throwing it about is likely to damage it.
The manufacturer has delivered it in good condition, so the next in line has to take responsibility moving it along. They dont they just send it back or wont pay.
I had one Distributor who claimed a lorry load of 250 kg drums were faulty. When I saw them they had obviously been mishandled and some had been dropped. If these people cant handle the products correctly they should not be selling them. The problem is its such a cut throat market that there is always an alternative.
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Chris Stevens
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Thing is here, that plastic spool Mig wire is a lot less likely to sustain damage than steel spool wire, so seems to me the OPs suggestion that its a good idea to avoid steel spools is very sensible, as damage is much more likely than plastic spool...................
Its not really. The plastic ones also get damaged. You often see the flange snapped away from the centre. I cant remember the numbers but Im fairly certain the reject rate was similar for both types of spool. Even the transit damage has a similar rate. We started putting minimum order levels on plastic spools because then they had to be palletised.
There are also different types of plastic, some being stronger than others. Some of the cheap plastic spools break very easily.
As I said before you are talking 3 spools and that Esab plant is probably making 7000 or 8000 a day. There will be the odd few that dont turn out right.
There are also different types of plastic, some being stronger than others. Some of the cheap plastic spools break very easily.
As I said before you are talking 3 spools and that Esab plant is probably making 7000 or 8000 a day. There will be the odd few that dont turn out right.
Jim Davey
R H Davey Welding Supplies Ltd
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I've had a few issues with wire baskets, but no more than I get with plastic. The issue seems to be that if the edge of the wire basket gets dented slightly it spreads away at the side creating a gap for wire to drop into and jam. Plastic that doesn't get hit hard enough to actually break goes back to exactly the same shape as it was before, even if it breaks a portion off the edge its often still useable, but virtually any damage to the side of a wire basket causes a feed problem at some point. In the main most of our spools going out the door are on plastic drums though and we handle it very carefully se we don't want returns on a low margin item.
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Chris Stevens
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Exactly the problem, and not something I have ever experienced with plastic spools over more than 20 years of Mig welding. First and only wire spool I have tried is not usable..................
Jim Davey
R H Davey Welding Supplies Ltd
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Bad luck I guess, both work perfectly if handled carefully, its just the metal spools seem a bit more prone to this type of issue. We used to get fun and games with spools shorting out on casings of welders in the past too but most manufacturers seem to allow for this in the design of their sets these days with a bit more clearance around the spool.
We used to get shorting more with the 18kg spools on the wire feeders where the spool is either flat or at a steep angle (why do they do that?)
Id stick to plastic if I were you
roofman
Purveyor of fine English buckets and mops
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I was,nt going to mention this little extra but seeing as the thread is rolling then i will...2 of the reel legs or spokes had come apart from its spot welded postion on the cage.But no sign of it being dropped or handled wrong so must of been a friday afternoon reel. Anyway getting another 15KG and its plastic so roofman can become happy again
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Chris Stevens
Guest
Replacement reel of ESAB wire arrived today.Wire cage badly distorted, and one of the welds broken. I think its a very good idea to avoid Mig wire on steel spools if at all possible........................
roofman
Purveyor of fine English buckets and mops
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yes 