welding floorpans, welding from underneath creates spatter

[dean0]

Hi,

I bought a mig welder recently from fleabay (Clarke 155T) for £120. I'm using it to repair some big holes in the floor of my car and I've found that while sitting in the car and welding the floor it produces nice welds making a sizzling sound. When I then try to do the welds under the car using the same settings I just get a load of splatter. I tried increasing the wire speed a little and making sure the torch wire was not kinked but the welds are still pretty bad. I'm welding 1.2mm steel using 0.6mm wire and CO2 gas. Any ideas why my welds under the car aren't working out?

Cheers

Dean

 

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Are you using the same earth point when welding in both positions?

 

[malcolm]

I bought a mig welder recently from fleabay (Clarke 155T) for £120.

Damn. I sold my 155T for £50 a couple of months ago with a new torch! Was a bit battered though.

Another possibility is the metal isn't clean enough. Or perhaps the wire liner is past it's best. No matter how straight you try and keep the torch under the car the lead always has more of a bend than normal. Might be worth £20 for a torch service kit (ones with steel wire liners are best). Another idea is being careful with the distance between torch and metal. Should be 1/4 inch. That's more difficult to maintain when upside down.

If everything was spot on with the welder and the prep then increasing the wire feed should enable decent looking welds, though you would notice the spatter more as it's all going down the back of your neck when you're underneath.

 

[shenion]

It will probably be easier with an argon/CO2 mix. CO2-only makes the weld pool very fluid.

A close distance helps. I use a 45 deg angle with the shroud almost touching the metal. That helps to keep the spatter out of the gun.

0.8mm might helps as the wire speed would be less.

 

[migmag]

Is the steel clean????????

 

[dean0]

Cheers for the replies! I thought I'd done well getting that welder for that price . I'm using the same earthing point both top and bottom. Distance from the earthing point doesn't seem to have much effect, I'm always within 2 feet of it. I guess the metal was harder to clean up on the underside.

I'll try getting a new feed wire as its so cheap. I think I might need new bearings in the feed roller too as the wire sometimes pops out of the groove, when I grab the roller I can wobble it up/down and side to side a little.

 

[ballores]

got my clarke 90 for a £5er at the tip works well looks horrid so does the big bottle! i am having the same probs welding upside down wire fizzes rather than crackles will get a better earth and look at the tutorial on the flat no worries.