Wire speed intermittently pausing....

[DrRob]

Clarke 151TE:

All was fine until:
1) had to change swan neck (welded tip!) and
2) changed up from mini to 5kg wire roll.

It now pauses every few seconds....tried changing tension on spool and on the wire roller but to no avail...

Any ideas?

I thought perhaps change back to mini roll as the 5Kg feels "too much" for the motor..?????

It also producing a lot of black around welds now too....

Thanks for any pointers if you've experienced the same....

Rob

 

[Lawnmowerboy]

did you change the wire liner/ swan neck liner when you stripped the torch

 

[DrRob]

Nope, just changed the swan neck that is held in the gas valve block (?) by a grub screw...

 

[cumbriasteve]

Sometimes the wire is wound onto the spools badly, especially on the cheaper brands.

Have you tried cutting a few metres off the spool and hand feed it through the liner and torch to feel for tightness.

If by 'black' around the welds you mean a sooty deposit, this is usually a sign of gas problems.

 

[DrRob]

Sometimes the wire is wound onto the spools badly, especially on the cheaper brands.

Have you tried cutting a few metres off the spool and hand feed it through the liner and torch to feel for tightness.

If by 'black' around the welds you mean a sooty deposit, this is usually a sign of gas problems.

It's Clarke wire.........
Will try the hand feed test....
yes, black around welds. Not changed anything to do with gas unless I distrubed something when changing the swan neck.........big bottle gas..

 

[cumbriasteve]

Pretty sure I have seen a thread regarding the Clarke wire, was highlighting the fact it is Chinese cheapo stuff.

You may have disturbed dirt in the liner but I think the fact it happens every couple of seconds would lead me to suspect the problem is at the spool end.

 

[DrRob]

Going to try a smaller reel tomorrow and see if that helps...

 

[mike 109444]

DrRob why not try winding some of the 5kg wire onto the smaller (empty?) spool. Just be caerful you don't let go of the end without securing it in the hole in side of spool cos it will unspool it's self!! Have you put the nozel next to your ear to listen for gas coming out when trigger is pressed (Don't point it AT your ear, don't want wire in ear)

 

[Wozzaaah]

Sounds like crap wire but out of interest This is the bit Lawnmowerboy means, you did refit it didn't you?

 

[DrRob]

Sounds like crap wire but out of interest This is the bit Lawnmowerboy means, you did refit it didn't you?

Yep, did re-fit but going to get a new one later today......

 

[DrRob]

DrRob why not try winding some of the 5kg wire onto the smaller (empty?) spool. Just be caerful you don't let go of the end without securing it in the hole in side of spool cos it will unspool it's self!! Have you put the nozel next to your ear to listen for gas coming out when trigger is pressed (Don't point it AT your ear, don't want wire in ear)

Good idea but can't be ar*ed with messing about - going to get a mini reel...
and a new wire liner and swan neck liner....
Yes, gas is defo coming out..

 

[DrRob]

The other thing I noticed was a small brass spring length came out of the swan neck nozzle (no tip fitted) when I ran the new wire through....Could this be some vital part of the gas valve that has broken and been pushed through........?
Thanks to all for your pointer....i'm a biologist not a pro welder

 

[Robotstar5]

The other thing I noticed was a small brass spring length came out of the swan neck nozzle (no tip fitted) when I ran the new wire through....Could this be some vital part of the gas valve that has broken and been pushed through........?

That sounds like the neck liner, did you refit it?

 

[Wozzaaah]

Sounds like crap wire but out of interest This is the bit Lawnmowerboy means, you did refit it didn't you?

Yep, did re-fit but going to get a new one later today......

That sounds like the neck liner, did you refit it?

Old age creeping in?

 

[Robotstar5]

Old age creeping in?

Well that, and not clicking the link

 

[DrRob]

Update:
New liner and swan neck liner fitted and new reel of wire (small roll)....still was doing the intermittent pausing and then I put some hand pressure on the wire feed clamp and BINGO....it stopped!
I was obviously not tightening the clamp properly!!!!!!!!

At least now I know how to strip torch, change wire, change wire liner, change swan neck, change swan neck liner, etc etc....

 

[shenion]

Check the roller, it may have dirt on it causing it to slip.

On mine I had similar issues. Part of the problem was the roller was a bit offset so the tensioner had to move up and down. The pivot was real tight. I clean up the hole for the pivot so it moved easily and then no more problems.

 

[DrRob]

Ta.
Cleaned everything that I moved / stripped.
Pivot move fine.
User error I reckon
Rob