Wierd Welder

[MK1_Oz]

[Mark Cogan]

[MK1_Oz]

Must be the welder. Same power socket, same power and feed settings.

Will try turning the gas down but as said before I tried it with the gas off and it was not better. I do not want to have to pay the welder bloke to come out again (this is a long term borrowed welder - almost could have gone out and bought my own by now ) but maybe I wil have too.

The wire spool is now getting low. Could that make a difference? Cannot see how.

I have noticed it is spitting weld all over the place too (I have multiple burns now)....never done that before!!!

[Mark Cogan]

[MK1_Oz]

Cheers Mark. It is an old machine. I have tried adjusting the wire up and down. Too high and yes it splatters. Too low and it burns back. Somewhere in the middle and I am not getting enough penetration on my plug welds. Pretty much tried everything. Have considered getting a new wire spool but seeing as one day it was ok and the next a dud me thinks it is a fault in the machine.....

I just rang the welder mechanic I have used before and he thinks it is either dirty gas (seeing as I have just put a fresh bottle on) or the welder has blown a diode. To test the gas theory I tried wleding without gas. Same deal.

Are there any of the Adelaide forum members who have experience fixing welders?? My usual bloke is very expensive.......

[Mik Kay]

Marks advice on the wire speed is spot on. A lot of people don't realise how important the wire speed is to a good looking and most importantly the strength of the weld. At work i alter the wire speed by the smallest margins possible to get it right.
A couple of things i will add to the check list,
how old is the liner and does the wire slip through the tip easy if not change both.
Dirty gas wont be the problem. This problem is very rare now days 20 years ago is a different case.
Are you sure the last bottle was Argosheild light and not Argosheild universal as there would be a big difference in all power settings for light.
Have you checked to see that the gas solenoid is working properly. You mention that the welds are the same with gas on or off.
Do all the power switches on the welder click freely. If they are hard to turn and dont make good contact power issues are inevitable. Some times it only takes one click and the switch is stuffed.
A small bit of advice when you go to buy wire is if you mainly use Argosheild light when welding look for .6 or .8 wire. Much more suited for that type of gas. I use .6

Hope it helps

Mik

[MK1_Oz]

Cheers Mik. I use 0.6mm and the last bottle was def argoshield light. This is an old welder (not sure exactly how old but 5+ at least). Speaking to the repair agent he was pretty sure that it was a diode on the board. Just dropped it off to them........usual story...."bring it straight in mate and I will look straight away". 30min drive and "na will look at it in the morning". No wonder my flamming project is going so slow

As for solinoids, they were taken out and cleaned as part of the last repairs.......so far on a welder I have borrowed from a workmate I have spent the equivalent of 1/2 of a new one!!!!!! Still, I could equally have used his welder for a year for free, luck of the draw.

Thanks for all your inputs. I'm off to kick the cat

[joe84]

on the tig at work we were having problems with crap welds trying to change everything .. ended up staying that way till the gas ran out and changed to another bottle ... and it was spot on again !! same gas too

[MK1_Oz]

well if it comes back from the repair bloke tomorrow and is still rubbish I will take the bottle back and complain......

[gen mk 1rs2000]

good to see you kicking the cat , i find it always helps
just another little problem i have found after humid wet weather
the wire spool can get rusty then contaminate the inner sheild
i found you have to replace the usualy nylon type tube inner
its a pain to change but its a possability ,
ive had it happen on 2 welders over the years

[MK1_Oz]

ok. wire looks nice and shiney but I will add it to the list of possibilities.

[ulsterman]

I had the same type of problem today. Unrelated issue to yours but I was using Lincoln 0.6 wire and I ran out. Got a new spool of 0.6mm called Boss and the machine hated it. Farted and splattered everywhere and I ended up taking it back and got the Licoln wire again and it ran fine. If your wire has been running okay also stick to what you know works. Just a little extra thing worth noting.

[MK1_Oz]

Changed the wire to a fresh spool
Changed contact tip
Cleaned all earths to shiney metal
tried gas on/off, up/down
kicked cat (twice)

Took it for a $200(!!!!!!!!!!) service and clean - made no bloody difference!!

OK, will try to get the gas bottled changed tomorrow as it MUST be the gas....ahhhhhhhhhhhh

[gen mk 1rs2000]

try wearing steel cap boots
when kicking the cat

[MK1_Oz]

I was going to kick the dog too but he is in his last days of life so thought it might be morally unjust. Here pussy pussy pussy.......

[Mik Kay]

Just out interest i rung my gas rep today and asked about this issue. I have dealt with this guy for a long time and as it happens he has had 2 bottles returned in the last month with the same complaint. "I havn't had crook bottles returned in years and now 2 in a month". They were only straight argon thou and supplied by Linde/Boc. BOSS brand wire is cheap Chinese rubbish dont use it. Its composition has high levels of aluminium and basic muck iron which is very bad for good penetration and weld strength.


Mik

[ulsterman]

Thanks mate, yes I ran the lincoln wire again and it was fine. I know not to get that crap BOSS again.

[MK1_Oz]

Rang BOC today and she confirmed that Argoshield Light is the correct gas to use (I have only used this type). She also said that they would swap it over no worries so having wasted my money at the welder bloke I hope it fixes the issue. Very interesting what Mik wrote!

[gen mk 1rs2000]

if BOC suplied you with a crook bottle of gas ??
the least they could do is give you a
a free bottle of "happy gas"
it might save you from being reported
to the R.S.P.C.A

[MK1_Oz]

The kat and I have reconciled. She admits that she is a snob and treats me like a slave and I admitted that giving her a love tap up the bum is not a nice thing to do........ She forgets who pours out her food though

Gas came from a BOC gas agent.