Mig Question

[caz41]

Here's the problem that I've been having. When I have been welding, I have been having problems with my weld splattering all over, and it does not seem to have a good steady arc. The material that I am welding is clean, I have a Miller 135, and am running stargon @ 20cfm. What is causing this??? Help please???

[Robinson Welding]

HOws it going. I just did some reseach on stargon which I believed to be a stainless steel shielding gas ,but it appears it can be used on mild steel. Just for clarification, what type/ size wire, base metal thickness, and machine settings are we talking about? With the info provided I can't really see a glaring cause of the problem. It's always good to start with the basics. You may be having a feed problem, check your contact tip, make sure your drive rolers are clean, and try blowing the cable liner out with compresed air as described in your owners manual. All this is just basic mantence and should be done time to time anyways. Hope this works for you!

[caz41]

I am using .30 wire, mostly welding 1/8 thickness or thinner. I don't seem to have as many problems when I am welding the thicker metal and have the voltage turned up, but when I get to the thinner metal, it seems to do it more. Then when I turn up the voltage too much I will burn through the metal. Hope this helps.

[Robinson Welding]

I'm kinda stumped on this one. I have not ever used stargon on anything but stainless, but different shielding gas can effect how the machine has to be set. This could mean the chart on the machine is not really accurate as it probably is for co2 or c25 (75% argon/ 25% CO2). It can be a fine balancing act getting a MIG set. As far as the unstable arc, is the wire hitting the work as this is low voltage or is it balling back to the contact tip as this is too much voltage?

[Robin Hood]

It could be the quailty of the wire, and how long It's been sitting....

[caz41]

The wire is only about 2 months old so it has not been sitting more than a few days at a time, so that is probably not the the problem.

R.W. the wire is hitting the metel. I guess my question is do I need to fine tune the voltage/wire speed setting to get the perfect combo, or was it something else like my shielding gas setting. I guess you may have answered that already, but if anyone has anything else, feel free to jump in, I'm still a little green and always welcome feedback. Thanx.

[paul guthrie jr]

i'm curious too! i wouldn't adj. voltage i would adj. wire speed. how much gas in bottle? dirty gas? is there a constant flow of gas when welding?I dunno;new to this advice!!LOL

[Robin Hood]

Well there you are Mr Paul....Big Mikes in the Hooooooouse .....
I would start with changing the gas to start, If choose not to try that, start with turning the wire speed down. Gas presure should be around 30 on the flowmeter. The wrong gas can effect how hot or cold the puddle is too. let us know how it works out.

[Weldengineer]

The gas you are using probabbly has some helium in it if it does this will change your setings alot. In my experance the arc tend to act hotter and with my experiance Argon with helium will take about 100 ipm more than 75 25. I hope this helps.

[caz41]

stargon does not have helium, it is a mix of argon, co2, and nitrogen. So the arc may be hotter than it would be with straight argon???

[Robin Hood]

That is a good mix for 3/4" plate and up, with .045 wire. But to do 1/8" you need a mix of 25% carbon Dioxide 75% Argon and a little smaller wire. I hope this Helps.

[Weldengineer]

It all depends on the mode of transfer you want. Short cuircut transfer will leave spatter. Small spater at that a good starting point is 18v 220ipm with about 25-30 cfh. I take it that you found the settings for globular transfer. So there are only two modes left spray and pulse. I take it your welder can not pulse. The spray transfer I would use on enything ove 3/8 that can be welded in the flat position. Try about 26v and 500ipm that will get you close. the wire will be sharp at the end wile you are welding and it will make a loud hissing nose. good luck. I would switch to 75-24.

[caz41]

Robin, I'm using .030 wire right now, do you think that I should go with smaller wire?

[Robin Hood]

No, The wire size is fine for 1/8" and Thinner. The mix you are running is very hot. You need to be running 75/25. Give it a shot....you will have a lot more control of the puddle, and less splatter. I hope this helps.