Newbie Mig question

[migsta]

Hi all great board!!
Mig question....
With my new 210 experimenting sometimes I got
a ball on the end of the wire after stopping the bead.
Got the settings off the chart and it's not happening all
the time. Mild steel tube 14Guage to 1/8" plate.
0.30 wire C25 gas set to 25-30.
Thanks.

[Mike W]

Hi and welcome. I also sometimes get a little ball. Sometimes I cut it off and sometimes I don't.

I was always taught to cut it off.

It seems to happen to me when I'm running too much stick out.

Something to watch.

[Dan]

A small ball on the end of the wire is not uncommon. It is a very good practice to remove this ball before starting your next weld. leaving the ball can lead to poor arc starts.

[migsta]

Thanks for the ideas. I always cut it off I noticed the difficulty
starting the new bead with it. Sometimes the ball is rather large.
Large enough that falls off after I relesed the trigger.
Could that be still some settings, fine tune?

I keep a pair of cutters on both sides of the table in a short piece of 2" pipe I welded to the legs. This eliminates the need of having to walk back around to the other side whenyou will forget to take it with you

Here is a picture of it

[Franz]

You're getting overly concerned about a common event, and trying to eliminate it by tuning the machine will just give you a different set of problems. The object of the game is to make good welds, and since you're not running a robotic process, the glob diesn't constitute a problem. If it gives you problems starting, snip it off.

[Bolt]

Is it so hard to burn through it?

I rarely remove it, if I'm doing some pricise tacking, or something like that, but I generaly remove it by sticking it out a bit and zapping the side of the wire on the vise or some junk lying around on the work bench.

[1911Man]

migsta, get yourself a pair of mig pliers. They come in handy for snipping wire, cleaning the nozzle as well as removing the nozzle and contact tip. Store per Scott S for convenience.

bolt
that is exactly what i do.

[Scott V]

If those fancy Miller machines had a burnback control you probably could get rid of the ball.Even my girlfriends esab 210 has that.Some machines do a pretty good job with leaving a sharper point.The 300 powermig seems really good,and so are most of the esabs I own,except the 160 mutimaster.I just use the snips,something I am not used to.

Actually, my Miller doesn't do it, my HH175 does.

[Mike W]

The ball doesn't penetrate paint as well as a sharp end does.

[hankj]

Scott S,

Like the nice, clean work area!

Migsta,

I think franz hit it square - it ain't no big deal. Sometimes I get one, sometimes not. I think it's realated to how you stop the pass. If you get off the trigger clean before you lift the gun, it does'nt seem to ball. That is, essentially, too musch stikout, like Arron said.

Be well.

hankj

[migsta]

Thanks guys. I'll cut it and find some other thing
to worry about...

[INTP]

I have noticed that doing all the things that you should be doing anyway help prevent this from occurring. In particular, a well-prepared (clean) weld area and avoiding excessive stickout seem to help. When I notice the ball, it's usually because the stickout has gotten too long, and I therefore have to cut the wire anyway before the next start.

FWIW, I have a very inexpensive set of MIG pliers (HF) and they work fine.

[LordLimbo]

A large ball on the end means your settings have you in globular transfer mode. This normally occurs at 22 to 25 volts. If you have the capability boost your voltate and wfs to attain spray mode point will form on end of wire or drop down to a lower short circuit mode usually between 16 volts and 21 volts much smaller ball forms on wire and is usually easy to strike arc. These volts will of course depend on your gas straight co2 will require volts be upped in the ranges. The ranges I have given are for argon with 20% to 15% co2