feed rollers worn? If not, then probably problem with the gun or wire feed liner. Something that isn't a problem feeding solid wire but shows up with the weaker dualshield.

 

They did not have the correct rollers, but that doesn't explain the inability to burn the wire. This stuff hit the plate, bent into a curl, and a second later, made contact. It'd get red hot as more wire was feeding, and melt off in a little curl. The gun was a Weldmark, I believe to have been the cheapest gun the secretary could find on the internet. The tip kept falling out, I'd say something is missing. I did wonder if contact is properly being made at the tip.

 

Get the right rollers and a decent gun and it will work flawless. Make sure roller alignment is correct as well.

 

You know the routine. Call Diana.
M-25 15 foot.If its a perma flux rig get the teflon liner. Flimsyazz garbage will slide right through with little to no roller tension( half of the problem I'm sure). Hard wire guys always tighten too much for flux core crap...........and aluminum.

 

Are you using the toothed rollers and backing off the tension? Always helps to have a new clean liner. Any time lube has been used there is a good chance that lube gummed up and is creating drag and thus birdnesting. I gave up on lube a long time ago and have no problems.

Dual shield. Is that DCEN or DCEP? Why not just use metal-core and c25 gas?

 

As I recall the 252 has run-in adjustment. Could that be fuxxed up?

 

I'm an electrician, just as you are Willie.

Troubleshooting should always be done with a solid baseline to work from. I always make sure the basics are in proper working order before I start making assumptions that they can't be part of the problem.

I'd throw the proper rollers and a new tip at it and go from there.

 

Could it be that the wires that wrap around the cable near where it inserts into the machine are broken? If they used the gun to pull the machine around it can happen. I made that mistake years ago on my first welder and had to replace the whole cable assembly. The gun would feed wire and arc a bit but not weld.

 

Willie why not temporarily swap one of your guns onto that machine and see if it solves the problem?

 

Oh and what is the ground situation? Is the work lead on their machine OK? Could always be a ground issue.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I took it upon myself to figure it out. I took the gun, wire, rollers, guide, and weldor from mine. It works great! Louie; I did find the very high end ground clamp has lost much of it's spring, it needed a little nurturing. I'd guess it comes down to rough handling, and cheap replacement consumables. They did have the wrong rollers, a cheap Weldmark gun, a plastic wire guide big enough for 1/16 wire running .035 wire. The contact tip falls out, I haven't figured that detail yet. It won't conduct well if it falls out. The liner has no obvious issues, but might be full of dirt. And, Radnor wire may, or may not be good.

I have long said these people can break cannon balls.

Dual Shield is fun to run!

Willie

 

Dual Shield is fun...I may have to swap guns this week and find something to weld.

 

Maybe they need to buy a new one so you can take that one off their hands

 

Willie, my 252 was giving me feeding fits. It would feed and weld fine then the next weld it would sputter and burn back. I tried different guns, different brands of wire, different sizes of wire, different size spools.....same thing.
One day I had the lid up and was directly over the drive rolls looking down and noticed the outlet guide(nipple on the back end of the gun) was not lined up with the drive rolls. I made that simple adjustment and the problem disappeared.
Adjustment screw is in the center of the drive roll carrier.

 

My MM252 is notorious for bird nesting .023. I manage with ultra light pressure on the rollers, alignment, and a slightly longer stick out than usually recommended. I do have a dedicated 100 amp, short gun for the .023"

I can't say one specific problem with the customer's gun.

A: It is the cheapest gun the secretary was able to find.
B: It gets mistreated in the worst ways. I don't think it has ever been used that it wasn't run over by a forklift.
C: Little pieces get lost.
D: Parts get assembled wrong order, cross threaded, backward. I have no resource for Weldmark info, but I'm confident they have some provision to retain the contact tip.

I did visually inspect the alignment, and found it OK, except for the plastic wire guide that probably left Miller in 2007. It was worn out one side to the extent I believe sometimes the wire didn't pass through the grooves in the rollers.

 

Friend of mine works for a large manufacturing company. They had guys welding contact tips in because they couldn’t figure out how they locked in place.

 

threads like this makes me glad of Binzel being the dominant brand of guns/torches around here. Good design, screw in contact tips, friction fit gas shrouds, good quality materials, etc. And excellent value for money.

 

The stock gun on mine held up well from 2010 to last year. I tried Dual Shield for the first time, it runs HOT! I melted the stock gun first thing. I rebuilt the M25 and use it for hard wire. I bought a Bernard 400 amp gun for .045 Dual Shield.

I have three guns, plus a spool gun, All have a good tip retainer system. I bet Weldmark had one too. Something has suffered the curse of this facility.

 

The factory gun on my GENUINE MILLER MM-200 is still original. I still have some replacement gun parts from when I bought the machine in 1981. That gun does seem to get heavier and more cumbersome as it ages.

It probably lasted so long cause it was never subjected to GirlyGas.
Sure ate a bunch of tips in the process of running a couple thousand pounds of steel wire and a liner or 3 as well.

Miller sure built good machines before ITW came along.