Changing Mig Wire

[arkydog]

i just thought i would share this with everyone that has a mig welder. I'm sure that you all might know this, but the other day i was changing my mig wire and i usually just use needle nose pliers to guide the wires thru the guides and rollers. getting it into the metal liner thats past the rollers is my hardest part.

usually the wire is bent from the spool just enough to make it hard to insert into the liner. by accident i had the gun off the machine and realized how easy it was to feed the wire into the liner. after 30 years of not removing the gun, i will from now on. so much easier. just thought i wood pass this on.

rob

 

[ericher69]

i just thought i would share this with everyone that has a mig welder. I'm sure that you all might know this, but the other day i was changing my mig wire and i usually just use needle nose pliers to guide the wires thru the guides and rollers. getting it into the metal liner thats past the rollers is my hardest part. usually the wire is bent from the spool just enough to make it hard to insert into the liner. by accident i had the gun off the machine and realized how easy it was to feed the wire into the liner. after 30 years of not removing the gun, i will from now on. so much easier. just thought i wood pass this on. rob

why not just remove the contact tip??

Never have any issues this way!

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

 

[arkydog]

I'm talking about inside the welder at the rollers. i had a easy time inserting the wire into the first guide and between the rollers. when inserting the wire into the liner of the mig gun from the rollers, was the difficult time. found out if you remove the mig gun from the machine and running the wire out the machine, inserting the wire into the liner of the gun, its a lot easier to do than with the gun attached to the machine.

 

[Jim Timber]

Cut the bent end off - problem solved.

Never had an issue with feeding anything through a mig except for 4043 (aluminum) through my 30' Push-Pull gun. Talk about a pain! Gotta have the line stretched out straight or it'll have too much resistance and kink at the feeder before it gets out to the gun. And that's with a Teflon liner.

 

[arkydog]

10 lb spools and 2 lb spools, the wire still has a slight curve, just enough to not be perfectly straight. the wire will possibly bird nest around the spool if you give it much slack. i feed the wire off the spool with a lot of spool tension to the first sleeve guide thru the opened rollers, closed or opened rollers, and trying to feed it to the liner in the gun can be trying. thats where removing the gun and liner outside the machine and advancing the wire is easier to put wire into liner outside the machine than in the machine. more space to work with the slightly curve wire. just saying to help someone else that might have this problem. thank all for looking!!

 

[ovrszd]

My access to MIG welders has been limited to Miller and Hobart brands. With the rollers open it's a simple matter of feeding the wire across the bottom roller and pressing it in alignment with the liner using my fingertip. I never considered removing the gun w/liner. I'll hafta look that possibly over next time I replace a roll. Just never considered it.

 

[lamanated]

my miller is pretty straight forward,, I take the roller off and clean the groove out, I also put the felt and paperclip on the wire to pre clean the wire

 

[arkydog]

i have never considered felt on the wire. ill have to try that. thanks.

 

[/pine]

10 lb spools and 2 lb spools, the wire still has a slight curve, just enough to not be perfectly straight. the wire will possibly bird nest around the spool if you give it much slack. i feed the wire off the spool with a lot of spool tension to the first sleeve guide thru the opened rollers, closed or opened rollers, and trying to feed it to the liner in the gun can be trying. thats where removing the gun and liner outside the machine and advancing the wire is easier to put wire into liner outside the machine than in the machine. more space to work with the slightly curve wire. just saying to help someone else that might have this problem. thank all for looking!!

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

My experience is the same...regardless of how much you cut off there is still a slight curve to the wire and even after it is in the groove across the roller it is tedious getting into the end of the liner...!

 

[Jim Timber]

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

My experience is the same...regardless of how much you cut off there is still a slight curve to the wire and even after it is in the groove across the roller it is tedious getting into the end of the liner...!

Take the tip out of the gun, load up your new spool (keeping tension on it), open drive rolls, feed wire (with clean cut end) into the liner a couple inches, close drive rollers, pull trigger and wait for wire to poke out the end of the gun, put tip back on, cut excess wire, get back to welding.

In 15 years, from 120v hobbyist (junk), to the highest end digital feeders made - this method has never failed me.

 

[/pine]

Take the tip out of the gun, load up your new spool (keeping tension on it), open drive rolls, feed wire (with clean cut end) into the liner a couple inches, close drive rollers, pull trigger and wait for wire to poke out the end of the gun, put tip back on, cut excess wire, get back to welding.

In 15 years, from 120v hobbyist (junk), to the highest end digital feeders made - this method has never failed me.

The only issue I've ever had (is as described by the OP)...I've changed a lot of rolls of wire and the only issue is between the roller and the liner end at the welder...not the torch end...

 

[arkydog]

(((((((Take the tip out of the gun, load up your new spool (keeping tension on it), open drive rolls, feed wire (with clean cut end) ))))))
quote by jim timber


its after the rollers, that getting the wire into the liner (about 3/8 inch of gap between roller and liner) that the wire starts to curve up and hits the outside of liner. that is where the problem sometimes. the larger the diameter wire and and liner, the easier the wire is to grab and guide into the liner.

thanks pine i see you have same problem. hope this helps!!!!

 

[gwstang]

My mig has a knob inside that is a tension adjuster for the wire. I just loosen that when feeding new wire and it helps a lot. Then reset it when finished.

 

[ovrszd]

I've never saw a welder that the top roller didnt unlatch and flip up out of the way??

 

[Jim Timber]

I've never saw a welder that the top roller didnt unlatch and flip up out of the way??

Yup!

Pull as much lead as you want to thread it into the liner, then lay it down in the roller groove(s) and lock it in, and then get the slack taken up. Nothing to it!

 

[/pine]

It could be that those that use large spools don't experience the issue...
...But it never fails on either of my two wire welders...because of the natural coil of the wire/spool...after the wire is locked down in the groove it is never perfectly lined up with the center of the liner...even in the short distance it still has a slight curve...

 

[Big Barn]

It could be that those that use large spools don't experience the issue...
...But it never fails on either of my two wire welders...because of the natural coil of the wire/spool...after the wire is locked down in the groove it is never perfectly lined up with the center of the liner...even in the short distance it still has a slight curve...

Maybe try using needle nose pliers to feed the wire into the liner BEFORE you lock the drive rollers down.?.
Terry

 

[ovrszd]

Maybe try using needle nose pliers to feed the wire into the liner BEFORE you lock the drive rollers down.?.
Terry

Yeah, I always have it threaded into the liner before latching the rollers.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Be mindfull of the feeder mechansm. A friend is missing several fingertips after inadvertently squeezing the trigger while his fingers messed with the wire in a commercial, multi roller feeder.

 

[ovrszd]

Be mindfull of the feeder mechansm. A friend is missing several fingertips after inadvertently squeezing the trigger while his fingers messed with the wire in a commercial, multi roller feeder.

Yes, my Miller which has both rollers powered would certainly try to chew your fingers. That's why I never feed the wire between the rollers with the top roller latched in place. I can't think of any reason I'd ever try that. I unlatch the top roller, use my finger tip to feed the wire into the liner, latch the roller down, pull the trigger.