Lincoln Spool Gun

[RPW]

Ok, I'll give the amperage a shot. Basically it is working on the prinicple of resistance. The longer the wire is from the end (stick out) creates more resistance is between the tip and the work. It doesn't seem like it should be that drastic but a welding currents it's enough. So the longer the stick out the lower the amperage delivered to the weld pool. Of course you have to balance this with the distance from the work and that your gas mix will have to be adjusted. In most cases with the smaller welders you want your wire to stick out from the tip about 1/4 to 1/2 in.

I hope this is accurate and if not then I hope someone can explain it better.

 

[crazyal]

I recently bought a spool gun for my Lincoln Power mig 255 at about $1200.00. I only got a couple of hours to play with it before I had to pay attention to other things and messed up the first job badly. You've now given me hope that I've not wasted the money. I expect to find the time to try it again this winter. THANKS

I wish there was a $200 spool gun option for the 255. For $1200 I just don't weld enough Aluminum. I have had luck with just making sure the cable has no tight bends to it and I set the wire feed delay long enough after welding so the wire doesn't stick to the tip.

 

[not2old]

I wish there was a $200 spool gun option for the 255. For $1200 I just don't weld enough Aluminum. I have had luck with just making sure the cable has no tight bends to it and I set the wire feed delay long enough after welding so the wire doesn't stick to the tip.

I'm nearing retirement and have always wanted one so I bought it while it's still tax deductible as I used it for work. Gotta love it when the government subsidizes about 45% of the costs. Yes, we pay that much tax here.

 

[DIXIEDOG]

Can you explain this a little more in depth to us novices ?
.

The easiest way to understand the wire speed / amperage correlation is

The welder is trying to maintain a certain length of stickout, as you increase wire speed you welder needs to use more power to maintain that length of wire stick out so it increases amperage to maintain that length.

Voltage settings on your welder also play a role as you need enough power available to run a given wire speed but that's an easy way to think of it. The wire speed is what you will use to make minor adjustments to your amperage. More wire speed = more amps


Also when you weld the aluminum make sure you are using a push motion rather than trying to pull the weld.

 

[kennyd]

Can I also throw this out there I distinctly remember in college a I spelled "aluminum" for a test in statics & strength of materials class and the Proffesor said it was wrong it should be spelled "aluminium" , but one of my spell checkers says it is wrong the other says its right this is making me nuts. Thanks for letting me rant.

Just write AL :laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[rScotty]

The easiest way to understand the wire speed / amperage correlation is....
..... More wire speed = more amps.

We're going to get kind of confusing here just as soon as folks realize that more wire speed = more amps.....

Except when it doesn't, as when BPW says "So the longer the stick out the lower the amperage delivered to the weld pool."

Personally I find that there's enough interrelated things going on that it turns out to be as easy to do as to explain. It does help to have someone looking over your shoulder when learning, and I've found that most people can learn to turn out decent welds in an afternoon. Most of it comes simply by watching the pool of molten metal and developing a sense for keeping that pool clean and moving right along.
rScotty

 

[evo803]

The easiest way to understand the wire speed / amperage correlation is

The welder is trying to maintain a certain length of stickout, as you increase wire speed you welder needs to use more power to maintain that length of wire stick out so it increases amperage to maintain that length.

Voltage settings on your welder also play a role as you need enough power available to run a given wire speed but that's an easy way to think of it. The wire speed is what you will use to make minor adjustments to your amperage. More wire speed = more amps


Also when you weld the aluminum make sure you are using a push motion rather than trying to pull the weld.

So what your saying is if I have a 3/8" stickout at a given voltage with a wire feed of 220 and I increase the wire feed to 240 this increases the amps to overcome the increased stickout I now have but isn't all I have done is decrease the arc current , because I thought shorter is hotter and longer is cooler when it comes to electrode stickout .:confused2:

 

[DIXIEDOG]

So what your saying is if I have a 3/8" stickout at a given voltage with a wire feed of 220 and I increase the wire feed to 240 this increases the amps

Yes :thumbsup: It's somewhat confusing but that is the jist of it.

If I have confused folks with my description I apologize, that was not my intent.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

I wish there was a $200 spool gun option for the 255. For $1200 I just don't weld enough Aluminum. I have had luck with just making sure the cable has no tight bends to it and I set the wire feed delay long enough after welding so the wire doesn't stick to the tip.

They make and aluminum kit for the 255. It consists of a teflon liner, plastic guides and cut back tips. I use mine for replacing aluminum floors in dump trailers. Also dont use 4043 wire use 5356. It is stiffer and feeds easier.
Bill

 

[crazyal]

They make and aluminum kit for the 255. It consists of a teflon liner, plastic guides and cut back tips. I use mine for replacing aluminum floors in dump trailers. Also dont use 4043 wire use 5356. It is stiffer and feeds easier.
Bill

Years ago I use to install commercial aluminum store fronts. One of the company we bought stock from also sold almost every size and thickness and it was about 1/4 the price of what I could get it locally. Now that's not really an option so I really don't weld much Aluminum anymore. The last thing I did was weld a new skag on the bottom of an outboard maybe 5 years ago. I just like tools and spool guns look cool.