practicing with my new mig Question ?

[Jeff Lary]

Is it normal for a gas less mig to spatter alot? Also it is able to use gas,what kind of gas do you get .and how is it connected to the unit? On the back of my Craftsman it has a sort of ridged push on nipple coming out at the top rear and on one of the shelves there was a short length of heavy wall black rubber hose about a foot long. I got this unit used from the orig owner they never used gas i was wondering if that hose might be from the factory to make the gas connection?

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Excess splatter is a sign that you don't have your voltage or distance right. Experiment with higher and lower voltage, shorter and longer stickout, and you will get a feel for what works. There should be a table of recommended starting settings somewhere on the machine or in the manual.

As for gas, depends on what you are welding. I'm not familiar with your machine so can't help there.

 

[KWentling]

Generally you want to turn the volts up or wire speed down to reduce spatter. The wire stick out will also make a difference. The innershield wires do produce more spatter, so you aren't going to eliminate it. The gas most commonly used gas is 75/25. Straight CO2 works also giving more penetration but more spatter. You will need a flow meter to hook that hose to and you need to reverse polarity to use mig wire.

Kim

 

[Jeff Lary]

Yes i saw the reverse for gas instructions .I was practicing on a peice of 1/4 plate, rusty and all next time i will clean the area also. I need to practice alot there is a awefull big diffrence in how much of a weld puddle i make compared to my lincoln stick. Not much at all does not seem to be enough actually.The person i bought this from only used it to repair some quarter panels on a jeep she was fixing up .So it is quite possible that the wire i have in it now is very small maybe too small for other uses. I cannot see the size as the label is facing away from me ,unless it is hidden by the nut.What size is the most common to use for welding 1/8 and up like the thickness of a mower deck and up?

 

[Shield Arc]

Here you go Jeff.

 

[firefighter jim]

Argon/Co2 mix for mig, argon for tig. Your machine will have to have a gas solenoid in it and of course a regulator for your gas bottle. If welding with innershield, you need neither............

 

[Jeff Lary]

thanks for the information it looks to me like i want some 0.45 for most of my stuff.

 

[Jeff Lary]

Just went and read whats in there now called Firepower by a company called Thermodyne it is .030

 

[Shield Arc]

Will your machine handle .045?

 

[Transit]

Jeff, I do not know which Sears model you have. Most Sears Migs are in the 90-140 amp range which makes the practical limit 1/8 to 3/16 inch stock, if you are using 1/8 - 3/16 in stock to practice with, your mig will not give the best results and be misleading. Shelf shielding wire of any size will run hotter than the same size solid wire and when correctly tuned will always have more spatter than solid wire. 0.045 wires may be too large for your mig; it is intended for 180+ amps. Like stick, wire brands will give different results.