What did I do wrong???

[Speedfreak]

Go to this page and watch some mig welding videos. After some watching and some practice you will be sticking things and the looks will amaze yourself.

Welding tips and Tricks

 

[Berniep]

I'm confused... why do you guys say 0.035 flux core won't handle wide open on the wire speed?

The machine just doesn't have the power to melt the wire that quickly.
My HH180 220v machine wont run .030 solid wire wide open.
Never tried it on smaller wire.

 

[arrabil]

I just did a project where I ran 0.035 flux core on an HH180 at level 4/80 for a couple hours a day. Even ran 4/100 sometimes which is the max setting for both. I was welding 1/2" or bigger exclusively. It would take a bit for the metal to get hot enough to take a bead but once it did, it worked just fine. On the chart in the welder it even says to use 4/75 for 5/16" when flux coring with 0.035.

 

[evo803]

I know that it won't handle wide open on the wire speed but it certainly needs to be more than the 2 or 3 that is is in the pictures. Again the chart will get close and experience will fine tune.

For Lincolns this is false! I have a Lincoln Weld pak 100 and a Lincoln Pro-Mig 180 and I have never set the wire speed above 4 on either unit for flux core welding even at the highest amp setting D or E. I have no idea why there is such a fast speed on such a low amperage unit . The .030 flux core certainly behaves better for me in the smaller unit.

 

[easygo]

For Lincolns this is false! I have a Lincoln Weld pak 100 and a Lincoln Pro-Mig 180 and I have never set the wire speed above 4 on either unit for flux core welding even at the highest amp setting D or E. I have no idea why there is such a fast speed on such a low amperage unit . The .030 flux core certainly behaves better for me in the smaller unit.

I agree with the above. I had a 90amp flux core machine by a different manufacturer and at max AMP the wire speed was around 3 or 4 of the maximum of 8 if I recall correctly. Any higher than that would keep pushing the gun away from the weld. This was with 0.035 wire. I think I should have bought 0.030 for that machine but I didn't know better.

 

[Berniep]

I just did a project where I ran 0.035 flux core on an HH180 at level 4/80 for a couple hours a day. Even ran 4/100 sometimes which is the max setting for both. I was welding 1/2" or bigger exclusively. It would take a bit for the metal to get hot enough to take a bead but once it did, it worked just fine. On the chart in the welder it even says to use 4/75 for 5/16" when flux coring with 0.035.

I just know my machine will not run solid .030 wire at more than about 70 or 75
Maybe flux core can be run higher, maybe DCEN helps, but as you point out the max recommended setting for steel is 75 for flux core(multiple passes). And that is on a 220v machine.
So form others experience maybe the 2 or 3 setting is not that far off.
It just looked way low to me.
If it takes a while for the plate to heat up to take a bead then you should pre heat so you don't get bad penetration for the first however long it takes to heat it up. It makes a big difference welding welding thicker stuff even if you only heat it up to just too hot to touch.

 

[chad22]

Hey. Don't feel bad. You should have seen my welds with a wire feed welder. They wouldn't even hold. That was when I was taking shop class in school. :laughing:

The only welder I'm decently good at is my arc welder. It's like this one in this link Campbell Hausfeld WS0970 115-Volt 70 Amp Arc Stick Welder

I bought it when I was 17, to learn to weld with it. Now I'm 22 and still learning. Half the time I can't get the dang arc started. All it wants to do is stick. After trying for at least 5 minutes I can finally get an arc started.

It don't look like it did when new. The switch went out on it so I used 2 household light switches hooked to some wire hanging out of the switch hole. I was gonna get a new switch but they wanted $15.00 So I just made it work. Plus that black cover is just laying to the side.

I remember I used it to weld a frame to make a trailer. I didn't get the weld right and the bed of the trailer flew off into the middle of the road. I had an old washer and dryer on there and it landed in the ditch. Luckily it was on a back road and no one else was driving on that road. A guy let me take my broken trailer to his farm and leave it there until I could pick it back up.

When I went to get it a week later. He had the thing welded up for me. I asked him how much I owed him. He told me nothing.

I'm getting a little better at welding now though. I can lay a good bead. It's just getting that arc started first that I have trouble with. Plus my hand shaking half the time when I'm trying to weld don't help anything.

Oh well. I'm sure I'll get even better at it.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I am surprised that no one has recommended preheating the metal prior to starting. With those low power wire feeders, it is should be taken as a requirement on anything thicker than 1/8". It will allow you to run fewer amps (slower wire speed) and still make it penetrate and make a more uniform appearance. It unfortunately wont make up for any erratic movement of the gun. Even if all you have is a propane torch, preheating the metal to at least 250F is going to help it fuse better and also remove any moisture in the metal that would cause porosity or hydrogen embrittlement or cracking. Try that next time you feel the need to weld something more than sheet metal. Even sheet metal wouldnt hurt to dry off the moisture first.

I have one of the little 110V Mig/FCAW welders that was given to me, but I rarely use it. I prefer stick rod for my work as I dont make a lot of light sheet metal stuff anyway. My welding arsenal is a 350 Amp Miller AC/DC CC/CV machine and my oxyacetylene torch. Maybe someday I will add a suitcase wire feeder to it but so far I just have never seen the need for one. My electrode selection consists of only 3/32- E 7018, 1/8" E 7018 and 1/8- E6010, plus my little wire feeder. If I cant weld it with that, it dont get welded. I also have a soldering gun for the small wiring issues that come up. So far I havent had any thing needing repair that I couldnt fix with this. IF I had any aluminum to fix, I would just take it somewhere as it isnt worth the expense to stock any thing for that for what little if any use I would ever have.

 

[SpecElim]

I agree with the above. I had a 90amp flux core machine by a different manufacturer and at max AMP the wire speed was around 3 or 4 of the maximum of 8 if I recall correctly. Any higher than that would keep pushing the gun away from the weld. This was with 0.035 wire. I think I should have bought 0.030 for that machine but I didn't know better.

I believe that the reason these machines have such a fast wire speed is because when welding Aluminum you must have high heat to burn through the mill scale but when the material heats up you have to "run with it." If you don't move fast with aluminum it will melt away. Just alike, if you don't have enough wire speed it will just melt the wire before it reaches the material. I have a lincoln 140 and it is the same way. I have welded a little aluminum with it and it barely has enough wire speed.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

When welding aluminum, you should be in spray mode. Short circuit won't work and it won't feed. To achieve spray, you have to have a happy combination of wire feed, and voltage to achieve a smooth, stable arc that quietly transfers the balls of molten aluminum across the arc with the use of pure argon gas.

You should NEVER try to weld through "scale". The fast speed is not there to do that. The DC + allows for some cleaning to break up the scale. Aluminum "scale" or more appropriately called Aluminum Oxide, melts at about three times the temperature of Aluminum. It won't break up until it is "removed" by the DC positive polarity of the torch so that electrons flow from the metal to the wire tip. Most aluminum wire welding is done with a spool gun on smaller welders, or a teflon liner and special drive rolls with a standard MIG gun with a short cable under 10 ft.

You can spray aluminum fairly well with units like the MIller 140. It doesn't take many amps capacity to spray aluminum like it does with steel. I have made some beautiful MIG aluminum welds with a spool gun and a Miller 140. Though it has its limits, you can definitely get a nice smooth welds on aluminum with many 110V MIGs.

 

[crazyal]

For Lincolns this is false! I have a Lincoln Weld pak 100 and a Lincoln Pro-Mig 180 and I have never set the wire speed above 4 on either unit for flux core welding even at the highest amp setting D or E. I have no idea why there is such a fast speed on such a low amperage unit . The .030 flux core certainly behaves better for me in the smaller unit.

I think it's for feeding wire after changing a roll, not for welding.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

If you are using argon and .023, it would probably not be too fast...A lot of the flux core units are using the same components as the gas units. Flux core small welders are mostly for marketing...to offer a price point. Then you can convert them over into gas, another tool used for marketing...for an additional price. Most of them are PRE wired for this and are simply the same welder with out the solenoid plumbed in.

Flux core uses straight polarity, reducing the melt off speed as well. Reverse the polarity for argon/co2, you will burn the wire off at a much faster rate.

 

[evo803]

I am surprised that no one has recommended preheating the metal prior to starting. With those low power wire feeders, it is should be taken as a requirement on anything thicker than 1/8". It will allow you to run fewer amps (slower wire speed) and still make it penetrate and make a more uniform appearance.

Preheating only helps with the controlling of stress cracks typically done on thicker pieces . Even if you preheat you should always run the same amps as you would as if you did not preheat to ensure proper penetration.

 

[handirifle]

Ampa
I just found this site and it gives a video version of all these guys are saying. I've been welding for years (NOT saying I've been a welder for years), but sometimes mine looks like yours. I took a welding calss (stick) about 30 years ago, so I am learning as much here as you. Keep at it like they say. Everyonce in a while I turn out some pretty welds that are good welds, but not very consisitantly, unfortunately. But I keep trying.

Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info

Just like riding and working on the tractor, I learn more each time I do it. Plus this site (Tractorbynet) helps a HUGE amount, on both counts.