Rookie move's

rdiaz · Tue Mar 18, 2014 3:03 pm

Ok guys, first time to post on this forum. I must say that i am extremely impressed with Jody Collier's videos. i'm pretty much trying to teach myself to weld using those vids as a resource as well as reading as much as i can about the process. So… here are some pics of my very first welds. The big problem I encountered was the wire grounding out and sticking, tripping the circuit breaker like its supposed to. it happened on just about every weld. i did "pull", "push" and cursive e's and U's to see the bead quality. my machine is a millermatic 211 auto set. have c25 gas flowing about 20-25. Thanks for the advice and direction guys. really appreciate it.

AFSATCOM · Tue Mar 18, 2014 4:14 pm

Beads look like you're movin a bit fast except the last one. Looks a bit cold but otherwise nice up till the very end.

Here's the way I've always set up my mig. Others may do it different but this has always worked for me. I set my voltage based on the penetration I'm looking for. It'll take a little getting used to you're particular machine but if you keep tabs on what works it'll become almost instinctive pretty quickly. Once voltage is set I'll fire it up with one hand on the gun and the other on the wfs knob. I'll strike my arc and turn the knob to get the smoothest sound and appearance in the puddle. It only takes a couple of seconds but it produces very smooth beads.this is not the method to get the mig like tig look but it's real good for starting out.

On another note, if you play with your gas a bit while doing this, you can achieve a hissing/buzzing sound which is very nice to run in flat position.it's very small window of where it transitions from the sizzling/popping sound but it's very noticable. It will produce almost zero spatter and leave a very smooth weld. My old mig liked 23 cfh and I usually set voltage just above the chart in the door. Change one variable at a time and you will get there.

Mike · Wed Mar 19, 2014 6:19 pm

Welcome to the forum rdiaz.

Wed Mar 19, 2014 7:16 pm

rdiaz,

You seem to be tripping the breaker in a very consistent manner... about the same amount of bead each time. Is this the service breaker to the outlet your machine is plugged in to? If so, you're not doing something wrong... the circuit is inadequate for the current your machine is drawing from it.

In other words, the breaker may not be big enough, and/OR (note the capital letters) the wiring between the breaker and the outlet may not be heavy enough.

Depending on your electrical skills, you may want to consult a licensed electrician about upgrading the circuit you power this from.

Steve S

Superiorwelding · Wed Mar 19, 2014 11:07 pm

rdiaz,
I would have to agree that this is your problem. Are you running the 211 on 120v or 230v? If you are on 110v I can see it tripping the breaker easily. Your machine requires 25A on 230v and 20A on 120v. Another question is are you running off of an extension cord?
-Jonathan

brokeitagain · Wed Mar 19, 2014 11:21 pm

I have a 211 at my auto repair shop, I hate it on 110, it buzzes and carrys on like an old nagging wife, hook it up on 230 and it really welds like a miller should, almost as smooth as my 175 I have here in my home shop, if you are running it on 110 definitely hire an electrician to put you a 30 amp minimum 230v circuit in your workshop

rdiaz · Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:06 am

guys, i cant' thank you enough for the advice and info. interesting as a matter of fact... so i have the miller connected to a multi plug outlet and that's connected to 120 in the wall. i did some more practice today and same thing happened. i played with WFS and voltage and really noticed the changes it made in the sound. after repeatedly triping the built in circuit breaker in the multi plug outlet, i realized it had to be a power issue with the electrical connection, not the machine or my technique. im planning on have the electrian wire me a 240 outlet in the garage. glad to hear from you guys that that's most likely the problem.
thanks again fellas!

rdiaz · Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:18 am

so i know what to tell the electrician..... would a 30 amp or 40amp breaker be sufficient. i looked at the multiplug outlet and its got a 15 am breaker. should have realized that wouldn't be enough.
thanks!

AFSATCOM · Thu Mar 20, 2014 12:53 am

Miller website calls for 25A @230V. Check your manual to confirm. You can also hand the manual to your electrician.

Greg From K/W · Thu Mar 20, 2014 11:40 am

Let the sparky make that call he can tell just by looking at the machine. Its the safest way to do it.

brokeitagain · Thu Mar 20, 2014 10:39 pm

rdiaz wrote:so i know what to tell the electrician..... would a 30 amp or 40amp breaker be sufficient. i looked at the multiplug outlet and its got a 15 am breaker. should have realized that wouldn't be enough.
thanks!

A 30 amp breaker should be sufficient, that is what I wired my Miller 175 with using 12-2/G romex,
at my auto shop my 211 runs on a 50 amp circuit along with my exhaust bender

ldbtx · Wed Apr 01, 2015 2:03 pm

brokeitagain wrote:
A 30 amp breaker should be sufficient, that is what I wired my Miller 175 with using 12-2/G romex,
at my auto shop my 211 runs on a 50 amp circuit along with my exhaust bender

I haven't looked at a copy of the NEC (National Electrical Code) in a long time. However, back when I was electricianing for a living the NEC required #10 wire for 30 amps. 12 AWG was run off a 20 amp breaker. Has that changed?

ldb