[Joe]

My trusty Miller 251 has developed a stutter. It worked fine 2 days ago, then yesterday it began cutting out. I start the arc fine and I'm pushing along and the arc just quits momentarily then restarts. I'm welding at 18 volts and wfs of 250 ips. I haven't changed any settings since 2 days ago. I suspect the wire feed somehow because the wire does not stub into the work. Also, the wire doesn't burn back to the tip either. If I am patient and stop my forward progress and keep the trigger pulled, so far the arc restarts and I can continue welding. Any ideas appreciated.
Joe

[sschefer]

The liner is dirty. Probably just as cheap to replace it with a new one.

[Joe]

Thanks for the idea about the liner. That might be part of the problem. I'll look into it. But I think I improved things a lot by methodically going through and cleaning the rollers. I found them to be a little dirty. After cleaning them most of the stuttering cleared up.
joe

[joseph.mowery]

Try blowing some air under low pressure from the gun end to clean out your liner also.

[anthonyfawley]

could also check the spool and make sure the wire is not crossed up.

[Joe]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'm up and running again after cleaning the rollers and making sure the wire on the reel wasn't crossed up. It's just something I had never run into before. I'll know what to check next time.
Joe