Welding Tips and Tricks

I've noticed every once in awhile when I am welding (Fluxcore) that the gun 'kicks back' but seems to happen when I am using less power. The insufficient voltage aside, could I be feeding the wire too fast while not moving along the metal at a sufficient speed and the wire is pushing the gun back? Again, this is not a constant issue but seems to happen once in awhile.

If it matters, the steel is 12 and 14 gauge with all paint / rust removed.

Any input greatly appreciated!

Thank you,

Lyman

Might be a bad ground connection.

Yep. There's a problem with continuity somewhere.
The wire feeder doesn't know if the wire is burning and keeps feeding even if there's not enough power happening.

Steve S

Poland308 wrote:Might be a bad ground connection.

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated. Is it best to clamp to the item being welded or to the table? I'm assuming the former.

Did a good one tonight....unit was on, ground clamp was on steel I was going to weld (which was on the table) and I placed the gun on the table. Apparently the tip and / or wire made contact and I burnt the gas diffuser. Just ordered two more from Amazon.I thought no power would be applied unless and until the wire started feeding. Is what happened to be expected or is there a problem somewhere else?

Thanks,

Lyman

Otto Nobedder wrote:Yep. There's a problem with continuity somewhere.
The wire feeder doesn't know if the wire is burning and keeps feeding even if there's not enough power happening.

Steve S

Thanks....now I just have to find out where. Would appreciate any input on the issue with the gas diffuser in the other post...

Lyman

Some welding machines have OCV (open circuit voltage), others are simply always "hot".

Did this arc burn the threads of the diffuser where the tip turns in to it or where the diffuser threads in to the gun tube? Reason I ask is because that could also be the point at which you lose continuity. Heating cycles can cause these parts to come loose sometimes, and it's a good idea to give them a little snug before welding.

PeteM wrote:Some welding machines have OCV (open circuit voltage), others are simply always "hot".

Did this arc burn the threads of the diffuser where the tip turns in to it or where the diffuser threads in to the gun tube? Reason I ask is because that could also be the point at which you lose continuity. Heating cycles can cause these parts to come loose sometimes, and it's a good idea to give them a little snug before welding.

Hi Pete,

This is a Lincoln Electric 125HD and I do not know if it's OCV or always "hot". It burnt just beneath the four holes of the gas diffuser and some of the exposed threads of the gas diffuser but not down to the end where it meets the gun tube. I.e., not where you would tighten it or remove it.

Many thanks,

Lyman

Its 33 volt ocv. I have the sp-175t, and it only makes a tiny spark if you touch a connected work piece with the tip. Not sure why they really blow like that sometimes, but I have seen it happen occasionally when people are changing tips or cleaning the nozzle and set the gun down with the diffuser exposed.

PeteM wrote:Its 33 volt ocv. I have the sp-175t, and it only makes a tiny spark if you touch a connected work piece with the tip. Not sure why they really blow like that sometimes, but I have seen it happen occasionally when people are changing tips or cleaning the nozzle and set the gun down with the diffuser exposed.

Thanks again. The diffuser was not exposed (nozzle was in place) but the wire was. I wonder if I accidentally hit the trigger when putting it down on the table. It was enough of a spark to char portions of the gas diffuser (see link to photograph). I've ordered a couple of diffusers but they won't be here until next week. Oddly enough, this still welds but I don't want to do any damage to the unit. The holes in the diffuser are not blocked from this incident.

The other issue that is really bothering me is the continuity. This unit is new, about 2 months old. I know that the surfaces have to be free of paint, etc., so I am not sure why this is happening.

Again, thanks.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

If you need to use the machine, go ahead. You won't hurt anything.

sedanman wrote:If you need to use the machine, go ahead. You won't hurt anything.

Thanks. Did you get a chance to look at the photograph?

Best,

Lyman

Yes. The part that is scorched is already buggered. As long as you can change the contact tip when you need to, there is no reason to stop using this.

There are any number of places to have a continuity issue.

Where your ground lead enters the ground clamp is a good spot for wear and corrosion.

In the machine, where you switch polarity for flux-core vs. gas MIG is another. If this machine is not new to you, perhaps someone switched it and didn't have the connections clean and tight.

One other thing... My Everlast iMIG-200 will do this when I trip the thermal overload. This means I've been welding for quite a while, and the machine decides it's hot and needs a break. It will stop the welding current, but not the wire, so it "pushes back".

Just some thoughts...

Steve S

one thing you could try is getting a new Brass Ground clamp and when you put the ground in there also feet a second wire in there that will be bare at the last 2-3 inches (make sure you use the Good Welding ground wire for this as it has thinner strands of wire) and when you clamp it down on your work peace put the extra peace of wire into the clamping end to get clamped.. it will add extra bare wire contact to the work peace.. I found that the jumper cable style ones are just CRAP for making a good ground on anything.. Brass all the way for me.. i know they cost alot more but there well worth it just the same as a good quality welder..

also use a Multi meter to check continuity and resistance in both the ground and gun.. perhaps you have a bit of resistance in one of them causing issue. on another note if you have switchable polarity one might want to change the ground cable all together for a new one using copper lugs and brass ground clamp.. i ended up making a new ground for my auto arc 130 like this when i got it because i have learned from experince with another machine about crap ground cables..

one thing you might want to do its pop the hood on the welder and make sure nothing has gone thermal nucular in there and burnt a wire or someone at the factory was having a bad day and did a crap job on something.. nothing like a loose wire to make your day bad.. it happens to any brand.. as never know could of been made on a Monday after new years day haha..

Otto Nobedder wrote:There are any number of places to have a continuity issue.

Where your ground lead enters the ground clamp is a good spot for wear and corrosion.

In the machine, where you switch polarity for flux-core vs. gas MIG is another. If this machine is not new to you, perhaps someone switched it and didn't have the connections clean and tight.

One other thing... My Everlast iMIG-200 will do this when I trip the thermal overload. This means I've been welding for quite a while, and the machine decides it's hot and needs a break. It will stop the welding current, but not the wire, so it "pushes back".

Just some thoughts...

Steve S

Thanks Steve. I bought this new a very short time ago and polarity is correct. Given the limited amount of welding I've done the clamp is pretty much pristine.

Can't help but wonder if I should have bought a Miller.............

ryanjames170 wrote:one thing you could try is getting a new Brass Ground clamp and when you put the ground in there also feet a second wire in there that will be bare at the last 2-3 inches (make sure you use the Good Welding ground wire for this as it has thinner strands of wire) and when you clamp it down on your work peace put the extra peace of wire into the clamping end to get clamped.. it will add extra bare wire contact to the work peace.. I found that the jumper cable style ones are just CRAP for making a good ground on anything.. Brass all the way for me.. i know they cost alot more but there well worth it just the same as a good quality welder..

also use a Multi meter to check continuity and resistance in both the ground and gun.. perhaps you have a bit of resistance in one of them causing issue. on another note if you have switchable polarity one might want to change the ground cable all together for a new one using copper lugs and brass ground clamp.. i ended up making a new ground for my auto arc 130 like this when i got it because i have learned from experince with another machine about crap ground cables..

one thing you might want to do its pop the hood on the welder and make sure nothing has gone thermal nucular in there and burnt a wire or someone at the factory was having a bad day and did a crap job on something.. nothing like a loose wire to make your day bad.. it happens to any brand.. as never know could of been made on a Monday after new years day haha..

Thanks Ryan. This clamp for the Lincoln has a substantial amount of brass including the washer and two nuts that secure the ground wire to the clamp. Continuity when measured with a VOM appears fine. One thing that I've noticed is that say I'm welding a 12" piece. The first four inches will be fine, but once beyond there the problems begin leading me to believe that this is internal to the unit.

Everything appears tight inside but of course there are components out of my view such as circuit boards, etc. I think someone in China or Mexico was not having a good day.

My other thought is that I should have spent the extra money and bought a Miller......

LGLDSR wrote:

ryanjames170 wrote:one thing you could try is getting a new Brass Ground clamp and when you put the ground in there also feet a second wire in there that will be bare at the last 2-3 inches (make sure you use the Good Welding ground wire for this as it has thinner strands of wire) and when you clamp it down on your work peace put the extra peace of wire into the clamping end to get clamped.. it will add extra bare wire contact to the work peace.. I found that the jumper cable style ones are just CRAP for making a good ground on anything.. Brass all the way for me.. i know they cost alot more but there well worth it just the same as a good quality welder..

also use a Multi meter to check continuity and resistance in both the ground and gun.. perhaps you have a bit of resistance in one of them causing issue. on another note if you have switchable polarity one might want to change the ground cable all together for a new one using copper lugs and brass ground clamp.. i ended up making a new ground for my auto arc 130 like this when i got it because i have learned from experince with another machine about crap ground cables..

one thing you might want to do its pop the hood on the welder and make sure nothing has gone thermal nucular in there and burnt a wire or someone at the factory was having a bad day and did a crap job on something.. nothing like a loose wire to make your day bad.. it happens to any brand.. as never know could of been made on a Monday after new years day haha..

Thanks Ryan. This clamp for the Lincoln has a substantial amount of brass including the washer and two nuts that secure the ground wire to the clamp. Continuity when measured with a VOM appears fine. One thing that I've noticed is that say I'm welding a 12" piece. The first four inches will be fine, but once beyond there the problems begin leading me to believe that this is internal to the unit.

Everything appears tight inside but of course there are components out of my view such as circuit boards, etc. I think someone in China or Mexico was not having a good day.

My other thought is that I should have spent the extra money and bought a Miller......

i kind of wonder if the overheat switch is acting up or something on one of the boards is acting up.. might want to contact lincoln about it..

Slow run in is a feature that was designed to address that issue. It takes an extra fraction of a second to get the metal and filler up to working temps. So you sometimes stub the wire on initial start. Lower current the more pronounced the effect is

Composed with Swype on mobile. not responsible for typos.

I had the same issue when someone accidentally bumped my wire feeding speed to high.

I was using the same machine you are, you can try dialing it down a little bit.

Since its occasional and not constant I would not deem the ground to be the problem right away. I don't MIG nearly as much as I stick and TIG but if it will light up and it kicks back during the welding, I doubt its the ground.

soutthpaw wrote:Slow run in is a feature that was designed to address that issue. It takes an extra fraction of a second to get the metal and filler up to working temps. So you sometimes stub the wire on initial start. Lower current the more pronounced the effect is

Composed with Swype on mobile. not responsible for typos.

Thanks Soutthpaw!