Welding Tips and Tricks

I was busy mig welding a steel awning when all of a sudden the weld started to sound funny. I looked at the weld and it looked terrible, all porous and crappy,. When I pressed the trigger, wire came out, but no shielding gas. Looked at the tank regulator, had a half full tank, pressure still set to 20. I looked at the troubleshooting guide for no gas for the gun and everything listed was ok...

empty tank....nope
regulator not set....nope
kinked or cut supply hose...nope
clogged tip.....nope

the only thing left on the list was the gas solenoid that only factory authorized service could fix, but I knew that wasn't it because i could hear it clicking on when I pressed the trigger. But still no gas. I didn't want to have to call service so I kept looking.

It turned out to be something really easy to fix. The gun hose had come loose from the outlet inside the machine. It wasn't tightened down enough and worked its way loose and the gas was escaping before it went through the hose. Pushed the hose back up into the socket and tightened it down. Shielding gas restored. All is right with the world once more!

One more thing to look for if you lose shielding gas.

That is definately one that most people never look for. I have done that several times out in the field getting into a hurry after changing wire or gun and not tighten the clamp down and the wire pushes the connector out just far enough for the gas o-ring not to seal.

I'll bet that's what happened. The wire pushed the hose out just far enough. I couldn't figure how the hose would fall out that much as it's a fairly snug fit, but now it makes sense.

Thanks!