New mig welder won't feed stainless steel wire.

[aametalmaster]

A local company here in these parts bought a Lincoln Power Mig 256 from us a few months ago. Couldn't talk them into a Miller. It is only using .030 SS wire and doesn't feed it properly and constant bird nesting. So today they brought the welder back for me to try it out. We had to change the electric plug and when i flipped on the power switch and pressed the trigger it hit me what the problem was. I figured the liner was too small just by the way the gun felt in my hand. So i removed the liner and it had a .025-.030 liner in it. Replaced it with a .030-.035 and the machine welds perfect. 5 minute fix. Figured the wire was getting hung up in the smaller liner thus the birds nest. Everyone is happy now...Bob

[griff01]

A local company here in these parts bought a Lincoln Power Mig 256 from us a few months ago. Couldn't talk them into a Miller. It is only using .030 SS wire and doesn't feed it properly and constant bird nesting. So today they brought the welder back for me to try it out. We had to change the electric plug and when i flipped on the power switch and pressed the trigger it hit me what the problem was. I figured the liner was too small just by the way the gun felt in my hand. So i removed the liner and it had a .025-.030 liner in it. Replaced it with a .030-.035 and the machine welds perfect. 5 minute fix. Figured the wire was getting hung up in the smaller liner thus the birds nest. Everyone is happy now...Bob

Thanks for sharing that info. Sometimes, what is supposed to be correct doesn't work.
That's where your experience comes in very handy.

I was involved in helping my LWS solve a problem with a MIG machine a few years ago that did not have the gas port drilled that goes to the gun.
I didn't fix the problem but I found it for them.
Stuff sometimes happens.

Griff

[JoseBower]

Nice info,Thanks for sharing this information with all.

[wagin]

A question....what shield gas are you running to mig ss? Will pure argon work or is a tri-mix required?

[aametalmaster]

A question....what shield gas are you running to mig ss? Will pure argon work or is a tri-mix required?

Personally for the last 25 years I have been running pure Argon. But now that I work for the LWS/Miller dealer I am getting a small bottle of Tri Mix ready. But I have to buy a small bottle and have it sent out and filled. We have 300 cu ft bottles on hand for sale but I don't need that big. The company that owned that welder uses Tri Mix...Bob

[ryanjones2150]

I use tri-mix and too have a small bottle since I don't do it a lot. I tend to tig it if I can. If that bottle sits up for long, they say to roll it around on the floor and then give it a good purge to mix the gases back up good. Seems to work for me.

[Aeronca41]

Ryan, you just hit on a question I would REALLY like to hear a definitive answer to. I learned the "roll the bottle around" thing years ago (and I do it), and still hear it recommended. I have read other guidance that says that is just crazy, that gases mix absolutely evenly on their own, and I'm just believing an old wives' tale. However, it seems to me that gases with different specific gravities would stratify. I understand completely that if I were to discharge a heavy gas like CO2, and a light one, like He, into the room, the CO2 would fall to the floor and the He would rise to the ceiling. Is it different under pressure in a bottle? Any Chem experts here who can explain what's correct and why? I know, my ignorance and lack of attentiveness in Chem classes all those years ago is showing......

[H80N]

Ryan, you just hit on a question I would REALLY like to hear a definitive answer to. I learned the "roll the bottle around" thing years ago (and I do it), and still hear it recommended. I have read other guidance that says that is just crazy, that gases mix absolutely evenly on their own, and I'm just believing an old wives' tale. However, it seems to me that gases with different specific gravities would stratify. I understand completely that if I were to discharge a heavy gas like CO2, and a light one, like He, into the room, the CO2 would fall to the floor and the He would rise to the ceiling. Is it different under pressure in a bottle? Any Chem experts here who can explain what's correct and why? I know, my ignorance and lack of attentiveness in Chem classes all those years ago is showing......

boyle's law............??.

You might find this old thread interesting

If you ask your local gas supplier about Boyle's Law, they will probably think it has something to do with large sores.

Ask a chemical engineer.

What you will find is that it takes a great deal of effort to separate gases once they are mixed. It does not happen on its own. That would violate the laws of thermodynamics. There's a little thing called "Entropy" that prevents things like messy houses from cleaning themselves up spontaneously.

If gasses separated on their own without an extraordinary amount of energy input, the multibillon dollar air liquefaction industry would probably like to find out about it!

In a thousand years, your steel mix would be homogeneous, but it will probably leak out before then.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...d-gas-question

[H80N]

MIXED GAS Separation Methods

http://www.co2captureproject.org/pdf...separation.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_separation

Remember.... the air we breathe is a "Mixed Gas".....

And the component gases do not settle out on their own.. or do they under some conditions..??

However there are some pretty spirited arguments on BOTH sides of this gas stratification question...

[Aeronca41]

Thanks H80N and Bodybagger. Interesting how much you don't remember or didn't fully grasp about disliked subjects (chemistry) when something that sounds logical but isn't true comes along. One of those things that just sat in the background without research. I love this forum! You can even show your ignorance and get answers!

[ryanjones2150]

There are a lot of those old weldors things we do that just work, like drinking milk before welding galvanized to prevent metal fume fever. I don't know the science behind it, but it works, or seems to at least. I'm still going to use a fan and wear a respirator though. <br />
<br />
As far as the separating of gases goes...I'll probably still roll my cylinder. There are plenty of times when gases separate, I see it all the time as a fireman, of course products of combustion are not the same as mixing argon, CO2 and helium, but on certain gas leaks it's important to know its vapor density, whether it rises or falls, etc. So as to what extend something is considered "mixed", I have no idea. Hard to argue with science though.

[H80N]

In My Unsupported Humble Opinion:

Will gasses self stratify if left in an undisturbed bottle... at a constant temperature for an extended period of time..?? Probably......

Does it really matter for our purposes...?? Probably Not...

Will rolling your bottle help...?? Couldn't Hurt... so why not..??

Just my 2cents worth....

( I also plant Marigolds next to my Tomatoes hoping to ward off pests too.... might not help... but can't hurt.. )

[ryanjones2150]

Oh man, I did that one. Had a whole slew of tomato plants doing awesome, it was a stink bug carnival in there. So I planted the marigolds between the tomato plants, went from a stink bug carnival to a colorful stink bug carnival. <br />
<br />
**** it.

[H80N]

Oh man, I did that one. Had a whole slew of tomato plants doing awesome, it was a stink bug carnival in there. So I planted the marigolds between the tomato plants, went from a stink bug carnival to a colorful stink bug carnival. <br />
<br />
**** it.

Well Then..... we have done a truly fine job of HIJAKING this thread....

[Aeronca41]

Well Then..... we have done a truly fine job of HIJAKING this thread....

Indeed!! Sorry , Bob. Thanks for the original post-very enlightening.