My first welder, a couple questions

[DougCrawford]

Hello!

I recently acquired my first welder, a Millermatic 130XP. I downloaded the owner's manual and read through all the parts, and am trying to replace all the little things that look worn. I think the gun I am using is a M-10. It looks like this-




I got replacement nozzles, contact tips, and some diffusers. The issue I have is the diffusers look identical, the part number I purchased is 169716, but the threads on the gun are slightly larger than what is on the diffuser. Is there anything I can get that will work for this gun? The current one still functions, but looks pretty worn, and I want to try to find replacement parts before it goes bad(hopefully I dont need a new gun just for one part).

Someone also told me that replacing the grounding cable and clamp would be a good idea, can anyone recommend a good one for this unit?

Thanks!

~Doug

[Aeronca41]

Welcome, Doug!

The part number for the diffuser in the m10 gun in the manual I looked at is 277135. Please post the serial number of your welder so we can verify. Check Miller4less.com for prices.

If you have the cheap bent sheet metal ground clamp, I would replace it. Harbor Fright sells a respectable knockoff of the decades-old (I first used one in 1950-something, and they were old then) Tweco bronze ground clamp with the big coil spring in the handle for a reasonable price; they are working fine on all of my welders. Or, you could just buy a Tweco or Lenco clamp. I prefer the Tweco. If the cable is what came with the welder, it should be OK. It probably came with #4 copper, which should be fine for your 130 amp welder unless you have a really long cable extension (not likely on a mig machine). First thing I do when I bring a welder home is get rid of those cheap ground clamps (actually more correctly called work clamps).

[ryanjones2150]

Excellent advice about the ground clamp. Now assuming your MIG gun is the factory one, you would be able to order parts by the OEM parts list. But if the gun was replaced with something else, then you'll have to get parts specific for that gun. You could take the diffuser off and head down to your LWS and match it up. Probably be a good idea to initiate that relationship anyway.

[pat h]

What ryanjones2150 said and I repeat it because alot of people are disconnected now days and can't make a simple conversation with people

[Aeronca41]

What ryanjones2150 said and I repeat it because alot of people are disconnected now days and can't make a simple conversation with people

How true!

[DougCrawford]

Thanks for the replies! I picked up all this stuff from the local Arc3 store, nice guys and the local official Miller dealer. My friend who has some welding experience came by this morning and helped me solve the diffuser issue. Scrubbed the threads with vinegar and a brass brush, and it was a tight fit but got it on there. Little bit of build up on the threads was holding it up. He got all the settings dialed in for the wire im using. The clamp you were referring to from harbor freight, is it the 400amp one like this picture?

Thanks again!

[Aeronca41]

Yep, that's the one.

[Olivero]

Wow, what an interesting ground clamp...

[ryanjones2150]

That's pretty much a standard, bronze ground clamp.

[Olivero]

Never seen one like that. I have the OEM factory grounds on all my gear...................

[ryanjones2150]

I'm not a fan of those stamped sheet metal clamps. The ones with the copper contacts are a little better, but still not great.

[Olivero]

Yeah, I mean if it works it works.

[ryanjones2150]

Oli....probably not as much of a big deal to you since you don't do much MIG. MIG is quite sensitive in regard to the ground. I'd say more so than tig and stick. Given that consideration is the basis for my opinion. Fortunately with tig you know if your ground sucks and you don't end up with a pile of bird poop on your metal. Unlike MIG, that machine is squirting out the wire and it doesn't give two hoots if it melts, penetrates or sticks in your eyeball...the wire is coming. An excellent ground is especially critical on MIG starts.

[Olivero]

Interesting. See, would have never known that.

Thanks for the Info.

[Lostone]

Wow, what an interesting ground clamp...

And you can use it as a hand exerciser too

Ive become a big fan of these clamps in the past few years.