Measuring wire speed

[kiv]

Any of you guys ever try measuring your actual wirespeed, just to see how accurate the advertised specs and dial settings are? I'm talking about the method Miller outlines in their GMAW book, where they set the dial at 50 and feed out 6 seconds worth of wire, then measure the length and multiply by ten to get the IPM.

My TA 251 gave the following readings:
0% = 10 IPM
25% = 140 IPM
50% = 300 IPM
75% = 530 IPM
100% = 710 IPM

I checked each setting three times to be sure I was getting repetitive readings.

There are two things that bother me about these readings:
1. They are not linear
2. The welder specs state a range of 40 to 900 IPM

The welder seems to work fine and the wirespeed seems to be consistent, So, am I worrying about this needlessly, am I not measuring correctly, or do I need to contact TA for service? :(

Kiv

[Terry Lingle]

Does the TA have a voltage control or taps ? what effect does changing the voltage or tap have on the feed speed?
More important than absolute values are consistancy and repeatability.
Where would you use a wire speed of 700 ipm let alone 900 ipm in manual welding?

With .023 wire a full 11 lb spool would last just over 2 hr 's at 700 ipm and under 2 hrs at 900 ipm

.045 wire would last about 36 min at 700 and about 27 min at 900 ipm.

Terry

[Meach]

Does the TA have a voltage control or taps ? what effect does changing the voltage or tap have on the feed speed?
More important than absolute values are consistancy and repeatability.
Where would you use a wire speed of 700 ipm let alone 900 ipm in manual welding?

With .023 wire a full 11 lb spool would last just over 2 hr 's at 700 ipm and under 2 hrs at 900 ipm

.045 wire would last about 36 min at 700 and about 27 min at 900 ipm.

Terry

I welded a bunch of gate panels today using .023 at 700 IPM of course my volts
were about 23. I doesnt happen too often but when I use .023 the IPM is way up there.

[Terry Lingle]

Meach were you in spray arc with those settings?
Terry

[Meach]

Meach were you in spray arc with those settings?
Terry

No, I use to spray arc at work but we had C15 gas and ran .045 @ 26volts and 700 IPM
I say no because I still was fryin bacon instead of hummin. Maybe because I have C25 gas and I think the volts need to be a bit higher

[Mike W]

I seem to recall a note that if your wirespeed is over 12 o'clock on the dial, you need to get a larger wire.

[Meach]

I seem to recall a note that if your wirespeed is over 12 o'clock on the dial, you need to get a larger wire.

Without a doubt I could have gone to a larger wire but I liked the look of the bead with the .023 much better than I was getting with .035 I probably would have had the best of both worlds with .030 but I dont have any. Guess I need to get some.