new to gas

[madman_garry]

Hey guys, new guy to the forum, not new to welding. i have a Lincoin weldpak 100, had it for 8 years. just this christmas i got gas (co2) & hook ups & tip to go with it. i have never used gas before, so i bought the wire (aloy/gas sheilded .035") and tried to weld with it @ B setting, wire speed #2-2.5 (for exhaust ex.)

it welds real nice but it spits and sputters like crazy, almost like the metal has grime on it. i tried it on clean metal and it does the same thing. i have reversed the pos/neg terminals like i was supposed to.

is this normal with the gas to do this, or is something off?



here are some pics of the what the welds look like, keep in mind that it looks like this on perfectly clean metal

i was told the co2/inert gas mixture was good for light metal all the way up to 1/4" thick. here are the welds:





TIA, garry

[Hotfoot]

Did you change your polarity settings? Do you hear the gas coming out if you just pull the rigger? Have you tried upping your gas flow? they all look like "forgot to turn on the gas" welds to me.

[johnny_waz]

That .035 wire your using may be the problem to.
At the most I would not go over .030 with that welder.
You may need to clean some of that rust off the pipes to.

[MikeDeuce]

Can't help much as I'm a super-novice, but the manual for my HH140 has a troubleshooting section for "Excessive spatter" where it lists many possible causes (some mentioned above):

http://www.hobartwelders.com/om/0900/o925c_hob.pdf (Page 37 of 48, section 9-8)

[madman_garry]

wow guys thanks for the quick replys. yes the gas is turned on, you can hear it coming out the nozzel. i dont know how much LPM it is because i do not have a gas flow meter. i just turn the gas on all the way, should i be turning it on just a crack?

maybe ill pick up a 2lb roll of .030" wire, i wasnt sure what diameter to pick up so i bought the same stuff i was using in the gasless flux. i played with all the settings and wire speed and still havent been able to get it right it seems.

when it is working right it should not be constantly breaking up should it? the gasless flux i was using was much more consistent.

thanks for the replys guys

[ivan]

My weldpak 100 did it's best work with 0.25 wire and c-25. 0.30 was ok too but, not as nice as the 0.25.

[Broccoli1]

My weldpak 100 did it's best work with 0.25 wire and c-25. 0.30 was ok too but, not as nice as the 0.25.

or .023 and ya be set used that same machine and Co2. It will do fantastic for what yer doing.

This is Weldpak 100 and .023 with CO2 on some 3/16" about 2 years ago

[rlarkin]

i dont know how much LPM it is because i do not have a gas flow meter. i just turn the gas on all the way, should i be turning it on just a crack?

First off, you NEED a regulator. Set it at 15 to start.

[precisionworks]

As Hotfoot said, did you change polarity? Flux core runs electrode negative, solid wire runs electrode positive. IIRC, this change is made inside the machine on a Weldpak 100.

[Broccoli1]

First off, you NEED a regulator. Set it at 15 to start.

I missed that one- what kind of guage do you have? I know on the set up I used it was just a guage that read the tank pressure and there is/ was nothing to actualy set CFH or Lpm. I don't have any pics available to post.

[WelderDude]

Your new to gas? I have had gas ever since I was a child. Maybe thats why I dont have many actual friends, and mostly internet friends. --JasonW.

[whateg0]

I missed that one- what kind of guage do you have? I know on the set up I used it was just a guage that read the tank pressure and there is/ was nothing to actualy set CFH or Lpm. I don't have any pics available to post.

Mine doesn't even have a gauge for the tank. But it's okay; I can always tell I'm low after I'm out of gas.

Dave

[Clay Walters]

Garry,

You may want to get something like this http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47259

Usually these don't work with straight CO2 but the manual (link is provided on that page) indicates this one is. At this price it may be worth the risk.

Good luck,

Clay

[Broccoli1]

Garry,

You may want to get something like this http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47259

Usually these don't work with straight CO2 but the manual (link is provided on that page) indicates this one is. At this price it may be worth the risk.

Good luck,

Clay

You'll need a coupler but it will work. I use straight CO2 with no problems with the Argon/Co2 regulator that came with my Lincoln. Some have frozen their reg. but no problems here.
Ed

Like this one:

http://www.welding-direct.com/a8arregtoco2.html

[Clay Walters]

Ed,

Another reason for thinking this one would work - it comes with the adapter!

Clay