I have been working on my toe board and floor sheet metal replacement. I have an older Craftsman MIG welder that I have been using with 0.023 wire and 75/25 argon/CO2. Polarity is set correctly. My problem is that if I seem to get it set correctly it will weld several times but then all of a sudden will burn through easily. I am also having a lot of problems with burn back on the wire and weld ball build up. I have the passenger side patches in and have a lot of grinding to do because of the problems welding.

I have tried a lot of different settings for both wire speed and voltage (this unit has numbers that aren't corrolated to actual numbers). It just seems to me that something changes with the welder either in speed, voltage or both while I am welding. So, I am thinking about getting a new welder. Budget however is very limited so want to keep the cost under $300 and would like a digital readout cause I hate this number labeling thing (I know you adjust them for good welds so number should work). Any recommendations for a welder brand and model? I have 120v/30a readily available but I can easily add a 220v/30a outlet in my shop.

Thanks....

 

I understand a tight budget, but for welders under 300 you are putting yourself in a really tight spot as far as quality, if you spend 150-300 hundred more you can get a nicer unit that will give much better results and have more features - even on the lower end. That being said everlast has one that is close to 300 and would be my pick

some suggestions:
(this might be the best close to your budget)

https://www.harborfreight.com/weldin...put-57863.html

 

A decent MIG is close to $1,000 these days. The cheapies are cheap for a reason and if anything breaks you'll be lucky to find replacement parts. I had a harbor freight one that the wire feed (mostly plastic) broke and became complete trash because you can't get parts to fix it.

 

I've had this one for probably 15 years or more. It will weld the most delicate sheet metal, or 1/4" plate without beveling.

 

check the groove in the feed roller is clean,spool isn;t binding,and liner is clean(pull wire out and blow through with compressed air) and not kinked-erratic feed can cause blow through... A strip of copper placed behind weld area will help prevent blowing through too.I got tired of lugging my mig welders to different locations,so bought a 4th one a Hobart 140.:~$640 a couple years ago and quite a good little welder for the price-it was even US made

 

If it's not a Miller, Lincoln, or Hobart, it just isn't worth the trouble. Besides quality units having good features and function, ALL MIG welders are eventually going to need replacement parts. Trying to get anything for a cheap machine will only force you to replace it with one from one of those three I mentioned, so you might as well save your $$$ up and just buy a good machine from the git-go.

I know; money's tight for just about everybody, but for myself, I've never regretted spending more $$$ for good tools but can remember a couple of times getting stung from trying to get by with cheap stuff.

 

While I agree spending more for a quality machine is better in the long term - there are a lot of other great brands now aside from Miller and Lincoln that make great inverter machines and wont cost as many arms and legs for just a hobbyist or home use.. Everlast...primeweld..ESAB..etc. I'm running a Weldpro 200 TIG and I couldn't be happier with it for the price.

 

Thanks for the comments and info on other welders. I would love to have a new one but budget is just not there. Guess at this point I just need to stumble forward with the welder I have. I will check for drag in the liner. I don't know if a new liner and/or drive roller is available for this model. Is there a cleaner solution that could be blown through the liner? I will also clean the drive roller to see if that helps.

 

Have you changed the tip in a while? If not, try putting on a new one. I've had wire feed issues with old tips.

On your drive roller, is it made for 0.023" wire? The roller that came with mine had grooves for 0.030 and 0.045 and I had to buy a different one for 0.023.

 

Any chance you've got this thing plugged into an extension cord?

 

I have it plugged into a very short extension cord that uses 12 gauge wire, is only about 8 feet long and is on a dedicated 120v/30amp circuit 12 inches from the circuit breaker panel. I have cleaned the drive rollers, blown air through the liner, and checked for free travel with the driver roller tension off. Drive roller is reversable but is using the 0.024 to 0.030 side. It seems to tighten fine on 0.023 wire. I did notice loading the wire that it seems to catch a little the last 3 to 4 inches (inside the gun area). However, once past the little catch it seems to be free sliding. Anyway, here are pictures of the tip and the end of the liner. Two things I notice are that the liner coil spring is dark at the end and that I can easily move the coil spring in and out about a half an inch. Are both of these normal?


Tip before disassembly but without shield.


Liner coil dark on the end and is pushed in.


Liner coil easily pulled out about half to 3/4 inch. Although the coil end doesn't come all the way off I am wondering if it might be broken inside the gun.

 

That cord should be fine. What condition is your grounding clamp in? Lots of carbon from welding nearby can cause loss of ground. If it's dirty just hit it with a wire brush to make sure ground connection is good. Could even be a loose connection inside the welder. It just really sounds like a power supply/dirty power/grounding type issue to me.