I just bought a CH 110 Mig welder, the gas bottle I have for it is 100% co2, I was reading the manual and it recommends against using 100% c02, for steel it recommends argon co2 mix. Could this be causing really poor penetration? I thought that co2 helped weld penetration. I am just practicing welding a bead on 1/4 plate. I get a really tall bead even when trying to burn in, and if I hit it with a sledge hammer I can shear the weld bead off the plate. What else could I be doing wrong; I am using a .30 wire.

 

need argon, your welds are getting contaminated. can that welder even do 1/4in

 

Not in one pass, but I assume if it was beveled correctly and done in multiple passes it could. But in laying a bead down on flat stock the weld could be knocked off and did not "dig" in at all.

 

Is your heat setting on its highest. you may just not have the right welder for the job.Read the manuel and see what the welder is capable of....or try welding a thiner piece of metal to the 1/4 inch stuff if your only practicing

 

I will try that, I was welding a bunch of pipe I cut up at odd angles, and the welds looked really tall, it was thin wall like 1/6 thick or so. Either tall welds or punch through. And yes I had the welder at the highest setting. It is a ch105, but I think it only puts out 85 amps. The welder says it is capable of welding 3/16 in a single pass. At 20% duty cycle, I welded all day but never tripped the dudy cycle I was surprised by that. I went through a 2 lb spool today.

 

Slow down the wire feed speed.

 

ok, and would a thicker wire help? .35?

 

How far are you holding the contact tip from the work piece? I would say not check the voltage setting (sounds like it needs to be higher) also the co pressure (too high pressure causes it too cool the weld by blowing too much co at it). Not a big fan of the strait co for welding steel but i dont think thats your problem here.

 

wire size, use 023 or 030, no need for anything larger with that welder. I use 023, only because i got a shat load of it for almost nothing. I have a 130amp 110volt welder, it says that it can do 3/16 in 1 pass, but at the highest heat setting and a slow wire speed, i have welded 3/8 in one pass and can get the entire piece glowing orange, no issues with penetration.

Get the right gas and keep practicing.

My best advice is get the metal as clean as possible for the best results, wire wheel/grind ect. you will notice a huge difference between clean metal and slightly rusted/dirty metals.

 

It was the gas. I had 2 problems. One the welder is not really designed to work with co2, 2 it has a non adjustable regulator set up at 35cfm, it was blowing the weld out. I got a new tank today co2/argon, and a decent adjustable regulator. I used up all of my .30 wire so I switched to .23, I grabbed some 1/16 scraps that I could not get penetration on before and had to turn the welder down to the lowest power setting and got GREAT penetration. Had a good clean weld out the back side of the panel. Used up the last of the .30 wire I had on the 1/4 plate, and same deal. It was an ugly weld, (I still suck), But much flatter, and good discoloration on the back of the plate.

 

86TA do you have good luck with your 110 welder??? I have been thinking of getting a Lincoln 110v mig, everybody seems to have a different opinion. 1 reason my garage is only on a 30 amp 240v line..2. My welding is not that great. 3. Just using it for general welding, minor body stuff and maybe some sfc's..

 

on a small welder with an adjustable regulator for co2 you would get better penetration with the co2 vs the co2/argon. it would have alittle more spatter and as a bonus a bottle of co2 would last alot longer than the argon mix. a 20 cu/ft bottle of liquid co2 would give you approx. 170 cu/ft of gas.



if you already have the circuit you could get a 240 welder. i have a hobart handler 187 and it only requires a 30a 240 circuit. the machine only draws like 21 amps at max power. if you go this route you may want to get an electrician to check out the wiring to your 240 outlet to make sure it is setup for a welder.
shoot me a pm if i can be of any help.

edit:
here is a link to the specs of the 187 that shows the power requirements: http://www.hobartwelders.com/product...ed/handler187/

 

if you already have the circuit you could get a 240 welder. i have a hobart handler 187 and it only requires a 30a 240 circuit. the machine only draws like 21 amps at max power. if you go this route you may want to get an electrician to check out the wiring to your 240 outlet to make sure it is setup for a welder.


My limiting factor would be the 165 foot run on 10-3 cable! I run this last summer and did not even think of mig or compresor..Old age kicking in I think.The rest I am using 12ga stranded through conduit, gfi's on the receptacles. I know the run length will have an effect on amp draw. Right now the cost of going to 0 ga or something that would handle more load, would be hard..

 

yes that would be a factor, you would need to move up to 6ga to be able to cover that distance and even that would be pricey. i just added a 50a outlet in the garage in october and it cost me $1.65 a ft. for 25' of 6-2. goodluck to ya.