When Buying A Mig Welder.......

Qball

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If it comes with a pre-loaded spool of wire, take a look at the wire diameter to make sure it's within the tolerances the machine calls for.

I've been wondering for quite some time now why I couldn't get a nice bead with my Mig welder. Today, my son and his friend were practicing with my little Lincoln 140C.

After a couple of frustrating hours, they finally took a look at the spool of wire. It was .025 wire. The nozzle was .035 and the machine calls for .030 - .045.:mad:

It came that way from the factory. After switching out the wire, it started feeding very smoothly, producing very nice Tig like welds.

So if you're in the market for a little consumer grade welder, if it comes pre-loaded with wire, or with an uninstalled spool, be sure to check the wire size and make sure it matches the machine's feeding specs or else the wire won't feed at a consistent speed.
 
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.035 is the widest used all around mig wire size anyway. Send Lincoln a nasty gram
 
Qball, the Lincoln 140c is rated to use .023 hard wire, but you have to use shielding gas with it. Does yours have a bottle of 75/25 mix with it?

The .030-.045 listed spec is for flux cored wire ( aka “cored”, which is not available in .023). FC does not require shielding gas.

If you try to weld using hard wire w/o gas, the welds totally suck.
 
Qball, the Lincoln 140c is rated to use .023 hard wire, but you have to use shielding gas with it. Does yours have a bottle of 75/25 mix with it?

The .030-.045 listed spec is for flux cored wire ( aka “cored”, which is not available in .023). FC does not require shielding gas.

If you try to weld using hard wire w/o gas, the welds totally suck.

Yes. We have been using 75/25 Argon - C02. I didn't mess with it yesterday. My post was merely repeating what my son told me. As soon as they switched out the spool of wire from .025 to .035, the welder started feeding the wire smoothly and his welds looked great. The arc sounded completely different as well. Not sure what could have been the problem. I'm not a pro welder or anything, but I am familiar with it. He must have been looking at the chart inside the door and mistakenly looked at the Flux Core wire specs. But as soon as they switched to the larger wire, it started feeding great. Before, you could hear it making a slipping noise. Thanks for the heads up.
 
Yes. We have been using 75/25 Argon - C02. I didn't mess with it yesterday. My post was merely repeating what my son told me. As soon as they switched out the spool of wire from .025 to .035, the welder started feeding the wire smoothly and his welds looked great. The arc sounded completely different as well. Not sure what could have been the problem. I'm not a pro welder or anything, but I am familiar with it. He must have been looking at the chart inside the door and mistakenly looked at the Flux Core wire specs. But as soon as they switched to the larger wire, it started feeding great. Before, you could hear it making a slipping noise. Thanks for the heads up.

OK. That machine comes standard with a drive roller for .030 - .045 wire. I'd bet $ that the problem would be solved if you installed a roller for the .025 wire.
 
Qball, the Lincoln 140c is rated to use .023 hard wire, but you have to use shielding gas with it. Does yours have a bottle of 75/25 mix with it?

The .030-.045 listed spec is for flux cored wire ( aka “cored”, which is not available in .023). FC does not require shielding gas.

If you try to weld using hard wire w/o gas, the welds totally suck.
Good stuff. ^^^^^
I use .025 on mine all the time. Tried the flux core stuff, hated it. Enough smoke to chase a coyote out his den. Give me a bottle of gas every time.

If the wire was already loaded, it was probably a return.
 
OK. That machine comes standard with a drive roller for .030 - .045 wire. I'd bet $ that the problem would be solved if you installed a roller for the .025 wire.


Yep. You are correct sir. I just went out in the garage to look at myself. We've already switched out the wire to .035, so we're good.

20180422_115505_resized.jpg
 
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