Welding Tips and Tricks

I use a 400 amp Lincoln welder with 0.45 La-90 wire at work.Recently it has started acting up when I go to tack or start welding.Since I'm not a school trained welder I don't know the correct term for what is happening but, here goes.What it does is almost every time I tack or start welding the wire pops and sticks to the tip.The old timers haven't a clue what is happening in order to stop it.I already played around checking for a loose ground,wire feed tension,and I don't suspect the tip or liner since they are new.The machine uses a 800lb barrel of wire and not a small wheel so wheel tightness isn't the cause.I also tried bumping the heat up a little and wire down a bit to see if that would help.So has anyone experienced this phenomenon and corrected it ? thanks.

if your wire is feeding smoothly and evenly then it would appear to me that you need a little less heat sounds like you're burning the whole stick out up in one swoop and that causes it to stick. its kind of hard to say for sure but if everything in the feed line is ok its just an amperage issue i would say

rod burna wrote:if your wire is feeding smoothly and evenly then it would appear to me that you need a little less heat sounds like you're burning the whole stick out up in one swoop and that causes it to stick. its kind of hard to say for sure but if everything in the feed line is ok its just an amperage issue i would say

Thanks I'll try bumping the heat down a bit and see it if corrects the problem.

If the wire is welding itself to the contact tip, you may not have enough stickout. Try keeping a little more distance from the work. Another opton is to get a shorter contact tip. One that is recessed inside the nozzle. Let us know what finally cures the problem.

ya' know, I do that everyday aluminum welding. For me though, it becuase the shop I work in is so hard up, I'm using a 3 inch mig liner(used to be six, I cut it) a tip thats been reamed out about a thousand times with a torch cleaner, and a cracked gun covered in electrical tape so it doesnt let the argon out. Tough times.

Flame on!

-Rick