Welding Tips and Tricks

Im using a millermatic 211 mig welder to welde 16 and 18 guage galvanized aluminum using .030 steel wire and the wire contantly gets jammed up at the nozzle. Even with a fresh nozzle it happens. Theres no visible slag that its getting caught on and i cant seem to figure out why it keeps happening. Anyone have any ideas. Thank u

if the wire is slipping that will easily cause burnbacks. My old miller 211 inverter had a problem with the drive shaft not being true, even the new replacement assembly was the same. Which version do you have?

Kingjames4life wrote:Im using a millermatic 211 mig welder to welde 16 and 18 guage galvanized aluminum using .030 steel wire and the wire contantly gets jammed up at the nozzle. Even with a fresh nozzle it happens. Theres no visible slag that its getting caught on and i cant seem to figure out why it keeps happening. Anyone have any ideas. Thank u

Galvanized aluminum?

BugHunter wrote:

Kingjames4life wrote:Im using a millermatic 211 mig welder to welde 16 and 18 guage galvanized aluminum using .030 steel wire and the wire contantly gets jammed up at the nozzle. Even with a fresh nozzle it happens. Theres no visible slag that its getting caught on and i cant seem to figure out why it keeps happening. Anyone have any ideas. Thank u

Galvanized aluminum?

not very common, but I did miss the "aluminum" part when I saw "galvanized". Now I wonder.

Setting aside the question of the material being welded, I'd start with the basics. Are you sure the torch wasn't bent enough to cause resistance? The straighter the better, and certainly no tight turns/loops.

You said it gets caught up on the nozzle, but I'm guessing you meant it's getting caught on the contact tip, correct? The gun has a contact tip where the wire comes out, a diffuser that the contact tip screws into, and the nozzle for the shielding gas...just so we're all on the same terms.

If you don't think the torch layout was a problem start at the wire and move forward. Check that the spool isn't getting hung up, or dragging. Confirm your drive rolls are the correct size for the wire used. Many drive rolls have two sizes and you want to be able to read the size of the wire that matches the wire when the roll is installed. Then check the wire feed/wire/drive roll alignment is correct. You want the wire to be dead center over the groove. Make sure when you're closing the upper roller onto the wire you give it a little wiggle to make sure the wire is in the groove of the upper roll. After that, check tension on the wire feed per the manual. It wouldn't hurt the pull the liner out, check for kinks, and hit with compressed air.

After all of that, report back what happens.