Hey guys and gals heres the deal.... I got a Clarke mig 130 E MK2 the settings for the wire feed is 1-10 and the heat is 1-3 it has a min and max switch running .30 wire and co2 argon mix gas my problem is ive tried every setting and cannot for the life of me get the weld to penetrate i get cold sloppy nasty lookin welds our garage gets 15 amps where it was plugged in any help is GREATLY appreciated id like to start patching holes on my 52 chev but not with those sloppy *** welds .... and By the way (just because i know it will be brought up ) I DO know how to weld haha thanks everyone!
it came from the factory set up the way it is and i took it apart to see if that was the issue but to me it doesn't really seem like the polarity could be switched around all that easily
If it is 110v GO SLOW and dip back into your weld pool as you go, this will get it to penetrate better. If it's not then something is wrong, bad wire, too high or low gas pressure, bad tip is a common one. Just go slow and take your time and practice, no one is a good welder instantly.
take a pic of the weld. you might have bad gas. my bud went to a welding supply one time bought a small lincoln mig, the whole setup with cart and 75/35 bottle, he got home and started working on his car, called me up explaining the problem, i told him it sounded like there was no gas, went checked it out, sure looked like no gas, but the guage showed plenty. i went home picked up my bottle, and it worked great, i think he just had compressed air.
my regulator is in KPA and the regulators I learned with at school were psi I set mine at 5 kpa I have no clue where the number 5 came from I may have read it somewhere or completely pulled it outta my ***. does anyone know what it should be set at? thanks alot
1) Check to make sure there's no airflow in that area. You'd be amazed at how much having a fan 30 feet away pointed kinda towards you will get rid of your shielding gas. 2) You want more than 5 KPA of flow while welding. You decide this by how much airflow you have. Big garage? Some airflow? At work my MM251 is set at 25 KPA.... but we also have 4 garage doors that are opened all the time. Try turning your gas up and see if it helps. If so, turn it down a little at a time and find just what you need so you're not ******* money away. 3) Check that you have flow from the nozzle. Not just right when you pull the trigger, but during a weld. Just put the cup near your ear and listen for flow. You CAN get a shot at the beginning of the weld and have the gas stop after that. (Another thing I learned from the MM251 at work. Now the connection of the gun line is held up with zip ties so I can get gas all the time. hahaha)
we are here to help. Set your gas to 15 and see what happens. Is it windy where you are trying to weld? Mig no workie without shielding gas. Make absolutely sure there is no wind to blow away the shielding gas. (argon, helium, or 75/25 right?) Grab a practice piece of metal, whatever thickness ou are trying to do. Push the gun in the same direction as you are welding, never drag a mig (shielding gas won't work right) . Ok set as hot as it will go and keep turning wire speed Down from highest setting till it doesnt birdcage. You need a quality power source. No kmart ext cords on an overloaded 15 amp breaker in the shop. If you can plug a 110 welder directly into a generator, it'll burn like crazy! keep us posted. Ground clamp needs to be in good shape too.
I 100% disagree with this statement. Depending on what you are doing you can either push or pull a weld. It has to do with material, metal thickness, how much finishing you want, penetration required, etc. But anyhow, no, there is nothing that says you can't PULL a weld. (Unless that's NOT what you were referring to.)
it definatly was the gas i set it up to 15 and it works BEAUTIFULY got some patch work done today thanks alot guys I really appreciate it. ill be starting a thread very shortly on the progress of my 52 chev g***er my first car and first project .
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