I have a lincoln 215 mig welder. I bought it new about 4 years ago and it has always worked great. I just started having trouble with the wire feeding. It is .023 and I just changed it recently. When I put the new spool of wire on I couldn't remember what the little adjuster was supposed to be set at. I ***ume that is what the problem is. It has the numbers 1-6 marked on it. When I try to use it, the wire will feed through there fine for maybe 3 tack welds and then the wire will no longer feed through when I hit the trigger. First it will stop feeding through, but then, if I keep pulling the trigger, it will get tangled up somehow in the drive roll. I cut the wire and feed it through again manually and try to weld again. It just does the same thing. I have done this about 5 or 6 times and the same thing happens... Does anyone know what the setting should be on the adjuster with the 1-6 marked on it? Thats all I can think of that I may have done wrong... or, any other guesses of what it might be? here's a pic of the tension adjuster I am talking about...
I don't have your brand but the feed roller looks similar. It sounds like the tensioner on the wire roll may be too tight. Adjust it so that a small amount of hand pressure is needed to move it. Also, check the feed roller to make sure the wire is (is staying) in the small groove and not riding up on the roller. Also, make sure your rollers are sized for that size wire. Mine only allows for 30/32 wire. Just a thought. Mike
I don't have a Lincoln but maybe this will help. The knob with the numbers looks like the tension adjuster for the feed rolls. If they are set too loose the wire will bird nest at the end feed to the feeder. Try tighten up the adjuster a little and see if that helps. Also take a look at the feed rollers and make sure they are clean and don't have a lot of fines built up in them. Another thing to look at is the wire feed setting vs the amperage. If the feed rate is too low and you are burning the wire back to the contact tip it will try to stick to the contact tip. Increase the wire feed rate if this is happening. Joe
the settings will change with different wire sizes so you could try changing it and see what happens. Is the wire getting tangled before or after the rollers. If it's before the rollers the wire may be wound wrong and you'll need to check it's not crossed on the reel. If it's getting tangled after the rollers then it could be either the tip, the liner or the roller tension too tight. The tip: could be the hole has been fouled up with weld splatter making it too tight for the wire to p*** freely. The liner: after time the liner will get clogged up with dust and **** from the wire, again stopping the wire from running freely. Roller tension: the rollers tension should be set so it'll run the wire up the liner but not so tight it flattens the wire. Running the roller too tight will also cause the wire to tangle if the wire spits back while welding or if the tip welds up. If at any time the wire is forced to stop the wire should slip in the rollers. Sorry it's a bit long winded but I hope it helps.
Just some food for thought........ I have a Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 that I have used for over 10 years. mine started doing the exact same thing. I wound up changing the liner inside the hose leading from the welder to the "gun". it fixed the problem. I guess after so many miles of wire, it gets gummed up or something. hope this helps Vance
I don't know Lincoln's since all mine are Millers, but check to see if the groove on the feed roll matches the wire size. On the millers, you flip it from one side to the other depending on wire size. Makes a big difference.
As the liner gets older you have to adjust the tension on your rollers differently. The liner in time will groove from use. The graphite on welding wire prevents fast wear in the liner. Steps to go through. 1. Dis***emble your whip from the machine and take the liner OUT of the whip. 2. Take a high pressure hose and blow out your whip while whipping it around some. Caked graphite from use causes plugging up. 2A. Take a length of welding wire and try pushing the wire through the liner with your hands. You should not have any trouble doing this. If you do you have a worn liner that needs replaced. Reinstall your liner into the whip and find a bottle of graphite and pour about a fourth of a teas**** of graphite into the liner after installing it into the whip. Absolutely no oil here! 3. put in a new tip 4. feed your wire manually through the machine and all the way to the tip. Manually here... by hand. 5. Flip your rollers onto the wire and start at the lightest pressure adjustment. 6. Grab the wire going into the adjusters with your fingers and hold the wire from moving while hitting the inch ****on. 7. At the same time start increasing your roller pressure until the wire is being pulled from between your finger through the liner and out the gun. This procedure works evrry time. If its not working then you have a bad worn liner that needs replaced or your welding adjustment isnt correct.
I agree with nutrocker 100 % One thing you can do to check the liner is to remove the tip and unlatch the drive wheel and pull back and forth on the wire to see how easy it moves in the liner. If it is hard to move then it is the liner. MIke
My Millermatic was doing this one time... checked everything several times, except the one thing that should have been the most obvious. Can't tell if your Lincoln is the same way, but there is a groove in the pinch rollers on the miller... the wire should ride in this groove. Mine had jumped out of the groove, so the feed became very erratic. Just an idea. Also, make sure the groove is the right size for your wire.
me thinks its time for a new liner..they get all junked up with **** over time and bind up the wire as it goes thru it. makes you think there are problems with your feeders but it turns out to be the liner , the bolsens cable looking liner in the wand..
cool...can't believe I got all these responses, -its not the drive roll...(currently have the one for the 23 wire) I have to change it when I use different wire sizes... -everytime it is getting tangled up after the drive roll rather than before... -I didn't know that you could change the liner...I am always carefull about not getting any kinks in the line but never even thought about the possibility of it getting clogged with ****... when I have to pull the wire out after I cut it, it is very hard to pull through the line and feed it through maybe I should look at a new liner... I will go through the list of things you all gave me to check and see what happens... Thanks
thats it..the liner is full of ****..if its difficult to drag the wire out of it you found your problem. you can buy a wire cleaner to go on the wire before it goes into the feeder to save the liner from junking up fast..i use them all the time it saves the cost of a new liner prematurely.. it stays on the wire and looks like a felt puck
what your getting is called a birds nest, your drive rollers are to tight, they should never be so tight that if your wire sticks to the tip or gets stuck in the liner it all balls up like that, to check the rollers cut your wire off flush with the end of the tip, then hold the tip against a block of wood so the wire cant move, if you get a birds nest your to tight, liners will build up inside with whatever your wire is coated with, a good trick is to pull the liner and pour thinner in the end till it runs out the other end, then blow it out. also you can get wire cleaners, there just a piece of felt that clamps to your wire right before it goes into the feed rollers.
My neighbor showed me this trick. A piece of cloth in a binder clip. Looks like I need to change the cloth.
Sometimes My Lincoln Does The Same Thing. The Thumb Screw On The Wire Reel Tightens Up And Won't Drive Properly
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