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Welder problems

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  PrimeMover 
#1 ·
What is wrong with my welder? It was welding just fine until I ran out of gas and had it refilled. After that it wont weld worth a damn the weld just wont flow like it doesnt have the gas on. Is it possible they gave me the wrong kinda gas when I had it refilled? Are there different types of gas :confused:
 
#2 ·
Sounds to me like the gas isn't getting down to the nozzle. Could be a problem with the gas tube in the whip but it's more that likely in the line coming from the tank to the machine. If you've got a flow meter instead of a gauge, the ball should rise in the sight glass when you squeeze the trigger. If it doesn't, there's no flow. If you've got gages, listen for a slight hiss at the nozzle when you squeeze the trigger. If you don't hear anything, try cranking the pressure up a bit then, listen again for flow.
It's my guess, you might have pinched the tank line when you put the new bottle in place.
Been there, done that.

Yes. You can either run C/02 or 75/25 Argon C/02 mix. The 75/25 produces a hotter, flatter weld.
 
#3 ·
I smell gas

There are different types of gas. Your bottle however should be marked with the type gas it came with. If your welding steel it doesnt matter unless they put acetylene in it. First release pressure from bottle to make sure they filled it. next check for kinks in your hose line. Check your line to see if slag may have burned a pin hole in it. Make sure your tip is clean. Look at your receipt and it should say what type gas they put in it. It should be argon or 80/20 argon.
 
#4 ·
on my welder, the solenoid broke, and it wasn't clicking when i hit the trigger. so if you aren't getting flow at the nozzle, check the tank and see if when you crack the tank open it flows. then check flow at the hose end, then check if the flow at the solenoid valve... just because i was in a pinch, i used a couple brass fittings to connect the gas line into the welder directly to the hose that feeds the nozzle. not the best thing, but allowed me to still weld. justh ad to turn off the gas at the bottle when i stopped. had to do this till the new solenoid valve came in. $50 later and my welder was back up and running...
 
#5 ·
Thanks Guys, I will go back and check everything again and see whats goin on, didnt think to check the solenoid. I can hear slight hiss at the nozzle but im not sure it is enough. If that ahole gave me acetylene hes gonna have a bad day. :spank:
 
#6 ·
Derkyb, You can not possibly have acetylene in that tank since it is not stored as a gas and has to be dissolved in acetone in a special tank and due to the required fittings and filling procedures required it just can not happen. What are you using? C/25? straight Co2? The C/25 works much better and you can't use straight Argon for steel if that is what you have. What do your welds look like? Do you have porosity or they just don't flow out properly? Try turning off the tank and run a bead on a piece of scrap, does it look the same? If it does then it is a gas flow problem. What does the tank label say the gas is? They may have sold you the wrong tank but it should be labeled as to what it is, it is highly unlikely that the tank will have different gas than what the label says. Check that label and let us know :)
 
#7 ·
If you're getting a hiss at the nozzle when you squeeze the trigger, it's probably not the solenoid. Some welding supply houses fill the smaller private bottles from larger ones, off a manifold. Maybe they twisted the wrong valve and filled your bottle with oxygen or something. Whatever it is, if it's not inert gas, your welds will look like chicken shiitt with more porosity then you can shake a stick at.. I doubt it's the wrong gas though, it probably just something simple that you might have overlooked.
 
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