Let me start by saying that I SUCK at welding. Using my ARC welder, I could make some Gorilla Welds (Strong and Ugly) but I normally take my buggy to a friends house for the final welds.

I went ahead and got a Mig welder hoping to improve my skills and so far I suck even worse on the Mig Welder. Now I have I have big ugly week welds.

I have a Hobart 140 running on 110. I am using mixed gas and my welds will not hold at all...

To practice, I am trying to weld two plates together and the welder keeps stalling or not popping consistently. It will pop four or five times then stall for a few minutes and then pop a few more times.

Am I going to fast? Is the voltage to high? Is the wire speed to low?

Thanks in advance

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couple of questions... what wire are you running? what size wire are you running? what pressure are you running your gas at? what gas are you running? what are your current settings at (wire speed and amperage)?

Sounds like it does when duty cycle run out. Mine stalls if I weld to long at a time. it's a safety on them. Never had one to kick out quick. Make sure your wire is solid for gas and not flux core. Make sure liner is for size wire you have. Weak welds could be low gas pressure. Hope this helps, I'm not an expert so good luck.

Are u using a extension cord ?does the welder have gold wire or silver in it ? With welder on and pull trigger can u here gas at nozzle end ? I dont understand how threshers stalls for a couple min ????

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Theirs no replacement for displacement !

If the wire sticks one time in the gun the drive wheels mar the wire which likes to hang up in the liner which mars the wire again creating a vicious cycle. Cut and pull the wire through and start over. Set the drive wheels tighter. Do not use an extension cord unless its badass. Turn your wire speed up a bit and try again.

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If it ain't broke ill fix that

After reading some more, I now better understand 'Duty Cycle' and I think that has something to do with my problem. It appears that I can only weld 2 min in every 10 min. I was way over that ratio... ooops

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What kind of welder ?

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Theirs no replacement for displacement !

He said a Hobart 140 . I do a lot a welding with my 140 and never had any problems with duty cycle. You should look into some welding classes at your local vo- tech school it may help. Ii know ours has adult night classes.

Even the biggest welders are sensitive to any air movement pushing the gas off the weld. This will show up as porosity (weak welds) and difficulty in running a pass. Also, these welders are not happy with anything except the cleanest metal. Just my 2 cents. Good luck getting it dialed in.

Your welds are not holding because your not getting enough penetration in the metal. Turn up the heat and wire feed. Keep the tip aproximatly 5/16" to 7/16" from metal. Too close and it will weld the wire to the tip, too far and you will lose your shield gas concentration. You want your wire tension just tight enough to be able to stop it with your hand as it comes out of the tip. To tight and the motor labors and and to lose the wire will stitch. I would recommend .030 wire with that welder. The bottom line is if it does not sound like your frying bacon then somethings not right in the setup. If you do not have one I highly suggest an auto darken Hood. You can buy an inexpensive one for around 50 bucks at Harbor frieght and they work just fine. Practice, Practice,Practice!

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Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!

MM Just some good hobart info . Mine came with flux core wire and when I changed it over to gas I had to change the polarity inside the welder . This maybe a given But I had no clue until I read the manual
As for your welding I cant help cause I suck at welding also !

YOU GUYS ROCK... You have fixed my issues.

1st thing I did was replace my extension cord. I was using a cheap standard outdoor cord and I noticed the cord was getting warm/hot. I went to Home Depot and bought a 10 Gauge Cord.. Wow.. I can actually weld a beed but still no penetration...

Then Boone to the rescue, Hmmmm Change the polarity?? Hmmm... right on the side of the welder is clearly shows the polarity and yes I had it backwards.. I can weld...

I Still need a lot of practice but now I can weld two things together than stay together.

Thanks Guys..

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Cool ...I will gladly drink one of your icy cold beverages next time we ride together

It is a deal... You can pick between Water and MountainDew

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I wanted to throw this out but, i figured if you went to the trouble of getting gas and lifting the lid to change the wire you seen the decal and had already changed the polarity..

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Air cooled forever,i hate rusty tools!!!!!!!

AH! Good call, forgot about the polarity.

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Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!

Run it on 230volt. it will be like twice the welder and wont do that stall, pop crap anymore. my little miller does that on 110 too

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Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

Polarity ! Current actually runs through the positive and not the negative. This is why the British stuff is all positive ground. ODD BUT TRUE. Make sure your polarity is set to what Hobart tells you, and make sure you bottle pressure is set at the recommended pressure. Solid wire, not flux core. Practice and you'll be in demand ! OR command ! Avoid extension cords if you can, too much voltage drop !

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Don't sweat the petty stuff, pet the sweaty stuff.

I still need lots of practice.. . I welded my tree bar on and when I stood on it to test my weld, the tree bar fell completely off...

I guess I did not get enough penetration. Time to grind it all down and try again..

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Look in your welder and ck your heat and wire speed settings for the metal you are using and practice on some scrap tubing . Sounds like welder is set too low .

I think I figured it out. My gas was set to low and the tip was full of slag. After grinding everything off, setting the pressure to 20 and cleaning out the tip, things worked much better.

I will keep at it.

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Miller with auto set, only way to go if you are a beginner.

Thanks what I use is a millermatic .
Dan get se nozzle gel also for it !

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Theirs no replacement for displacement !

Night classes will really help you out!!!!! Welding on your buggy is one thing you definitely want to be able to do right. Or find a buddy with good welding school to school you.

I really suggest that you get yourself some scrap steel and spend at least 10 hours practicing on it before you risk your's or someone elses life welding on your buggy! MIG welding is the easyest to master and it seems you are having way more trouble than the average newby.

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Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!