can't get wire to feed in flux welder

1 I didn't know that about 20-25A circuits. I think mine are 15 except for the washer/dryer and a plug I installed for 220V welder I never got (yet).

2 Yes, the chinese wire looks like rabbit turd

3 Quick question: I welded outside yesterday in no wind. Can you weld in wind?

4 Regardin .30 wire, why does the spool have 2 wire slots? looks like it was made for 2 types of wire? I'm glad you guys told me about flip flopping the wheel.

5 Regarding bedframe. I thought to bolt one together for my pickuptruck to haul my sea kayak around but you're sayin "hard". I'm thinking maybe O/A cheerry red will spot anneal it? (If that don't work, cutting torch & make holes)

If I have time today, I'll weld up a little welding table & post pix

Dave
 
Just as the wire ran out and thunderstorm approached, I completed the welding table structure with the mig or flux core welder (I don't know if you can dignify it as a mig?)

The stop sign legs on top are not welded on, just resting there. Haven't decided on the top yet but open to suggestions

as I mentioned, the wire ran out. It simply quit feeding and thought there was a problem. But no problem. When I opened the lid, the end of the wire was attached to the spool and wouldn't budge

I ended up wasting the last few feet of wire, for lack of way to make it go, even after cutting it. Guess that's better than having stuck wire in the hose?

Notice the chicago electric imitates Miller blue color and all my accessories are blue as well, didn't plan that tho

Dave

loDSC_2254.jpg loDSC_2255.jpg
 
SE18 said:
Just as the wire ran out and thunderstorm approached, I completed the welding table structure with the mig or flux core welder (I don't know if you can dignify it as a mig?)

The stop sign legs on top are not welded on, just resting there. Haven't decided on the top yet but open to suggestions

as I mentioned, the wire ran out. It simply quit feeding and thought there was a problem. But no problem. When I opened the lid, the end of the wire was attached to the spool and wouldn't budge

I ended up wasting the last few feet of wire, for lack of way to make it go, even after cutting it. Guess that's better than having stuck wire in the hose?

Notice the chicago electric imitates Miller blue color and all my accessories are blue as well, didn't plan that tho

Dave
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Nice work, I will suggest to cut off the horizontal braces, sticking out like that will definitely catch on your knees or shins.
I would leave the cut posts loose on the table or if you need one or two stay in place just tack weld them so you can reposition them later.
Glad to see you got the welder running.

MIG is Metal Inert Gas and is generally considered an outdated term, but still regularly used term.
MAG is Metal Active Gas also outdated but seldom used in general discussion, carbon dioxide is an active gas, as is hydrogen.
FCAW is Flex Core Arc Welding, and is the correct term for flux core welding whether it is gasless or gas shielded.
GMAW is Gas Metal Arc Welding, and is the correct term for solid or metal core wire with shielding gas and covers both inert and active gases.

GTAW is Gas Tungsten Arc Welding, or often referred to as TIG welding or Heli-arc.
SMAW is Shielded Metal Arc Welding, or often called stick welding.
 
SE18 said:
1 I didn't know that about 20-25A circuits. I think mine are 15 except for the washer/dryer and a plug I installed for 220V welder I never got (yet).

A) you may have a 20 amp plug in you garage dependent on how old your house is. it will be a single plug by itself
most 15 amp circuits have 2 plugs, one on top of the other, the 20 a will be a single plug all alone.
you can check you breaker panel too to see if there is a 20 breaker... if you do track down the plug and use it!!

2 Yes, the chinese wire looks like rabbit turd

A)and it's very toxic to inhale, even more than other brands.

3 Quick question: I welded outside yesterday in no wind. Can you weld in wind?

A) Yes you can, how do you think they build skyscrapers... they do it with Innershield 211 in all positions.

4 Regardin .30 wire, why does the spool have 2 wire slots? looks like it was made for 2 types of wire? I'm glad you guys told me about flip flopping the wheel.

A)Yep for .030" and .035". you get the 2lb spools wherever. no worries they all fit welders


5 Regarding bedframe. I thought to bolt one together for my pickuptruck to haul my sea kayak around but you're sayin "hard". I'm thinking maybe O/A cheerry red will spot anneal it? (If that don't work, cutting torch & make holes)

A) yep you can anneal it that way but if you already got the torch out why mess around? Pierce the hole!!
Click to expand...
 
If it hasn't been mentioned already....be very careful/cautious welding that galvanized 'sign post' material. It looks like its galvanized and it will give off some very toxic fumes. You do not want to breathe those fumes.

I've welded something similar over the years and its a real pain to take a gulp of air, hold your breath, weld a little, stop, run outside and gasp for air like its your last gasp in life. Only to be dumb enough to repeat it for the next four or five welds.
 
Zinc Flu is no joke. Whatever you do do not breath those whispey white fumes into your lungs. The zinc in the galvanizing is extremely toxic when heated to vapor, so set your welds up in a way that carries the smoke away from you and out into the air outside. If you have a shop fan that is even better, just set it up so that it circulates the air above where your welding and the fumes will rise and get mixed and taken outside quicker.

Bob
 
[h=1]Metal fume fever[/h]It used to be a right of passage send the kid to burn (torch cut) some hot dipped galvanized steel in the morning and watch him turn pink. You actually develop a tolerance to it. You also learn to keep your head out of the plume. New welders always hover right over the weld and some never learn not to when you can you get yourself back from the plume.

bob
 
Any time you're faced with the risk of inhaling zinc fumes from any source, drink milk before and after. The calcium will help displace the zinc in your system. It was a legal requirement at the mine where I used to work, any time we were doing a liner change with a zinc pour.
 
Always makes everything I eat taste sweet for a couple of days if I get a dose of Zinc. I've done my share of it, but learned to grind off, or even acid remove it where I couldn't grind. Not worth the risk. I've welded lots of bridging for pipeworks in refineries scattered all over the world, except they were just steel at our stage. Steps, ladders, safety cages....platforms, etc. We built them, customer had a hot dip outfit in Corsicana with large enough tanks to do the dip. Came out all silvery gray. Nice looking. Shipped overseas for the most part.


On the amperage rating for the plugs. All 120 VAC outlets should be on 20 amp breakers, and rated for 20 amps. Light circuits are always separate and can be 15 amp. The 20 amp circuits are usually 12 AWG and the 15 amp circuits are allowed 14 AWG. Of course, distance to source has to be considered to comp for voltage drop. Anything requiring over a 20 amp supply should have it's own circuit if at all possible.
 
Iron workers used to get milk money as a line item in the check for exposure to metal fumes.

Bob
 
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