Wire stops feeding intermittently

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I have a 175HD and occassionally right in the middle of welding, my wire stops feeding. I am using .035 flux right now and have noticed it quite a bit, I don't recall for certain if it did it when I used solid core or not but I think it did. I am going to be using it in the next couple of days so I will see. I am using the correct size of drive roll, the machine came with a .025/.035 roll and I have it on the .035. The wire is in the groove and like I said, it feeds ok most of the time. Any ideas on what could be causing this?Thanks,Jason
Reply:Hello Jason, it is very possible that your liner might be getting "dirty", this could come from the dry lubricant or drawing chemicals that come on the surface of the flux cored wire or it could come from grinding dust or other outside contaminants that are in the area of your welding. You could also possibly have a bad contact tip, as tips are used the constant arcing that is present with their everyday use can cause them to constrict or roughen up internally and cause feeding to be hindered. Try releasing the pressure on the feed rolls and grab hold of the wire and try pulling it through the liner/contact tip, if it feeds freely and doesn't seem to have any excessive drag then you might not have enough pressure on the drive rolls which could cause them to slip and stop feeding intermittently. If you feel excessive drag it could be an issue with too much tension on the wire roll itself or possibly a dirty liner or bad contact tip. Remove the contact tip and try pulling wire again, if you notice a distinct change in the amount of pull required to more the wire through the assembly it is likely the contact tip, if not, try backing off on the wire roll tension, you have basically 4 areas that effect feeding: contact tip size and condition, liner condition and cleanliness, drive roll tension,size, alignment, and cleanliness, and wire roll tension. Checking the condition and adjustment of these areas should lead to smooth and non-stop feeding. Good luck and best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:1) Drive roll tension2) Dirty liner3) Kinked liner4) Bad contact tip (restricted)Just to name some of the most common causes.Have you checked to see if the rolls stop driving or if the wire just stops feeding (rolls continue to turn)?Edit: Opps.  Allan beat me to it.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:I've had a lot of isues with kinked liners where I used to work. The shop guys would constantly jam my mig tight in the corner to get more room and kink the liner right after it came out of the machine. You'd have to pull the liner, but as soon as you did you'd easily see the kink. It doen't take much to do this. All it takes is for someone to jam a tool box against the gun lead if the machine won't move and the liner will kink.It's usually an intermitant feeding issue as the wire will jam only when the gun is laid out a certain way some times. You'll be going along and you drag the gun over a bit and the wire feeds bad. You stop and fix the isuue and it seems to work fine since you moved the gun lead when you fixed it. Then it jams up again.  Drove me nuts the 1st time it happened to me, and only for a while the 2nd time. After that I'd just pull the liner and check things 1st and got in the habit of dismounting the gun when I'd leave for the day. they wouldn't pay for new liners the other guys F'd up, but they'd pay me for my time to reset the machine every time I needed to use it and tear it back down. .No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Have you checked to see if the rolls stop driving or if the wire just stops feeding (rolls continue to turn)?
Reply:Hello again Jason, you should be able to remove the liner, inspect it for any kinks or damage, and if it checks out visually coil it up and put it into a coffee can of solvent or similar cleaner, let it soak for a day or two, occasionally swishing it around. After that, remove it from the can, uncoil it, and blow it out good with compressed air. As to the drive rolls, yes there are knurled drive rolls that could help with reducing slippage when feeding the flux-cored wire, but if everything else is in good shape they aren't really necessary. A bit more for your consideration. Best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:galaxie428,I would check your drive roll tension first as it's the easiest and then move on to checking your liner for kinks and/or cleaning.As taken from the following manual:http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Cat...t.aspx?p=33864, page 24."If the drive roll slips while feeding wire, the pressure should be increased until the wire feeds properly."MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!