MIG welding in the cold? or machine problem?

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I've got a Hobart Handler 130 thats pretty old machine. I bought it used about six months ago to work on my MIG skills mainly for patching up aluminum boats and stuff. The welder works great once i get it set, but takes alot of tweaking upon startup for some reason. I get alot of feed problems.Anyway, its been welding just fine until today. I was supposed to patch up a friends boat in a few spots and my machine just wouldn't weld. The wire would come out, touch the boat and just "pop" and form a big bubble on the end of the wire and then not do anything. sometimes the wire would come out and run across the metal without even making an arc. The ground was attached firmly right where I was welding. There was some paint where the ground was attached, but not near as much as there has been in times past. I even tried welding on some scrap aluminum with the clamp attached straight to the clamp and it did the same thing. I'm running 100% argon 20cfh.Seems like there is something simple thats going wrong that I'm just overlooking. Its pretty cold today (30F), could that be it?Last edited by Alumahollic; 01-29-2010 at 03:53 PM.
Reply:Even if you had no gas you could still get an arc going. It might be a stubbing, messy arc, but it would still keep arcing. Sounds like it's time for a 'service'.Oh yeah, never attach a ground to a painted surface, least of all with something that's already underpowered. You need all the power available at the site of the weld, not heating up your clamp.Miller Maxstar 200 SDSSC Controls foot controlMig Star 250AL
Reply:Originally Posted by AlumahollicI've got a Hobart Handler 130 thats pretty old machine. I bought it used about six months ago to work on my MIG skills mainly for patching up aluminum boats and stuff. The welder works great once i get it set, but takes alot of tweaking upon startup for some reason. I get alot of feed problems.Anyway, its been welding just fine until today. I was supposed to patch up a friends boat in a few spots and my machine just wouldn't weld. The wire would come out, touch the boat and just "pop" and form a big bubble on the end of the wire and then not do anything. sometimes the wire would come out and run across the metal without even making an arc. The ground was attached firmly right where I was welding. There was some paint where the ground was attached, but not near as much as there has been in times past. I even tried welding on some scrap aluminum with the clamp attached straight to the clamp and it did the same thing. I'm running 100% argon 20cfh.Seems like there is something simple thats going wrong that I'm just overlooking. Its pretty cold today (30F), could that be it?
Reply:wrong wire speed and voltage is a prime concerna 130 wont weld a boat with good penatrationaluminum needs at least 19 volts to weld worth a ****pre heat the whole hull with a tiger torch and you might have a chancealuminum welds should be smooth if done properlyand you should be able to feel an expanded area behind the weld if you have actually welded worth a **** otherwise your just adding metal not what we call weldingon a boat a 250 class machine will need time for duty cycle when running long beads
Reply:nevermindLast edited by DesertRider33; 01-29-2010 at 11:34 PM.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:It also may be that you are using an extension cord that is very long and light gauge, limiting the available power to the mig. Under powered mig, aluminum, low a-c power. Three strikes and you’re out.
Reply:Are you running aluminum wire through your normal lead, or using a spool gun? If your normal lead, do you have a Teflon liner installed?Some of the wire feed problems might be related to that but it doesn't completely explain the other problems your having. You sure all your fittings in your gun and machine are the right size for that wire?It's probably not the cold. I've ran my mig machine at -20 degrees F, no problems at all.
Reply:Thanks for all the responses. I know there is some valuable knowledge and experience in these forums.I've been welding aluminum no problem with this machine before this incident. I built some pirogue racks out of 1"x1/8" square tubing. They are very solid and support alot of weight and wind load. I've also patched up holes and ribs on my boat. Plus, some random practice welding on scraps but thats about it. Not much aluminum experience, but I've been getting plenty of penetration. With the tubing, I could look through the tube and see the welds on the inside. Most of my problem has been too much penetration on thinner (.100) aluminum and i've been having some burn through. I've been using .035 aluminum wire through a teflon liner. I'm using a .035-.045 tip. The feeding is a separate issue though, and my main concern is why its just not welding at all.Gas, no gas, feed problems or not, when i clamp to a small scrap piece of aluminum and then pull the trigger and the wire comes out, it should ARC whenever it touches the metal. Sometimes all it does is pop and form a big bubble and then stop.
Reply:Picts would probably help..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:What would yall like me to take pictures of?
Reply:The weld or large "bubble" you are speaking of. I'm not really visualizing the issue well.Are you welding using the same power suplpy line you usually do, or are you welding somewhere else? I'm thinking the same thing as transit. I can't run heavy motor tools on the original garage line. The lights will dim and the motor takes a while to spin up and has no real power. The garage is at the very end of the whole house run of 14g wire, plus the extension cord. I can run things no problem on the newer subpanel lines however that are 12g fed from the 100 amp panel.To me  .035 wire seems big for that little machine. I would have expected you to be running  .030..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:Originally Posted by AlumahollicWhat would yall like me to take pictures of?
Reply:I'll try and get some pictures uploaded later this evening.I'm welding from the same power source that I usually do. I used to use the garage outlets but frequently tripped the breaker when doing long welds on thick steel, then I realized the outlets in my kitchen are bigger (20A) so I started running a long thick extension cord to the kitchen. I've welded successfully many times using this outlet and even have had this issue using the outlets in the garage.I been using .035 because i don't have a spool gun and I figured it would feed easier or be less likely to kink. I've found .030 to be perfect for steel so maybe I should try it for aluminum too. I've heard to use a slightly oversized tip for welding aluminum since the metal expands more than steel when welding, have yall heard this?
Reply:Part of the reason you might be having luck with alum and the standard gun may be do to the larger wire. I have a spoolgun so I've never bothered to play with that. I have heard of running 0.030 thru 0.035 tips due to expansion, but have not had any isues myself. I've also seen a tip mod where the top half of the last 3/16" or so has been filed  down to the center chanel so that when the wire burns back to the tip its easier to free, but I have not tried that either..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:Well part of me is wanting to just replace a bunch of the parts on my machine since its really old anyway and it seems like everything has to be just perfect to weld aluminum on these machines without a spool gun. I've heard that you need a certain type of drive roller for aluminum, and was going to replace my teflon liner. However, I can't find any of these parts. I can't find any drive roller that would be better for aluminum, and I can't find a teflon liner for the Hobart anywhere.Do yall know where I can get these parts? I noticed that my teflon liner is actually too short anyway so i definitely want to replace it. I might switch to .030 wire and see how that works out as well.