MIG: tip life and cleaning

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I am using .035 wire with a MM175.  75/25.  How often do you have to clean a tip?  How often do you have to replace a tip?  I am guessing that my tip is getting too much spatter because I am A) moving at too slow of a rate (inches of weld per minute) or B) not having enough "wire speed" or "voltage".... which causes me to move at too slow of a rateSo, professionals, how long do you use a tip? and how fast do you weld?  Can you clean one to "get by"?Thanks!
Reply:Sometimes the splatter can come off easily.  Just remove tip and lightly brush it with a wire brush.  Thats what I do before I start welding every day.
Reply:lots of spatter can be caused by gas flow restriction...thats when the hole around the tip gets all clogged up with spattertakes spatter to make spatter   i just pop thy nozzle off and run a round file around the inside to get all the "shmeg" off  the cleaner the better  ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Tip life is dependent on quite a few factors.   The more heat/amperage you are using the shorter the life.  Tack welding results in accidental burnbacks and various problems that shorten life.   Simple spatter will not have a great effect other than clogging up your nozzle.  The wrong settings will increase spatter.   Use an anti-spatter spray or nozzle dip to make cleaning easier.  When your wire hole becomes enlarged you can still weld but your arc becomes irregular.  You notice the difference immediately after changing to a new tip.    I can run a full roll of wire (20 kg) on one tip but if I am tacking it is a whole different matter.
Reply:1/2" drill bit is perfect size to clean inside of nozzle on my MM 175.                       MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:At less than a buck a pop the tip itself isn't a real big deal. Buy a ten pack and it sort of guarantees that you won't need the other nine. They just lay there till the one you chose eggs out so bad it arcs more on the inside than outside. By then you've sort of gotten loyal to the old one and don't wanna chage till it just won't fire anymore.  If you only have one tip of any size in the entire shop, new or used,  murphy will make it seize up, gum up, or burn up in the first inch of bead. As far as spatter build up goes there are a few anti spatter pre-treatment sprays that can help some. It won't stop spatter  but helps keep it from sticking to your tip and nozzle. Voltage a little high causes a little stra spatter. Overhead and verticle don't help a lot. Just watch the inside of the nozzle and if it starts to looked like heavy, stop and clean it. You don't want one of those globs a spatter dropping down into the middle of a bead. I keep various little doo dads around to do a quick clean, like a small brass brush and small flattened and smoothed out little blades to reach into the nozzle and pul the ring out. If you are setting around waiting for something to cool down that's when you can pull things apart and give them a better cleaning.
Reply:Me personally, I use my tips till the first prob.  Then I change.  But I always keep the old ones, if there not bad looking, in my tool box.  On break or shooting the pooh I clean them with a tip cleaner.  Polish em up and make em pretty again.  This works well for me.IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Battery terminal brush and oxy/ace tip cleaner files will help extend their life.  Using a bit of anti spatter nozzle dip will help a bit also.  After you use the tip cleaners a few times, the tips are getting close to the next size up .  Buy in bulk and they are really cheap.  I just got 100 tregaskiss .045 tips off ebay for 20 bucks shipped.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Heres a tip for future pulse machine purchasers, they eat tips real fast at least three times faster than standard short or spray transfer methods. To answer your question I replace my tip as soon as I see my wire not running true from the tip. It kinda wanders around. In pulse mode I can only get about 10 hrs of weld time out of them on my LN 25 I can go weeks without changing the tip, definetly use nozzle gel, personally I wont use any antispatter that is water base I prefer nozzle dip, it is parifin based less chance of proosity Fire doesn't burn a good Christian !
Reply:How do you apply the nozzle dip?  I have a practically full container.  The first time used it I stuck everything (nozzle and tip attached to the torch).  Took me a while to figure out what happened to my gas flow.  So I put it away and used my nozzle spray.I also on occasion use torch tip cleaner to extend the life of the tip.  Though mostly I just change them out. Definitely buy extras.  I have some cheap mig pliers which are quite convenient.
Reply:Schmagma...
Reply:Tapwelder...if everything is cold, take half a finger full and smear it over the inside of the nozzle, outside, and on the tip.  Once the gun is good and hot, you can put the end of the gun right into the tub.  The excess wax will melt out as you withdraw...so, to speak.  If you dip it cold, you will likely get the whole end of the gun caked with gell...as 76GMC150 sorta aludes to .Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Thanks for all the input, I am learning.  I was cleaning the nozzle about every 20 minutes or so, the ring of spatter came out pretty easil.  But I used 3 tips in a couple of hours of welding (while I was working, probably more like 45 minutes of solid welding) because they were getting globbed closed and the spatter would not come off.  I know I may have been too close, and I was playing a bit with the settings.  Wow, one tip for the whole spool-- I have a goal!
Reply:I rarely use nozzle dip, but when I do it works well.  I use it mostly when iM dealiong wth metal that isnt clean enough but Im forced to use wire.  I would choose stick for dirty stuff.   I never use anti spatter.  I dont care for the stuff personally...with the exception of keeping spatter off things like shafts and places I dont want spatter.IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:I never use anti spatter. I dont care for the stuff personally...with the exception of keeping spatter off things like shafts and places I dont want spatter.
Reply:Sandy,Some of hte equipment Ive built was saw mill equipment.  Used chain runs and such.  Often youre welding with the shaft in place.  YOu DO everything in your poower to not get spatter any where on that shaft.  You cover it in rags...spray with anti spatter, ect.  You arent weldin gon the shaft, but sometimes you still have to weld afte youve gotten the shaft in place, perhaps a piece the shaft is attached to.  This creates a huge burden.  If you get spatter on the shaft it can cause big big problems.  Not always, but it can.   Theyve got trees in your part of the state righ???     Im sure you can understand what Im saying though about the shafts.  They gotta be perfectly shaped and all that...spatter no good for trhatIF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Thanks for the great ideas!   I did some experimenting this weekend and got good reults.  I got some Nozzle Dip, ($4.95 for a tub) and that seemed to help.  Plus using a drill bit (1/2" someone said, I think I used one the next size down?) works great, also.   I think I just need to play around with the setting some more, too.  But wow, MIG does the job!!