trouble with my new lincoln

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ok i am a certified welder stick, and mig (though in my opinion that doesn't count for much) i just bought a new Lincoln pro MIG 140 (or is it power mig 140?) and i cant seem to get it to lay a smooth bead, it keeps sputtering like the wire isn't feeding smoothly, i  am using flux core wire, with the correct tip and drive wheel size, and it comes out smooth if i just pull the trigger but the second i start welding it sputters like crazy.i have checked the manual to make sure my hot and ground are hooked up properly and i tried loosening the spool a bit (with the thumb screw). that led to loosing about 8 ft of wire as my spool kept spinning a bit when i let off the trigger.i have no experiance with this machine so i may be doing something wrong, i just need some ideas as to what that something is.thanks
Reply:sounds like you need to do some tweekin with wire feed speed, keep making slight adjustments slower or faster to find the sweet spot
Reply:turn the heat up
Reply:Another thing to look at is drive roller tension.Take a block of wood, bend the wire a little bit so it doesn't stub into the block, and squeeze the trigger.  If the wire feed stalls, you might have to increase tension on the drive rollers.Overspeeding the wire at the incorrect voltage will also produce stubbing in the puddle.My little HH 135 seems to like to run at the low end of all of the tapped voltage settings with flux core.  Somewhere between 2 and 4 on the wire speed dial."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Open the side door and watch the whole thing as you try to feed wire. Try a bit, then release tension and rewind and replay to find out what is happening. I found trouble with my original 110 volt WeldPac, a small fluxcore only wire machine. I never did iron it out, but I had already traded it away. It seemed like the wire had taken a "set" on the spool, it would release in jerks, like a fishing reel with bad drag washers. Someone here said using a larger spool of wire helped out. Fluxcore wire may not do so well on small spools, just a theory of mine. The cored wire is stiff and fragile.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:That came out weird. LOLAt whatever voltage setting, start with wire speed around 2, then increase until the wire starts stubbing on you.  Initial bead height....volts, then tweek the speed on the wireVery good machine in my experience, but not terribly powerful.  Stay within the limits and you'll come to love it"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Tanglediver is right, the little spools tighten up, like your chest after 3 packs of cigarettes, when you start to get to the end of the roll.My HH also had a too robust tensioner spring.  I clipped it in half to reduce tension on the wire spool.  Has worked fine ever since.  Only need enough tension to keep the thing from birdnesting, and it's very little tension"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:WIRE FEEDERS"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Oh, and REDUCE STICKOUT.  Stupid things don't run well with anymore than about 1/4-3/8 stickout.  It starts to sputter like an old lady that fell into a pile of crap"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:If you are a certified welder, you have probably already done all of this but here goes:1.  Turn up the wire feed a little faster than the chart on the inside door recommends.2.  Maintain a short stickout (approx 1/4" - 1/2")3.  Make sure you have a good clean ground attachment.4.  Clean the metal you are welding real well.5.  Make sure your polarity is correct (I beleive you said you did this).6.  Clip the end of the wire to approx. 1/4" at start up (no little ball on the end of the wire)7.  Stay on the leading edge of the puddle (no faster and no slower)If none of this solves your problem, you need to give your welder to me.
Reply:Small extension cords will make them do that too.
Reply:thanks for all the input everyone, i am using an 8 inch spool of flux core btw,ill try fiddling with the dials some more today, i know its not a powerful machine, im mainly using it for body work, now the lincoln i learned to do body work on was an a very old very large antique lincoln of some kind, and i blew holes in everything till i got it down, now with this one my welds look like sh** because  of the sputtering jerking thing, i try turning up the speed but it just does the same thing just faster, which leads to crappy welds at high speed lol. its almost like some times the wire doesn't melt fast enough or sometimes too fast. its very discouraging cuz i hate grinding and re-welding.thanks all off to try again, ill report back on the issue
Reply:Originally Posted by joekapthanks for all the input everyone, i am using an 8 inch spool of flux core btw,ill try fiddling with the dials some more today, i know its not a powerful machine, im mainly using it for body work, now the lincoln i learned to do body work on was an a very old very large antique lincoln of some kind, and i blew holes in everything till i got it down, now with this one my welds look like sh** because  of the sputtering jerking thing, i try turning up the speed but it just does the same thing just faster, which leads to crappy welds at high speed lol. its almost like some times the wire doesn't melt fast enough or sometimes too fast. its very discouraging cuz i hate grinding and re-welding.thanks all off to try again, ill report back on the issue