Newbie's Hobart 140 goes click-click-click

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I'm just getting started with mig welding, went out and bought a Hobart 140.I took a lesson with a very skilled welder who brought his Miller over.  I did okay.Then I used my 140 (100 miles away, without the teacher) and am having a very difficult time.Using Argon/CO2, solid core wire, clean steel, good ground.  Have tried all 5 voltage levels and many speeds.  Tried various stick lengths (distance from gun tip to arc).When I weld, the machine clicks repeatedly (think it's the drive motor going on and off) and my welds looks like a modern painting of splattered molten steel.For a moment here and there I can get a bead, but it's terrible.I tried loosening the tension spring holding the roll of wire, as well as the tensioner adjustment by the feed roller.I sure would appreciate some suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong.Thank you!Joe
Reply:Are the drive rolls tight enough? Check that they match the size of wire you're using, and see if the spool is feeding freely. If the liner isn't kinked and the contact tip is in good shape and correct size, try feeding some wire through it without welding. too loose of a wire roll tension can be a problem too, the wire can tangle when the drive motor stops and the spool keeps turning. If you're still stuck try watching this guy's MIG videos. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqq...j4-UApS_m_6mPwSqWave 200Millermatic 190Airco 200 ACHypertherm PM45Boice-Crane Band SawVictor O/A
Reply:Is there a bad connection for the wires for the gun trigger?
Reply:Originally Posted by BrazinAre the drive rolls tight enough? Check that they match the size of wire you're using, and see if the spool is feeding freely. If the liner isn't kinked and the contact tip is in good shape and correct size, try feeding some wire through it without welding. too loose of a wire roll tension can be a problem too, the wire can tangle when the drive motor stops and the spool keeps turning. If you're still stuck try watching this guy's MIG videos. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqq...j4-UApS_m_6mPw
Reply:Originally Posted by Welder DaveIs there a bad connection for the wires for the gun trigger?
Reply:Could also be short somewhere in the gun causing it to have feeding issues.Multimatic 200Ellis 1800Haberle S225 9" cold sawMM 300;  Spoolmate 30A w/ WC-24TB 302GDynasty 280 DX Tigrunner
Reply:Might just be the ground clamp connection, is it on bright, clean metal Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkSqWave 200Millermatic 190Airco 200 ACHypertherm PM45Boice-Crane Band SawVictor O/A
Reply:The last option is that you're kinking the hose a little too much while getting your gun angle right. Try moving the machine as far away from the work as possible to straighten it out. The clicks could just be the wire unspooling.Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkSqWave 200Millermatic 190Airco 200 ACHypertherm PM45Boice-Crane Band SawVictor O/A
Reply:Just got back yesterday from a trip to the welding machine's location.Here's what I did:1)  Flipped the drive roller around to the smooth side.  Seems the 140 at some point came with a roller with a separate groove for .023 and .030.  Then, it switched to a roller with 2 grooves for .030/.035 where the ribbed side was for flux core and the smooth side for solid.2)  Loosened the reel spring tightening nut until the reel spun with almost no effort3)  Reduced the tension setting from 3 to about 1.54)  Made sure the tip was even with the shroud (I don't know how to adjust it; the shroud was pushing on as much as possible)5)  Made sure I had good ground and clean materialIt worked!  Or, at least, it's much better.The remaining problems are probably with my technique.Thank you all so much!  Because of your comments, I had multiple starting points to further research each aspect and come up with a plan.BTW, what I wasn't able to achieve was making sure I had solid 115v at the machine under load.  I've got a setup that would probably make many of you cringe:  100' 14/3 extension cord from random home outlet sunk a few inches into dirt across the yard and then another 50' extension cord to the machine.  I certainly would like to monitor the voltage at the machine while welding, but I don't know how.This is a great board and I very much appreciate the help.Joe
Reply:I typed your scenario into a voltage drop calculator and it calculated your voltage drop on a 150' run on 120 volts utilizing 14 gauge wire running 20 amps to be a 12.63% decrease producing 104 volts under a 20 amp load.  http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.htmlThe voltage drop may be causing some of your issues but am not sure the effect low voltage would have on your machine.
Reply:I would suggest moving the welder up to the house and trying it plugged directly into the outlet. Then if it works you know the extension cords are the problem. Welders need all the current you can give them and then some. I've found my little HF 90amp starts freaking out at 50' so a bigger machine on 150' just isn't going to be happy. Plus who knows how much wire is in the walls of your house between the breaker box and the outlet.This is what I think is happening:With just the fan running it has 115v and is happy.When the trigger is pulled the relay pulls in and turns on the transformer, drive assembly, and gas solenoid.The massive load from striking the arc causes the current draw to spike which makes the voltage drop across the extension cords worse.The voltage falls below the cut out voltage of the relay so the contacts open which turns the transformer, drive assembly, and solenoid off.The load is removed so the voltage climbs back up to the pull in voltage of the relay.The relay pulls in causing the whole cycle to start over again.My "collection":Homemade Stick WelderVictor O/A TorchAC 225Ideal Arc 250HF 90 Amp Flux CoreHF Mig 170Solar 2020 Plasma CutterPower i-Mig 140EHarris O/A torchHF Dual Mig 131140STAlpha Tig 200x
Reply:Originally Posted by Sale1084I typed your scenario into a voltage drop calculator and it calculated your voltage drop on a 150' run on 120 volts utilizing 14 gauge wire running 20 amps to be a 12.63% decrease producing 104 volts under a 20 amp load.  http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.htmlThe voltage drop may be causing some of your issues but am not sure the effect low voltage would have on your machine.
Reply:Originally Posted by Iain PI would suggest moving the welder up to the house and trying it plugged directly into the outlet. Then if it works you know the extension cords are the problem. Welders need all the current you can give them and then some. I've found my little HF 90amp starts freaking out at 50' so a bigger machine on 150' just isn't going to be happy. Plus who knows how much wire is in the walls of your house between the breaker box and the outlet.This is what I think is happening:With just the fan running it has 115v and is happy.When the trigger is pulled the relay pulls in and turns on the transformer, drive assembly, and gas solenoid.The massive load from striking the arc causes the current draw to spike which makes the voltage drop across the extension cords worse.The voltage falls below the cut out voltage of the relay so the contacts open which turns the transformer, drive assembly, and solenoid off.The load is removed so the voltage climbs back up to the pull in voltage of the relay.The relay pulls in causing the whole cycle to start over again.
Reply:Iain P, that was a great answer.Regarding the voltage setting, on a MIG welder like the HH140, the voltage and amperage are controlled only somewhat independently. Wire feed speed independently controls the amperage, which increases relatively linearly with wire speed in the short circuit range of the wire. However, the actual voltage between ground clamp and tip will depend on both the amperage and the voltage knob setting. Increase the voltage knob with the wire speed constant, output (welding) voltage will go up while current remains the same.  Increase the wire speed with voltage knob constant, the current will go up but the voltage will drop. This behavior is described by the volt-amp curves of the machine. Ignoring effects of power factor, power = voltage x current. So if you keep wire speed (amperage) constant, but turn down the voltage, the output power will be lower. Since input power = output power (ignoring losses), assuming the input voltage is constant, the input current would be less at voltage 1 than 5.The voltage drop from one end of the extension cord to the other = current x resistance, so use a shorter cord with less resistance and you have less of a drop for the same current. Most equipment is designed to operate within a specific range of input voltages, fall outside that range and you'll start getting phenomena like Iain P described and you experienced.