Newbie Wire Feed Question

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Hello, I have a hobart 125 EZ and now I lucked out and got a lincoln pro 180.  My questions are:When the spool is empty there is 10' of wire left in the cable that won't feed through since it's past the drive gear, I have simply been pulling it out of the gun end and throwing it out, is this the correct thing to do?  Is there anyway to not waste this 10' of wire?I have never taken off the contact tip when feeding in new wire, is it actually necessary?Thanks so much!Matt
Reply:Buy a TIG machine to use up the rest of that wire!There's less chance of snagging the wire when it enters the contact tip if you remove it before feeding the wire thru the "hose". Then just slide the tip over the end of the wire by hand and tighten it.Last edited by wirehead; 09-21-2013 at 09:55 PM.XMT304 (school)SP125+ (home)HF 4x6 BandsawGood judgement comes from experience and much of that comes from bad judgement.
Reply:You can use it for tig, or just toss it. I just toss it, because I waste a heck of a lot more than that when setting my WFS. I bet 10' wouldn't even come close to costing a penny. Now that bet was made purely tongue in cheek, not from actual thought or calculation."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:It's not "necessary" to remove the contact tip, but like wirehead said, less chance of it snagging if you do.x2 on using the leftover wire for tig. But if you can't buy a tig machine, keep it and bend it in to cool shapes and tack them together. Or just chuck it.
Reply:Thank you for the comments.  Is the correct way to remove that extra wire at the end of the spool to pull it through the gun, it cannot go back through the hose backwards so I'm assuming it must come out the gun end.Matt
Reply:Wire can travel backwards through the hose. For example, if you need to use a different wire for a particular weld (e.g. size or type), you can release the drive wheel tension and wind any unused wire back back from the gun thru the hose and onto the spool. Why waste 10 feet each time you need a new wire? But when you run out of wire, it is just easier to pull that "scrap" piece out the gun end.XMT304 (school)SP125+ (home)HF 4x6 BandsawGood judgement comes from experience and much of that comes from bad judgement.
Reply:Save up several hundred of the 10' pieces and butt weld them end to end and roll them back up on an empty spool so you can use them up, except for the last 10' of course.
Reply:Originally Posted by wireheadWire can travel backwards through the hose. For example, if you need to use a different wire for a particular weld (e.g. size or type), you can release the drive wheel tension and wind any unused wire back back from the gun thru the hose and onto the spool. Why waste 10 feet each time you need a new wire? But when you run out of wire, it is just easier to pull that "scrap" piece out the gun end.
Reply:Originally Posted by mattsseHello, I have a hobart 125 EZ and now I lucked out and got a lincoln pro 180.  My questions are:When the spool is empty there is 10' of wire left in the cable that won't feed through since it's past the drive gear, I have simply been pulling it out of the gun end and throwing it out, is this the correct thing to do?  Is there anyway to not waste this 10' of wire?I have never taken off the contact tip when feeding in new wire, is it actually necessary?Thanks so much!Matt
Reply:Originally Posted by mattsseThank you, I'll give that a try.Bistineau: I was thinking that if I weld them down their length I could turn .030 wire into .060 wire and once I wind them back on to the spool I can resell it!