Mig gun question.

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I have a Tweco copy 200A or 250A mig gun. I know I can run .035" & .045" wire thru it, because I do. Can I run .023" or .030", or do I have to change the liner? I know about the drive rolls and tips, I just need to know about the liner, thanks."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:While not a direct one for one comparison, I've got the Lincoln magnum 250 gun with a 15 foot lead. It pushes .030 pretty good up to about 400 to 450 ipm. Of course 450 ipm is about the max amps you wanna run with .030 anyway without just piling on the filler. It gets a little runny too at those speeds. You can go beyond that on special ocassions but it gets flakey ( the amps and feed).That said, I have managed to run .023  a few rare times. It is really surgy and tough to run. It got the job done. If you absolutely have a need yes, but if .023 is what I wanted to run much at all I'd go with a shorter lead and a minimum of .030 liner. I don't hink I'd bother putting a .023 liner on a 15 foot gun. Seems like too small of an improvement for the effort."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:Use the smallest liner size the wire will feed through.  The longer the torch lead and the larger the difference in wire diameter to liner diameter, the more the wire will want to 'snake' inside the big liner.  This snaking of the wire means it is 'coiling up' and then 'springing out' as it goes down the liner.  This results in the pulsey slow/fast wire feeding you are seeing at the torch tip.  This problem is more acute with smaller diameter wires and soft wires, such as aluminum and fluxcore.  Larger hard wires are less susceptible to the snaking, but they still get it if the liner is large enough.  If you keep the liner size small, appropriate to the wire size, you can feed wire down a longer torch without snaking or pulsing at the tip.  I put a 20' torch on my 350P with .035 hard wire and a liner designated for .030 wire.  This '.030' liner actually measures .039 inside, so the .035 wire fits very nice.  The wire feeds great in the 20' torch length, no different from my 15' torch with the same wire.  The key is keeping that wire under control inside the liner and you can only do that by decreasing the clearance space between the wire and liner.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:It is a 15' torch. And since the .045" fits, then I will guess I would need a new liner. Oh well, not a necessity right now, so I will start looking for a "deal" on ebay for a smaller complete torch."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:I have a 15' Tweco Mini that works great on .035 wire, but wont push .030 worth a damn. Might want to stick with a 12' if wanting to use .023 or .030 wire. Just giving my experience using a Tweco gun.Millermatic 251Spectrum 300 PlasmaEverlast PowerTig 250EXEverlast PowerCool W300Harris / Victor OACraftsman 13 Speed Drill PressProTools Air/Hydraulic Bender48" BrakeCompressor, Notchers, Grinders, etc.
Reply:Thanks for the replies. Yep, I was thinking about going to a 12' gun for the small stuff."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"