New MIG welder. Couple of questions from a beginner.

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Hey everyone, I just got a new MIG welder today and had a couple questions. When you have the gas on, and you are welding, how much gas should be coming out of the tip? For now I have been just using flux core so I don't need the gas but I hooked up the gas with the machine off and pressed the trigger switch and the gas came out, but I'm not sure if it had enough pressure to shield any welds. It was like softly blowing air out of a straw. So is there something wrong with the gas system on this? Or does the machine have to be on for it to work better?I also think that I didn't hook up the regulator correctly since I need to replace one of the gauges and it leaks a little bit.Also, the gun of this welder is a little beat up. It's a Clarke welder model 130EN and Clarke went out of business. I can use it just fine but I would like to replace the whole gun assembly (I'm not sure if that's what it's called but I want to replace the entire hose coming out of the welder along with the gun and trigger assembly and tip). The question is: Do I HAVE to buy a Clarke brand replacement gun hose assembly or can I buy any other one and install it on this machine? (probably a dumb question but it doesn't hurt to ask). Thanks everyone. I look forward to reading your responses and getting right into welding like a pro.
Reply:You should be able to feel the gas coming out but not enough to dry your hair after a shower. If you have a gauge that will show the outlet pressure, usually 20-40 cfm is fine. You should also be able to find a gun that will fit the feeder. bring the gun into a welding supplier and they can set you up.CERTIFICATIONS:7018M- H.V.O10718M- H.V.O11018M- H.V.O9N10- H.V.O71T-1-HYM- H.O.V100S1 PULSE ARC 0,035- H.O.V100S1 PULSE ARC 0.045- H.O.VER70S-3 PULSE ARC 0.035 H.O.VER70S-3 PULSE ARC 0.045 H.O.VER5554- H.O.V
Reply:Awesome! Thanks for the help! That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I can use this gun for a while but the tip of it (the angled part that the nozzle attaches to) swivels a little bit and it bothers me. I'm thinking of a way to tighten it down temporarily. Thank you for the reply. I appreciate it.
Reply:sometimes if you take the plastic handle apart, there is a screw that can tighten the neck up. A lot of the guns are adjustable and can be swiveled around by doing that. Some aren't and are just broken. Who knows until you try.CERTIFICATIONS:7018M- H.V.O10718M- H.V.O11018M- H.V.O9N10- H.V.O71T-1-HYM- H.O.V100S1 PULSE ARC 0,035- H.O.V100S1 PULSE ARC 0.045- H.O.VER70S-3 PULSE ARC 0.035 H.O.VER70S-3 PULSE ARC 0.045 H.O.VER5554- H.O.V
Reply:Yep fix that gun and that should get you right into welding like a pro.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:Yeah I opened it up and looked at it but I don't think it has any screw to tighten it. I'll check again tomorrow since I wasn't really looking for a screw the first time.
Reply:If the neck screws into the gun, it might be floppy because it's not screwed in all the way and screwing it in tight would result in an odd unworkable angle for the nozzle. In school, there was one MIG like that with a floppy neck, totally unusable. I removed the neck from the handle and found, due to thread damage from (ab)use, several initial rotations of the neck wrt the handle were available to start the threading of the parts together. After trying each, I found "the one" which resulted in a tight proper assembly.XMT304 (school)SP125+ (home)HF 4x6 BandsawGood judgement comes from experience and much of that comes from bad judgement.
Reply:Originally Posted by NHMattYou should be able to feel the gas coming out but not enough to dry your hair after a shower. If you have a gauge that will show the outlet pressure, usually 20-40 cfm is fine. You should also be able to find a gun that will fit the feeder. bring the gun into a welding supplier and they can set you up.
Reply:Originally Posted by ExpatWelderAt 20-40 CFM, your bottle will last all of 5 minutes---try CFH