.023 wire

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I just picked up a Millermatic 251 from a guy and he gave me a roll of .023 and a roll of .035, i'm trying to weld patch panels but the .023 keeps wadding up and birds nesting, tried turning down the roller pressure but by the time it will feed constantly it will bird nest.  I have the right rollers and the machine is stock besides the regulator, The wire had a little rust on it, so i wire wheeled it, is that my problem?
Reply:I can't remember the size of the liner in that gun. If it's got a large liner for .045 wire it's not surprising the little .023 wire is jamming. Stretch the gun out as straight as posible and see if it feeds better. Then put a few medium bends in the gun and see if it starts to jam. If so, I'd think the liners at fault, either too large or possibly a kink. I'm betting that machine comes stock with a large .035 liner, not one for .023 and it's got a longer gun than the smaller machines that increases the problem..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by ckrummyI just picked up a Millermatic 251 from a guy and he gave me a roll of .023 and a roll of .035, i'm trying to weld patch panels but the .023 keeps wadding up and birds nesting, tried turning down the roller pressure but by the time it will feed constantly it will bird nest.  I have the right rollers and the machine is stock besides the regulator, The wire had a little rust on it, so i wire wheeled it, is that my problem?
Reply:It seems like it is catching on the tip with rusted part of the wire.  It feeds bad for a while then it works great, it looks like i'm going to be wasting a lot of wire.
Reply:Maybe time to bit the bullet and buy a 2 lb roll of fresh wire.
Reply:The inside of the liner can gradually fill up with flakes and rust and dirt which can cause the problem. You might think it would occur more with the larger wire which would have less space, but the larger wire is much stiffer so might not show the problem as soon. If you remove the liner and blow compressed air through, that might help blow any junk out.As for cleaning rust off the wire, if the rust is so bad it clogs the hole in the contact tip, it is probably not good enough for quality work, just for practice on old scrap. I wouldn't think a wire wheel would be the way to clean it either, but unrolling the wire and using fine steel wool over the length of the extended wire will be quite a job and possible mess too, unless you can re-roll the cleaned wire onto something else. Probably not worth the trouble, all things considered.If the inner wire of the spool is good, just pull the outside bad wire off and use it for snares or "hookless Concertina wire" around your shop's perimeter.
Reply:You answered your own question.  If the wire is rusted, ditch it.  Peel off the outer layer till its nice and clean.  The wire will be depositing rust in your liner causing more problems in the future.Why aggravate your self?DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Yeah i pulled off most of it and it is working better just it sucks having to wast 1/4 of a 33lb roll just because the previous owner didn't take care of it, and for the person who said i should get another 2lb roll, i hope that was a joke because the mm251 takes a little bit bigger rolls than that.
Reply:doncha have to use a knurled roller for certain sizd' wire or something.?        thermal arc 252i  -  millermatic 350P -   miller XMT, cp300ts, 30a 22a feeders, buttload of other millers, handfull of lincolns, couple of esabs  -   Hypertherm 1250 G3
Reply:Originally Posted by woi2lddoncha have to use a knurled roller for certain sizd' wire or something.?
Reply:The knurled drive rolls are for flux core.
Reply:Originally Posted by transitRust? Maybe. Solid wire is coated with copper and what you think is “rust” is the copper coating.
Reply:A new tip, new .023 liner should fix the problem, provided the drive roll and spool tensions are set right, the rust problem is fixed and the drive roll is .023 size.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Yeah i just don't want to waste $70 spool of wire, but we'll see it was a lot better today just having problems with the welds popping more than usual but i'll see if i can iron that by voltage and wire speed..
Reply:That’s why I suggested a 2 lb spool until you get things straightened out and you can try different brands and classes without a big investment. If you don’t weld that often a 2 lb and 10 lb spools can be stored in a zip lock bag. I have no idea how to store a 30 lb spool long term.
Reply:sorry but from what i am aware of is that a 2lb spool won't even fit my welder, i could be wrong.
Reply:Originally Posted by ckrummysorry but from what i am aware of is that a 2lb spool won't even fit my welder, i could be wrong.