contact tip issue

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hey guys,i just got a new welder a few months ago, its a millermatic 212, im having trouble with the contact tips and flux core wire, they seem to plug up or something and every so often the wire wont feed through and i have to pull it off, cut the wire and use my tip cleaners to clean in and then it'll work again for a little while. im using splatter stop often but this still happens...im using .035 wire with .035 miller contact tip...dont know off hand what brand the wire is...any ideas?
Reply:Have you tried adjusting the tension on the feeder?
Reply:When i ajust the tension on drive rolls i like to start from scratch, losen the ajustment all the way out and then tighten slowly until you can just stop the wire at the contact tip with your thumb covering it then i just put an extra half turn on the tensioner. I have used this method for years and have never had a problem with tension. What kind of drive rolls are you using for flux core i would reccamend V Knurled. maybe you should try using an .045 contack tip. Your liner could also be causing problems. Them are usually the most common problems i find with contact tip trouble either that or you do not have the correct settings. --Gol'
Reply:Most of the time when you are facing troubles with plugged tips with FC, it is because the stickout is too short. FC likes a longer stickout. For .035, a 1/2" to 5/8" stickout should be used. Any closer and you will be catching all the spatter...kinda like what is happening.
Reply:How often do you change the tip?  DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:It is a good proctice to use an oversize contact tip on any wire welding, because the wire has a helix in it and will hit the tip somewhere and transfer the current to the wire.  Also the tension on the wire spool can be causing the wire not to feed,  Liner could be dirty, Outled guide from the feed rols could be out of line.  Many things can cause feeding problems, check them all.   JohnSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:the guys at work are having a similar problem, but we knwo what our problem is. we recently changed wire companies as have found that their wire diameter is not consistant thru the entire spool. we don't know why it is not consistant, however we know that when they have a smaller diameter section of wire go thru the feed rollers, they tend to slip. they are using solid cored wired, but i could see this being an issue with flux-cored, as the wall thickness is obviously thinner than solid wire, thus making it more easily collapsable. our new wire company said that it is just a bad batch of wire and they are going to replace it as soon as they can get us a new roll (hopefully on monday). the reason we went with them is because they are cheaper, but like most things regarding the welding industry, you get what you pay for. the way our guys checked the wire at my shop is with a micrometer. they grabbed a 20 foot section and jsut started taking measurements every few inches. i don't know how much the diameter varied, but it was obviously enough to make a problem for our MillerMatic 251's.later,Andy
Reply:Originally Posted by aczellerthe guys at work are having a similar problem, but we knwo what our problem is. we recently changed wire companies as have found that their wire diameter is not consistant thru the entire spool. we don't know why it is not consistant, however we know that when they have a smaller diameter section of wire go thru the feed rollers, they tend to slip. they are using solid cored wired, but i could see this being an issue with flux-cored, as the wall thickness is obviously thinner than solid wire, thus making it more easily collapsable. our new wire company said that it is just a bad batch of wire and they are going to replace it as soon as they can get us a new roll (hopefully on monday). the reason we went with them is because they are cheaper, but like most things regarding the welding industry, you get what you pay for. the way our guys checked the wire at my shop is with a micrometer. they grabbed a 20 foot section and jsut started taking measurements every few inches. i don't know how much the diameter varied, but it was obviously enough to make a problem for our MillerMatic 251's.later,Andy
Reply:ok so from what im getting out of the posts im thinking i should move up to a .040 ct because once the tip is out of the gun it has no problem pushing the cable through, i had put more tension on the feed rollers and that seemed to help somewhat but didnt solve the problem. thanks for all the help guys, ill let you know if this works out
Reply:If you follow all the advice given on this thread, you can eliminate the problem.  The best set of instructions, I've seen to date.  JohnSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:One more thing to check. I just learned this yesterday as I had not tried it before, heheh. Are you using a standard Mig gun with gas nozzle? If so this is most likely your problem. My Hefty wire feeder came with a GMAW gun and had an .045 contact tip. Got the .035's and changed them out and it went to welding much better, until the tip heated up, then it started to stick. I took the nozzle to the vise and cut half of it off with a hacksaw and the ground it flat. Cured the problem. In GMAW the gas cools the tip, but with no gas flow and no external air flow, well you can guess the rest, needless to say no problems since, other than the power being off all afternoon, grrrrrrr.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Originally Posted by aczeller they are using solid cored wired, but i could see this being an issue with flux-cored, as the wall thickness is obviously thinner...
Reply:Only Metal cored might come close to Solid.  I haven't heard any posts on metsal cored wires, guess I should start one.  JohnSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :