Sorry, silly wire speed question!

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Well, i've searched on here for an hour, gotten some conflicting information, so i figured i'd ask so i can clear it up once and for all.  I have the 110 v MM135, using .035 flux core wire.  Sometimes when welding stuff like .5 x .5 inch fencing style square tubing, or even 1'  x 1' tubing i get burnthrough, and i'm generally a faster mover.  I don't sit in one spot for very long in other words. NOW, from what i understood in welding class, if you are getting burnthrough on thinner materials, you should LOWER the heat a bit and SPEED up the wire.  Am I backwards on this?  It makes perfect sense in my head, but I'd like an official, experienced answer.  Thanks in advance guys, I'm sure wire speed questions get old to you professionals lol.  Have a Jeep Cherokee?  Click Here!
Reply:Questions never get old.  Lower the Voltage and wire feed speed, both.   Wire feed speed will burn a hole in the material you are trying to weld on. Probably 22 - 23 volts, 140 to 150 amps will be alll you will need with .035.   Sorry, I am answering for gas shielded flux core wire.  First--- what wire are you running (AWS #) and what polarity are you running, on your machine.  John Gault    P.S. I think we can answer all your questions, but first we will need a little more information.  ThanksSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:Sorry, forgot to include those numbers:  the AWS is A5.20 and it's DCEN wire, but to be honest i'm not sure what the machine is on or how to check, never did think about that, but i assume it's correct because it does weld excellently, and i'm sure most the burn through i'm experiencing is pilot error, but i figured i'd see what y'all had to say!  Thanks for the response!EDIT:  Just to let you into my warped thinking: i figured faster wire speed was the answer because since it was filling at a faster rate, it would produce less burn-through.  However, my logic has failed me before, wouldn't be the first time LOL.Last edited by Skwerly; 11-23-2007 at 02:58 PM.Have a Jeep Cherokee?  Click Here!
Reply:As stated above you'll want to lower the voltage and wire speed together. But then again, your MM 135 has the wire speed tracking feature, which means if you lower the voltage setting the rate at which the wire drive motor is feeding wire will reduce some too.If the material you are having burn through issues with  is in the .060 - .080 range, you might help yourself out some by switching to an .030 wire instead.Last edited by Dan; 11-23-2007 at 03:00 PM.
Reply:Thanks, I had considered that as well!  I believe I will do this, most the jobs i do are smaller stuff, and i really should go with the .030.  Ok, cleared up a lot for me Dan, thanks a bunch!Have a Jeep Cherokee?  Click Here!
Reply:EDIT: Just to let you into my warped thinking: i figured faster wire speed was the answer because since it was filling at a faster rate, it would produce less burn-through. However, my logic has failed me before, wouldn't be the first time LOL.
Reply:That's interesting, i guess my thinking was flawed as usual lol.  I'll try that, thanks man!Have a Jeep Cherokee?  Click Here!
Reply:Thanks to you guys from me also . . . I too was thinking back-wards in respect to lower/raise wire speed when burning thru square tubing . . . Makes since . . . "Back to basic welding principles" & electricity as explained in class and books. Thanks,SteveMillermatic® 251
Reply:Originally Posted by weldgaultQuestions never get old.  Lower the Voltage and wire feed speed, both.   Wire feed speed will burn a hole in the material you are trying to weld on. Probably 22 - 23 volts, 140 to 150 amps will be alll you will need with .035.   Sorry, I am answering for gas shielded flux core wire.  First--- what wire are you running (AWS #) and what polarity are you running, on your machine.  John Gault    P.S. I think we can answer all your questions, but first we will need a little more information.  Thanks
Reply:Just to beat a dead horse. I weld 1X1X1/16 galv tubing and .5X.5 galv with .045 flux core almost everyday. Buy the wire diamiter that is apropriate for your machine and just play with the setings. More wire more amps but the wont nesisaraly make you burn through. Practice practice. Steel Thunder Welding LLC. St. Thomas VI USAMM350PBOBCAT 3MAXSTAR 150 STH375 EXTREME PLASMA6.5 HP COMPRESORDEWALT 18, 24, AND 36 VOLTO/A TORCH SETAND SO MUCH MORE I DONT REMEMBERALL IN MY 2005 2500HD EXTENDED CAB L/B
Reply:Yea, old thread lol.  I have another question kind of on the same subject.  Ok, if I RAISE the wire speed, I raise up the amps, I get that.  But isn't that kind of the same thing as raising the heat?  I thought wire speed was just simply how fast the wire fed out, and the voltage knob controlled heat?  Is there a "quick" answer of what each knob actually does?  I guess I'm a bit confused on this still LOL!My machine has a wire speed dial, and a voltage dial.  in general, should the voltage be lower or higher than the wire speed, or is it subjective?Thanks, you guys are great!Last edited by Skwerly; 06-28-2008 at 10:55 PM.Have a Jeep Cherokee?  Click Here!
Reply:Originally Posted by SkwerlyYea, old thread lol.  I have another question kind of on the same subject.  Ok, if I RAISE the wire speed, I raise up the amps, I get that.  But isn't that kind of the same thing as raising the heat?  I thought wire speed was just simply how fast the wire fed out, and the voltage knob controlled heat?  Is there a "quick" answer of what each knob actually does?  I guess I'm a bit confused on this still LOL!My machine has a wire speed dial, and a voltage dial.  in general, should the voltage be lower or higher than the wire speed, or is it subjective?Thanks, you guys are great!
Reply:Ok, if I RAISE the wire speed, I raise up the amps, I get that. But isn't that kind of the same thing as raising the heat?
Reply:Yea, I think so LOL.  So let's say I'm welding a "rather" thin piece of steel, and burning through it now and again.  Would it be best to turn the wire speed up or down?  Maybe better to turn the "voltage" up or down?  It's funny how this simple concept is proving to be so complicated to me LOL!  I mean, I DO weld, and not bad either!  I just want to be clearer on these concepts.Thanks for the input, great stuff! Have a Jeep Cherokee?  Click Here!
Reply:Homework can wait... ...these are just my thoughts, so if your mind works differently, nevermind! The "voltage knob" is what I reach for first. I know how much "punch" this machine has, simply by familiarity. So I have a thin piece, ok it's light gauge stuff, I want to turn down the "voltage", because this is a wire fed welding machine on "mig mode" if you will, I am not turning down "the amperage", as I would with stick welding. This machine uses voltage taps, so I don't have a clue what numerical voltage it is giving, I have to rely on familiarity with the unit. They ALL have a wire feed "knob", that gives me a fine tuning feature. Once I tune the wire feed to match the voltage, all is good. I do that by ear, literally!  When you pull the trigger on a piece of scrap, listen to the "buzz". As you let the wire flow, have one hand on the wire feed knob and turn it up and down as you weld. Hear the differing tone as you rotate up and then down. The highest frequency pitch is generally best. You want to hit the "high note"!  That is the balancing point.Here is the side note; the wire feed knob adjusts the rate of wire coming out of the gun. Once you set that to your desired position, the wire always comes out at "one speed". The machines voltage is set by the voltage knob at a "given voltage". The machine itself must compensate with the amperage delivery automatically in response to the amount of "wire stickout" the weldor is keeping by the gun tip to work distance. the longer the stick out, the higher the amperage delivered to the work piece. The shorter the stickout, the less the amperage delivered to the work piece. (I hope I got that right!) That may be reversed, I forget, darn. Does this translate into actual heat delivered? Closer is hotter, definitley hotter! In any case, as long as I see the puddle, I'm ok with that. The real culprit, is gravity!So, to set up with any given voltage, I have got to match wire speed to the voltage set. They "tune together".Last edited by tanglediver; 06-29-2008 at 02:20 AM.City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Hey thanks tanglediver!!  Yea, you do have the "stickout" reversed;  shorter is more, but otherwise good stuff, I appreciate it!  Have a Jeep Cherokee?  Click Here!
Reply:Yea, I think so LOL. So let's say I'm welding a "rather" thin piece of steel, and burning through it now and again. Would it be best to turn the wire speed up or down? Maybe better to turn the "voltage" up or down?
Reply:The way i think of it is the volts are the heat and the wire speed is the range. you will find the sweet spot for you, some hold the gun a little further away and some hold it closer and that changes the wire stick out length and the way it welds quite a bit, and from one guy to the next guy who picks up the gun might need to adjust the wire speed to achive the same result. (puttin it simple in my own words)Nothing Ever Got Done By Quitting, Never Give Up.
Reply:Hey those helped nicely, I think I'm starting to get it here hehehe.   Thanks a lot!!Have a Jeep Cherokee?  Click Here!