WeldingWeb - Welding Community for pros and enthusiasts banner

Millermatic 212 won't feed

1 reading
4.2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  AaronL  
#1 ·
I've had this welder for 3 years, and I'd say it's had a good life. I wax it when it gets dirty, and comfort it when it's sad. The other day it had it's first real problem. I went out to the shop to finish welding up my roll cage, and the very first arc and it wouldn't feed. So I open up the case to find that my wire has oxidized (copper coated ER70). After trying to blow the liner out with compressed air and everything else I could think of, I decided to go to my favorite welding supplier and talk to him. He recommends a new liner and leaving the door open on my welder so it can ventilate. He also says that he would try the wire that is in the welder before scrapping it. I purchased the liner along with some clip on wipes. Well today I get a few hours to go work on the cage again and I start welding and I am hearing the feed wheels slipping and my welds are looking horrible. I tried adjusting the tension and cleaning the feed wheels again but no dice. Should I scrap this almost new roll of wire and start over? Does anyone know of a spray that can be applied to the wire to help prevent the oxidation on the copper coating? I appreciate anyones advice.
 
#2 ·
I hate to say it but if you can't pull wire off the spool and get to clean wire then you should just pitch the entire roll. Don't spray anything on the wire. Anything that will prevent rust will leave a residue and will affect the welds.

The best thing to do is if the welder is going to sit unused, remove the roll of wire put it in a plastic bag and store it in a dry area. I have heard of guys putting small light bulbs or gun locker heaters inside the wire comparments as well.

Tanker
 
#3 ·
Did you install the new liner? What about any guides, or a build-up of material within the cable assembly which may not have been removed with the old liner? Any problem with the tip, or in the tip holder? You just need to check everything in a methodical manner.

You may find the only the outer layer of wire is bad, and yes, some steel wool may clean it up nicely. If you pull lots of wire off to clean, attach a heavy weight or at least a large pair of Vice-Grips on the end so it can't go flying if it slips, and allows you to safely rewind it back onto the spool without getting kinks.
 
#4 ·
Tanker- The gun safe heater is a good idea, Cabela's has one for $32. It is really only humid in the shop when we get our spring rains. The welder will only sit unused for maybe a couple weeks at most, how fast does the oxidation occur. Does the liquid treated pads affect the weld? I wouldn't think they would sell something that would cause issues.

Oldiron2- I did install the new liner and a new tip. I cleaned feed wheels, blew out all the dust and dirt from the feed area. For the first few minutes welding today it seemed to work just fine, then it went to grinding again. The guy at the welding supply place said to keep the door on the welder open and put a towel over the roll and feed mechanism. I will try unspooling the wire and cleaning with steel wool, or just scrapping what I pull off.

I've also thought of buying a large capacity dehumidifier as insurance for the rest of my equipment, for now I'm keeping the expensive stuff coated with oil.

thanks for the replies!