Quote: Ok been an amateur welder for about 3years now. Im using a hobart 140 (120v) with 75/25 gas set at 20cfh and .023 wire.
The main question is: once in while when I start my weld the wire starts to melt back on itself and not place itself on the metal. It leaves glowing little ball of material on the wire and you have to start again. This is VERY annoying and often causes a bad next weld. What is causing this? Unclean metal? Ground to far from weld? (maybe an amateur )
Another thing would it be advantageous to switch to 0.030 wire for panel work?
Enlighten me so I can be a good amateur!
Kilroy, my Lincoln welder likes a little more gas when doing bodywork type welding, usually set it at 25cfh, 20 just doesn't seem to do as well. .023" wire is great for bodywork. The intermittant problem you have could be wire speed being a little slow, or if your cable is not stretched out properly, the welding wire will bind inside causing a molten ball of wire at the tip.
)
