What's that Lassie? You say that stryped fell down the old
rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue
by Fri, 21 May 2010 10:40:34 -0700 (PDT):

I have got a small hobart welder. (MIG). For some reason I could not
get the machien to weld right, like it did not have enough power. I
put new wire on and it worked fine. But, several weeks later whne I
went to use the welder again, same thign happened. It has rained alot
here. If this is moisture, can I bring the wire back to life?

If it's not the wire rusting(is it copper plated?) then it might be
corrosion at the contact tip.
Try swapping out the copper tip next time it happens.

Or a bad ground.
--

Dan H.
northshore MA.