My baby MIG has been cantankerous lately: wire sticking, funky arc.
Looking at it closely, I could see some rust on the wire. There wasn't
much left, so I bought a new roll. WOW, what a difference!! The poor
performance had crept up on me over a long time, so it wasn't noticeable
until it was really bad.

The old roll was Fourney, from local hardware store; the new one Anchor
brand from a welding store. But I suspect it was the rust, more than
the brand, that was the problem. I'm now thinking about some kind of
enclosure around the spool, with a dessicant in it. Anybody done it?

Bob

BTW - the welding shop invoice:

wire ................ $4
cleaning pads ........ 6
---
$10
compliance charge ... $4
---
$14


"compliance charge"?? WTF?? !!

Well, you complied by paying, and they charged you for the privilege of
complying.....
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

compliance charge ... $4
---
$14


"compliance charge"?? WTF?? !!


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Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
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On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 19:20:59 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

My baby MIG has been cantankerous lately: wire sticking, funky arc.
Looking at it closely, I could see some rust on the wire. There wasn't
much left, so I bought a new roll. WOW, what a difference!! The poor
performance had crept up on me over a long time, so it wasn't noticeable
until it was really bad.

The old roll was Fourney, from local hardware store; the new one Anchor
brand from a welding store. But I suspect it was the rust, more than
the brand, that was the problem. I'm now thinking about some kind of
enclosure around the spool, with a dessicant in it. Anybody done it?

Bob

Yes. I've had the same problem. Drove me nuts until I figured it
out. I now bag the spool of wire in a ziplock with a desiccant pack
if it's to be unused for any length of time.

On a spool that has a lot left on it, sometimes you can strip off a
couple of layers and find bright wire underneath. If there is any
rust at all on the wire, it won't feed well in a small MIG box.

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 19:20:59 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

My baby MIG has been cantankerous lately: wire sticking, funky arc.
Looking at it closely, I could see some rust on the wire. There wasn't
much left, so I bought a new roll. WOW, what a difference!! The poor
performance had crept up on me over a long time, so it wasn't noticeable
until it was really bad.

The old roll was Fourney, from local hardware store; the new one Anchor
brand from a welding store. But I suspect it was the rust, more than
the brand, that was the problem. I'm now thinking about some kind of
enclosure around the spool, with a dessicant in it. Anybody done it?

Bob

Ive a few rolls of wire...G and they all live in their very own
garbage bag, all neatly twist tied shut, with a bag of dessicant in
each. Even the stainless steel ones. I too had a rusting problem,
with the symptoms exactly like yours. At certain times of the year, we
have fog ..heavy fog, as well as a certain amount of H2S that drifts
in from the oil fields..can be a hells brew on un oiled stuff.

Btw...1 gallon zip lock bags from the dollar store work pretty good
for the small rolls, and you can see whats inside.

Gunner



BTW - the welding shop invoice:

wire ................ $4
cleaning pads ........ 6
---
$10
compliance charge ... $4
---
$14


"compliance charge"?? WTF?? !!

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
news
My baby MIG has been cantankerous lately: wire sticking, funky arc.
Looking at it closely, I could see some rust on the wire. There wasn't
much left, so I bought a new roll. WOW, what a difference!! The poor
performance had crept up on me over a long time, so it wasn't noticeable
until it was really bad.

The old roll was Fourney, from local hardware store; the new one Anchor
brand from a welding store. But I suspect it was the rust, more than
the brand, that was the problem. I'm now thinking about some kind of
enclosure around the spool, with a dessicant in it. Anybody done it?

Bob

Our welding supplier told us to bag the roll with one of those dryer bags
inside it. I use enough .o35 wire to not worry about it on a 33 pound roll.
The roll of .023 is a different story though. The last 30 pound roll of
Lincoln wire was rusted when I opened the box. The supplier is going to hear
about this one.

Before feeding it into the line try this..

Take a common green scrubby pad (Scotch-brite) and cut it length-wise
to be a 1" strip then fold it over in 1" squares in a Z pattern like an
accordion in as many layers as you can make depending on the pads
length..

Put the new spool ON the mount then poke the wire through all the
layers of the pad THEN feed it into the guns hose..

This way if there is any crap or the starting of corrosion on the wire
it will be wiped off as your pulling the trigger...

It wont pull into the line hole at all (done it for years), But the
bends in the pad scratch the surface of the wire as its' moving into
the line to keep it clean...

Ever seen a spool that has sat for a winter turn all green?

Rob in NH aka:
http://www.PABlater.com
"sandblasting with low-pressure"

Before feeding it into the line try this..

Take a common green scrubby pad (Scotch-brite) and cut it length-wise
to be a 1" strip then fold it over in 1" squares in a Z pattern like an
accordion in as many layers as you can make depending on the pads
length..

Put the new spool ON the mount then poke the wire through all the
layers of the pad THEN feed it into the guns hose..

This way if there is any crap or the starting of corrosion on the wire
it will be wiped off as your pulling the trigger...

It wont pull into the line hole at all (done it for years), But the
bends in the pad scratch the surface of the wire as its' moving into
the line to keep it clean...

Ever seen a spool that has sat for a winter turn all green?

Rob in NH aka:
http://www.PABlaster.com
"sandblasting with low-pressure"

Before feeding it into the line try this..

Take a common green scrubby pad (Scotch-brite) and cut it length-wise
to be a 1" strip then fold it over in 1" squares in a Z pattern like an
accordion in as many layers as you can make depending on the pads
length..

Put the new spool ON the mount then poke the wire through all the
layers of the pad THEN feed it into the guns hose..

This way if there is any crap or the starting of corrosion on the wire
it will be wiped off as your pulling the trigger...

It wont pull into the line hole at all (done it for years), But the
bends in the pad scratch the surface of the wire as its' moving into
the line to keep it clean...

Ever seen a spool that has sat for a winter turn all green?

Rob in NH aka:
http://www.PABlaster.com
"sandblasting with low-pressure"

On 30 Dec 2005 20:55:10 -0800, "Rob in NH"
wrote:

Before feeding it into the line try this..

Take a common green scrubby pad (Scotch-brite) and cut it length-wise
to be a 1" strip then fold it over in 1" squares in a Z pattern like an
accordion in as many layers as you can make depending on the pads
length..

Put the new spool ON the mount then poke the wire through all the
layers of the pad THEN feed it into the guns hose..

This way if there is any crap or the starting of corrosion on the wire
it will be wiped off as your pulling the trigger...

It wont pull into the line hole at all (done it for years), But the
bends in the pad scratch the surface of the wire as its' moving into
the line to keep it clean...

Ever seen a spool that has sat for a winter turn all green?

Rob in NH aka:
http://www.PABlater.com
"sandblasting with low-pressure"


Ooooohh!! I LIKE this idea!!

Gunner, off to dig up a scotchbrite

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 19:20:59 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Bob
Engelhardt quickly quoth:

BTW - the welding shop invoice:

wire ................ $4
cleaning pads ........ 6
---
$10
compliance charge ... $4
---
$14


"compliance charge"?? WTF?? !!

Probably a hazardous waste charge for the cleaning pad solvent.
Disposal must comply with gov't regs.


------------------------------------------
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On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 17:23:04 -0800, JR North
wrote:

Well, you complied by paying, and they charged you for the privilege of
complying.....
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Bob Engelhardt wrote:

compliance charge ... $4
---
$14


"compliance charge"?? WTF?? !!

G'day Bob,
I had the same problem. On shutting down the welder (150 amp WIA mig,
gas type) I packed shop rags around the spool which is inside the
welder housing.
I also used a clothes peg and fastened a bit of 'scotchbrite' pad
around the wire just before it entered the feed. Haven't had any
further problems.
Regards, Mac