I-Mig 205 wire speed not high enough?

I have been using my Imig for a month or so now and find it to be a very smooth welder! Other than the huge rush of argon when the trigger is pulled, due to the hose from the bottle to welder expanding and contracting, i have no issues laying a very satisfactory bead, although im a little curious of the wire speed....

According to the sticker on the wire feed motor itself, it is rated at 12m/min which is equal to 472 inches per minute..... But when turned all the way up, the display only goes a little over 300 inches/min. I did verify the 300in/min and it is very accurate with .035" wire.

The only reason i ask is it makes it difficult to use welder setting cheat sheet to set up the machine for thicker metal. Any insight on this??

Also a side note, the PowerPlasma 80s that i bought over the same phone call as the Imig, is a kick ### machine!!! appropriately dubbed "The Axe" as it cuts through anything FAST!!!!


Thank you Everlast for the savings of not having to go with the over rated blue or red!!!

I think you need to remeasure the ipm with the speed cranked up to max,,,both of my Imigs top out just above 304 on the dial but the wire speed is 405 ipm,,405 is plenty fast for the wire I use and the amps put out..the dial reading cannot be used to give exact wire speed,,,it's basically a reference number,,,for you to write down for reset...

I felt like when i measured it the first time it was accurate to the display, however for arguments sake i'll remeasure.

If your wire spool friction knob is too tight, it'll lower the Max inches per minute.

Wire speed is a function of amps and amps are dependent upon wire diameter for any given wire speed.

The 200 amp rating on the i mig 200 is dependent upon wire diameter. For .030 wire, it doesn't get up to 200 amps. Allowing the unit to churn up to 400 ipm for say .035 wire...would result in the machine creating serious overcurrent issues with the unit. The i mig 205 puts out more typically. Measure max wire speed for 30 seconds for best accuracy and most convenience.

Compare to transformer MIGs...their numbers are theoretical too. Especially look at the duty cycle at which their units are rated. A 140 MIG is usually 15-20% duty cycle at 90 amps....Now how many think that you're going to get the fulll 140 amps for very long at max output? Better question, is how many machines actually get that high combined with true underload wirespeed and maximum wire diameter the unit allows?

Here's a really good chart I found that explains it and a whole lot more.


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDkQ FjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.airgas.com%2Fdocuments%2 Fpdf%2FMIGWire.pdf&ei=upPeUorQH4nQsATopIH4Ag&usg=A FQjCNE51TwCQFrwJlY9zwb_-psa9MXC-A&bvm=bv.59568121,d.cWc