IMIG 200 up and running

[DaveO]

Took me a few days to get to it, and a second try at getting it running, but the IMIG 200 is in place, working, and I am stoked. I think I originally had a grounding problem, but overcame that and ran the MIG first. With no calculator handy I was guessing at settings but still managed to get a passable looking weld- the first bead I ran was too tall, I know, but I played with it and it flattened out. Next time I'll have a calculator handy.

Then I switched over to stick and burned a 6011 rod- I was amazed at the difference between this machine and my old Miller crackerbox. A completely different sound and the only way I can describe it is a smoother arc. I like the way a stick electrode smells during welding.

So I am a very satisfied customer this evening, and have a project in mind to get some actual use out of the machine!

[SeanMurphy265]

I know those older transformer machines run like a beast, but I prefer inverter style welders for the smoother welding capabilities.

[I_Love_Plasma]

I've used an I-MIG 200 for stick,.. If you think that the arc welding is great with your I-MIG 200, you should try a PowerArc 200. It is even more fun! We just got our I-MIG a couple days ago and it's great. We need some help dialing in settings. The wire is kinda lurchy, I believe it maybe us not knowing good settings.. We are running fluxcore. We tried different tensions on the drive rollers.

Thanks for any help,
ILP

[zoama]

I've used an I-MIG 200 for stick,.. If you think that the arc welding is great with your I-MIG 200, you should try a PowerArc 200. It is even more fun! We just got our I-MIG a couple days ago and it's great. We need some help dialing in settings. The wire is kinda lurchy, I believe it maybe us not knowing good settings.. We are running fluxcore. We tried different tensions on the drive rollers.

Thanks for any help,
ILP

Open the cover, turn it on, pull the trigger and see what's happening. If the wire pushes the gun back while welding you either have a poor ground, not enough volts set or too much wire speed. I run an oversize tip with flux core (.045 with .035 wire) because the wire can be dirty or not perfectly uniform causing drag or getting stuck in the tip.

[performance]

What is lurchy? Is the roll lurching around, or is it feeding lurchy? Sometimes, the wire will jump on top of the feed roll IF it isn't fully seated in the groove....A lot of it has to do with the tensioning of the spool as well.

A lot of people are able to get the flux core to feed ok with the regular drive rolls...Some are not. Unfortunately we don't have any in stock in the US and I don't know why. Canada does though. Also, if you are having issues, you may be running the wrong polarity. Are you running negative polarity?

Why on earth are you running flux core anyway? Overall, its not the best choice.

[I_Love_Plasma]

What is lurchy? Is the roll lurching around, or is it feeding lurchy? Sometimes, the wire will jump on top of the feed roll IF it isn't fully seated in the groove....A lot of it has to do with the tensioning of the spool as well.

A lot of people are able to get the flux core to feed ok with the regular drive rolls...Some are not. Unfortunately we don't have any in stock in the US and I don't know why. Canada does though. Also, if you are having issues, you may be running the wrong polarity. Are you running negative polarity?

Why on earth are you running flux core anyway? Overall, its not the best choice.

We have it electrode (-) like it should be. It feeds VERY smoothly when we are not welding. We even just squeezed the wire between thumb and forefinger to make sure the feed wasn't pulsing. And it was not pulsing. The roll is seated fine, and not to tight. The arc is what's "lurchy", it's almost like the arc force kicks in and out. Exactly what it is doing: The wire is burning at the end of the puddle, then it burns back up towards the tip, then the amps seem to sweep down allowing the wire to come back to the leading edge of the puddle. This is all happening at 2-4 times per second. As far as why we are using flux core, it's all we have currently, we will be switching to gas as soon as we scrape up some more cash. We played around with the arc force. As my brother was welding I adjusted the Arc Force to about 3 o'clock on the dial. It got really smooth then. The darn thing only came with one 035 tip... I didn't realize this other wise I would have bought a few. Anyway over all we like it very much. Oh, FYI, we had the same pulsy issues on 240VAC as 120VAC. We maintain 119-121VAC while welding so we are good on that. We have our lines boosted to about 124VAC per line because our three phase converter likes a little extra juice. We can run a 15HP 3-phase and a 20HP 3-phase simultaneously. So we have good power. Mark if it better suites you, you can give me a ring. I just talked to you on friday (319)-***-9632

[SeanMurphy265]

You need to check how tight your nut holding the spool of wire is. It should allow your wire to curl up when you touch the trigger while holding the tip close to a smooth surface. I had my spool way too tight and it constantly sputtered. After I checked the tension on the spool of wire I realized it was to tight.

[I_Love_Plasma]

Thanks Sean,

That was part of the problem. We got the tension on the roll/spool backed off, tightened the feed rollers some, and got a new tip for the torch. Works MUCH better now.

Thanks again,
ILP

[Jake98]

My mig (all of my welding equip) sits more than it gets used. Last time I used the mig it was real jerky, got my first birds nest. Pulling that wire out and getting some fresh wire feeding made a big difference it seemed. It wasn't corroded, but it took more effort to pull out than I would have expected, and it hasn't been used enough to need a cleaning yet.