arc start problem.

[Ram48]

Whetn I start an arc I will get burn back of the wire to the tip or the wire will hit the workpiece two or three times with popping and you can see 1/2 inch long burnt wire along side the weld then the arc stabilizes and welds are as good as I can do. I had the arc force set half way and turned it down but have not noticed a difference, does that even matter in Mig? I am welding mild steel 1/4 inch Butt and lap steel is clean. settings are 21.4 voltage and 250 wire speed (300 inches min?)
I know I am missing something just cant put my finger on it yet

[Rugar]

Are you grounding directly to your work, or grounding to your work table and laying your metal on the table? Sounds like it could be a bad ground.

[performance]

That's not IPM.

Its a linear measurement, but not in anything standard. At 300 it is cranking out over 600 IPM!

Try this: 18.5 and somewhere between 140 and 160. Just a round setting....But your complaint is a complaint of too fast wire speed. The burning off is likely that you are popping it off by trying to feed too fast.

Arc force does matter. It is "inductance". I keep mine set at about 3 o clock.

[geezer]

Burnback can be cured by increaseing your wire speed or lowering your voltage or adjusting your arc force and or increasing your stickout. Having a good ground helps and proper tacking before you weld is a must, cause if you touch off on a poorly grounded piece that is not fused or tacked but just lay against a grounded piece then things won't weld right until there is fusion to complete the circuit.

[Ram48]

Are you grounding directly to your work, or grounding to your work table and laying your metal on the table? Sounds like it could be a bad ground.

Rugar
I do have my ground on the work piece and on clean steel. I learned that lesson with my first welder.

That's not IPM.

Its a linear measurement, but not in anything standard. At 300 it is cranking out over 600 IPM!


Try this: 18.5 and somewhere between 140 and 160. Just a round setting....But your complaint is a complaint of too fast wire speed. The burning off is likely that you are popping it off by trying to feed too fast.

Arc force does matter. It is "inductance". I keep mine set at about 3 o clock.

Performance;
I am running .035 wire and have the digital readout set at 250 and measured the amount of wire from the gun holding the trigger for 6 seconds then multiplied by 10 and got 300 IPM with a setting of 250 on the machine.
with a setting of 21.4 volts
I will try your suggestions and see if I improve

Burnback can be cured by increaseing your wire speed or lowering your voltage or adjusting your arc force and or increasing your stickout. Having a good ground helps and proper tacking before you weld is a must, cause if you touch off on a poorly grounded piece that is not fused or tacked but just lay against a grounded piece then things won't weld right until there is fusion to complete the circuit.

Geezer;

Once the weld begins I have a good arc and no burn back issues I do notice a change in the "frying bacon" sound at times but I found out what causes that. as I travel my gun angle falls off so I am working to improve my skill at maintaining the correct angle.
Thanks guys I really appreciate the help and tips I get on here maybe some day when I figure this out I can pass the kindness and knowledge on.
Ray

[performance]

There are a couple of "other" possible issues, both related.

1) The wrong side of the drive roll is being used. It seems to me that the way my unit came is with the .040 side set to use. It looked like the .035 would work, but it just wouldn't. I flipped it over to the .030 side and haven't had any more issues. The drives are for .030/.035 and .040/.045. I also had to experiment with drive feed tension. I found out about 3/4 of the way down is best for my unit. You may find different requirements for different type spools and the resistance they provide to "turning". I keep mine more loose than tight. Make sure the wire is down in the groove. I have changed it out in the shop where light wasn't as good and found the wire wasn't in the groove, but it was still feeding...but not real good.This will have a lot to do with the way the unit welds.