Miller 211 problem

[burnttoastburgos]

The problem you're having is caused by by binding in the liner. I know, this is a brand new machine but if you lead is coiled up or a hard angle right out of the machine, this will cause excessive binding on liner, thus resisting wire feeding through the roller.

THE CURE: when welding, make sure the cable/gun is as straight as posible, with no tight bends. this will ensure no tension is on wire when feeding through liner. this happens quite often on the smaller machines. I've got this machine and the 350P in the shop. The 350 has 4 grooved rollers, so the cable can be coiled up like a snake and still push through, but the smaller machines only have one, so weld with the machine as far away as possible so as to keep cable straight out of machine and i'll bet you have solved your problem

TIP: switch you gas to 90/10 instead of 75/25

 

[73fj]

I agree it could be a liner issue, as far as kinking or coiling the stinger lead, this is a MIG problem I am aware of and I'm always careful to keep it as straight as possible, that was the very first thing I checked. I have not used it since I tried it at the Miller dealer.

 

[fj40charles]

TIP: switch you gas to 90/10 instead of 75/25

90/10 is recommended for your Millermatic 350P when you're doing pulse spray transfer.

For short arc and other welders, you're better off using 75/25.

 

[davisdrafting]

I had that same problem on my Lincoln, the issue was the end of the wire on the spool was shorting out to the post. The drive motor and the power supply are different circuits or one uses L1 and the other L2 something like that, it's been awhile…

 

[Dirtsquirt]

That happens to me when....

I am running to much heat or not enough feed speed.
the arc burns back to the tip.
This has happened 3 or 4 times to me.
not likely the problem you are facing. But throwing it out there, just in case.

 

[AustinCruiser]

Have you checked the settings on the wire feeder. There are different diameters stamped on the feeder to adjust between sizes.

I's also check my stick out. Maybe you're not leaving enough wire outside the gun while welding.

The third thing I'd check is the wire speed.

The only binding I've had with my 211 was at the tip with some slag splashback. MIG pliers cleaned it off easily each time.

Good luck getting it going.

 

[73fj]

Every time I have this binding problem, it happens while I'm welding, not on startup. Everything is going fine, welding along and BAM! the machine begins to labor, I hear it, just like you have applied a load to a PTO. There is no ryhme or reason for this, machine hot, cold, long bead run, short run. Sometimes I have just started using it, sometimes it's been running for a couple hours. Sometimes I use it all day no problem. I also like to run it on auto set and let the machine decide wire speed, but I have had it happen manually setting it.

Guys, I'm not a rookie welder, lots of MIG, some TIG, even carbon arc (who remembers that? ) and I'm not being a uppity know it all. I appreciate every reply to this problem. When I conquer this problem, and I will, I will tell the world.

Could it be that I have a Friday afternoon before a long weekend machine?

 

[miker]

Every time I have this binding problem, it happens while I'm welding, not on startup. Everything is going fine, welding along and BAM! the machine begins to labor, I hear it, just like you have applied a load to a PTO. There is no ryhme or reason for this, machine hot, cold, long bead run, short run. Sometimes I have just started using it, sometimes it's been running for a couple hours. Sometimes I use it all day no problem. I also like to run it on auto set and let the machine decide wire speed, but I have had it happen manually setting it.

Reading this reminded me of another issue I had with my MM150. The issue on mine started after years of service and many many hours of welding time but who knows, it might be worth checking out on yours. My welder intermittently started to act like it was loosing power and the weld quality would suffer. Poor penetration and hard to get the wire speed dialed in. At first I thought I was doing something wrong and I also suspected a bad spool of wire, perhaps contamination of the wire spool or some impurities in the wire. Anyway, it became worse and changing spools didn't change the problem. Eventually I decided to check things out inside the welder. What I ended up finding as the cause was loose wires at the large power capacitors. On my welder, these wires had lugs crimped to the ends of the wires and then these lugs were attached to the caps with small machine screws. These screws had loosened up over time. Once I had them tightened back up, the welder was like a new machine again.

As I mentioned, the symptoms were intermittent in the beginning and then eventually got worse. I think I would take the covers off the welder and check all connections. If you do this, just make sure the welder is unplugged and you give it pleny of time (overnight or even longer) for capacitors to discharge or use an appropriate discharge device on large capacitors otherwise they can give you a nasty shock if you happen to touch across the terminals.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

subscribed, I don't want to miss the resolution.

 

[73fj]

subscribed, I don't want to miss the resolution.

You and me both brother!