So I have a Lincoln hd 3200 mig that hasn't been used in a year or so.. I went and got a bottle filled last week argon co2 mix using solid .025 wire with the correct brand new tip welded on brand new steel tried the l/min from very low to very high always welds the same. I can here gas exiting the gun ground is clean here is a photo of what im working with.. The welds are very black be a wire brush on a die grinder makes a pass over them..

The top weld is c 5 settting what it recommends bottom is b5

Looks terrible ..... Can you hear / feel the shielding gas exiting the nozzle? Undo the wire tensioner and make sure the gas is making its way out.

I can here gas.. Think it was a bad tank the guy filling the tank was very distracted and interested when he figured out where I work he was opening closing valves and asking a million questions about our shop..lol

Check the regulator and the hose. What do you have the regulator set at? Light a match and hold it in front of the nozzle then purge the gas. it should nearly blow out the match. It's clear your gas is not purging through the nozzle.

with gas flow. What about polarity? Double check that too. Also double check you didn't accidentally get flux core wire.

Blows out a lighter

Yup checked polarity and even replaced the spool both did the same 1000 psi in the bottle
Reg I tried from 10 L/min to 60 l/min

the row on the bottom definitely looks like flux core wire, a lot of splatter and smoke

Could be too much flow.

Are you using a FLOW meter or just a pressure meter?

Just a pressure meter.. I tried high and low..I used it before and it welded really clean that was my first time welding in about a year..

Sounds like it may be contaminated gas ...... maybe moisture in the line(s) or even the freshly filled tank .......

You are using a high pressure regulator instead of a flow meter? You should be using a flow meter with the correct cup.

The metal is oxidizing there from the looks of it.

With solid wire you should be using tri-mix (helium-Co2-Argon)

The gas could be creating a vortex from the cup at too high a velocity and actually sucking the ambient o2 into the cooling metal....

My two cents.

Its the reg that came with the unit.. It reads bottle pressure and liters per min wire is superarc l-56 from Lincoln even with very little bottle pressure or no bottle on still the same.. must be wrong gas ? good thing its not n20 lol

I think 75% Argon/ 25% Co2 ...... is what I have used on my MIG ..... works perfectly ....

My bad sorry.....

tri mix is for stainless...

Argon at 20-25 % and the balance C02 should be fine for carbon steel stock 1/8 and under.

Mark is right...did you get flux core and not solid wire? Flux core is hollow and should say it on the spool.

Something is contaminating the weld...dirty liner in the gun...I think somebody already said water. Is condensate from you bottle getting in the gun? Is there garbage on the base metal? Are you running the right voltage? Right nozzle as gas flow? Is there grease from your hands on the wire?

That puddle is cold too.....

Is your wire rusty? How old is the wire spool? It should still weld better than that but would cause drag in the liner and lots of spatter.

Could be the wrong gas.

Bad ground connection. . . rusty wire. . not hot enough or no shielding gas. . take your pick one or all. . . I've not had good results with Lincoln welders. . , they are way too finicky to adjust. . parameters too narrow compared to a Miller. .

Wire is new just unpackaged today tried different spools. Has not problem melting through 16 guage steel on c setting ground is on clean steel..

Perhaps clean the main connections in the box.

I will also checked that.. Looked good when I checked the polarity. Thanks again for all the input I'm gonna try a differnt bottle has aniline ever had any
Issue with Bad gas....for a welder lol

Great pointers here for us amateurs

Oh boy! So much for aiming for a stack of dimes!

I can sense your frustration from here. Works on 16 gauge but not this - so its not a gas flow issue. I doubt you got a slugged bottle. You would not know it anyways until you used up most of the shielding gas then it would get funky - not when its full.

Unplug the unit and pull the cover completely off so you can get to the back of the drive motor. Check all the terminal connections to the drive motor and remove them one at a time. I think they are spade connectors on this unit so squeeze them with a pliers and reconnect them. Give it a try. The welds in the picture do not appear to be a wire speed problem but simple diagnostics cant hurt. While you are in there check the hose to the gas solenoid and the one out to the gun. Make sure they are not leaking.

If that doesn't solve your problem check all the connectors on the heat setting switch. Pull each one, squeeze the crimp and reconnect.

Few questions: Is the gun head getting hotter than what would seem normal? If so check the wire liner to make sure its tight at the connector where the spool feeds into it. I think this unit has an allen set screw -make sure its tight and the brass nipple on the end of the liner is seated correctly all the way in. There is an o-ring on the brass nipple, make sure its not rotted away and sealing correctly. You can cut the wire and blow the liner out while you are in there -wont hurt.

Check the drive wheel orientation. Make sure the groove is in the correct position for the wire size you are using. Does the wire speed stay the same when you turn the speed control up? Tighten up the tension so when you feed out wire from the gun a few inches off the ground it should not slip. It should curl when the wire hits the ground.

With the unit on troubleshoot the wire speed potentiometer, turn it all the way down. Squeeze and hold the gun trigger, as you turn the wire speed up does the drive motor speed up. You should hear it wind up faster. The wire should run out faster as the motor speeds up. If the drive motor does not speed up the potentiometer is bad or has a loose connection - try crimping the connectors tight on this also. Worse case the PWM controller on the board took a dump but that is the last thing to check since failure is rare on the smaller Lincolns.

As far as gas flow a CFH gauge will work fine it that is all you have.
Rule of thumb on the flow by nozzle size with trigger depressed is:

Nozzle inside diameter - 3/8 inch -Minimum flow 15, typical 18 to 22, 30 max

1/2 inch -Minimum flow 18, typical 22 to 27, 40 max


If the nozzle is 5/8 I.D or bigger its too large for thin sheet metal and a waste of shielding gas. Try to use a conical shaped nozzle.


Let us know when you have chance to report.

correct liner for .025?
Using an extension cord? What guage?

Start at beginning. Did the welder work fine when last used? Did you last use it with gas or flux core? If gas it should still be set right with + to gun & - to ground/work clamp. Did anyone borrow it? Whether you have a flow meter or regulator shouldn't matter as long as it is in good working order. It does look like a gas issue. Did you try to weld on another pc. of steel with the same results? When you turn on the bottle it shows the tank has pressure & the low side gauge should be set at about 15-20 cfh. Gotta run I'll check back with more help.

The only thing the changes was the bottle since it last welded. No extension used..
Wire speed respond to more speed input. If I hold a lighter in front of the tip it will continue to try and blow Out the flame for the entire time the trigger is pressed liner is .025 and the tip doesn't get hot..

Whats your power supply? I'm not familliar with US specs but if you have more than 220 v supply can one of the phases have a busted fuse? looks like poor continuinty in the heat in some way.....

I would agree that it appears to be bad gas. Are all the lines tight? A loose hose connection could be allowing atmosphere gas to enter the system. Another thought is something happened to the rectifier in your welder and you are putting out AC instead of DC

For what it's worth, for mig / steel, I use straight co2. . .
Back to basics, , when welding does it sound like frying bacon or is it spitting any sputtering ??
Is the metal absolutely clean, and are you sure it's steel and not
some alloy.
It still looks like either no gas or the settings are wrong . .
Something in the welder could have deteriorated while setting. . ie capacitors.

I would try a different bottle of gas to eliminate that. If you don't have access to one then I would take the current bottle & welder to someone that does have one or to your local welding supply. Then you can try it there with a new bottle. It is normal for places that refill their own small bottles to fill them from a bank of bottles by opening & closing several bottles to get the highest pressure they can. Your bottle is clearly marked 75/25 correct?

Also check first that when you turn off the bottle it does not bleed down right away. If it does this would indicate a leak somewhere. Some bleed down is acceptable.

Toolguy wrote -- "when welding does it sound like frying bacon or is it spitting any sputtering ??" You will not get the frying bacon sound on a weld that looks like that.

I would first rule out gas because that is what it looks like. Make sure the gun is plugged all the way into the machine.

I see your flow meter is metric. 5 to 7 L per minute should be fine.

I once bought some budget wire from Tractor Supply and it was junk. I didn't think that there would be a difference in wire but I was wrong…all wire is not the same. I could not figure out what was going wrong with my welds. I bought some lincoln wire and switched it with the no name wire, didn't adjust the settings because I know what I usually set them at for welding with .025 and it was night and day. I thought I forgot who to weld in three days

Regards'

Jon

I had some flux core from HF that was Only buy at the Welding
Supply now. I 2nd the "no gas" theory.

What kind of wire are you using? ERS70-6 would be the right category of wire to use for mild steel.

Ditto on the cheap flux core. I pay for the Lincoln and don't complain.

Ditto on the wire except I use .030 as the best wire for all around welding .

Forget to ask, are you welding outside in the breeze or with garage door open?

It was bad gas...swapped bottle and look at the difference

Congrats!!!

Now that is a nice looking bead ......

I admit when I am wrong.

Glad you got it sorted.

Sounds like your gas guy turned the wrong knob while giving you your mix.

Oxygen is actually added to shield gas in small amounts for certain situations, so he probably has a Oxy bottle on the mix manifold.

Nice! Good thing you didn't go up like the Hindenburg!