When it comes to MIG welding, in general, the user often goes through a series of challenges. Among them, the wire feed system is one of the main reasons.
If the feeding of the wire is done at a faster speed than the melting of it, you can expect popping in the MIG welder. Another reason can be the case where you use a solid wire without applying shielding gas. Having incorrect size, wire speed, and wrong adjustment of voltage and amperage – are the key factors behind this issue.
Here, I will be providing you with the necessary information and suggestion that may aid you in getting rid of this issue. These guidelines will give you a clear idea about what actions you could get started with.
As you know, one of the common indications of popping the annoying noise. So, here, you will get the required process of fine-tuning the welder to duck this issue.
Why do MIG Welders Pop?
If the speed of the wire is going too fast or too slow, you can expect the MIG welder will start popping. To put it to the test, you can take the welder and hold it up to the metal piece that you are planning to weld on.
Now hold on to the trigger tightly. If you hear a popping noise and see if the welder is pushing the gun, then you should know that the speed of the wire is not properly set. You need to adjust it asap. Besides the wire speed adjustment issue, there should be other causes behind this problem.
The Thickness Of Your Material
One of the most vital issues of a material is its thickness. When you are welding a ⅛-inch thick metal sheet, you need to go for a high IPM. In other words, inches per minute.
On the other hand, if you are welding anything thicker than that, you need to slow down the IPM rate. So if you are welding too fast or even too slow, you can see the welding is popping.
Size of the Wire
Whether your welder is going to pop up or not depends on the wire size, as well. You must run your welder at some specific range of speed depending on the size of the wear to get rid of popping.
Type of the Wire
Did you know that the speed of your welder also depends on the wire type you are using?
Like, say you are operating with a flux core wire. The welder will run at a distinctly different speed than a solid core wire. Again, you can see a difference between using aluminum and stainless steel, as well.
So you must keep in mind what exactly you are welding. Plus, you need to set the plan on how deep to penetrate inside it.
Amperage
Another crucial reason behind the welder popping up is wire-speed amperage. When you don’t have this set accordingly might be burning the wire too hot or even too cold.
Now if you are to find out the perfect amperage you need to be running with, you need to measure the metal thickness. Then multiply it by 1000. Say, you are welding ¼-inch mild steel. Now multiply 0.25 (The decimal form) by 1000. The result will be 250 amps. That’s what you need to set your welder with.
Well, as we now know the reasons behind why your MIG welder is popping up, you are definitely wondering how you can make it stop, Right?
How Can You Stop A MIG Welder From Popping?
Down below, I’m giving you some solid solutions that can stop your MIG welder from popping up. But above all, try to get some of the best MIG welders, like the Hobart Handler 190, that can perform well without popping. If you are still facing the problem, here’re what you can do.
You Need to Check Your Tip
Now you need to check the welding gun tip. It’s not surprising that the tip may get plugged with the welding splatter or dust. It can even burn into the welding tip, as well. This may cause the wire to get stuck. In this case, you need to replace the previous tip with a new one.
Check If Your Wire Speed Is Too Fast
Another important thing to notice is the speed of your wire. It’s a common misconception that a lot of users believe that a faster wire speed will help them to get more done. I hate to say this, but truth be told, this is entirely wrong.
The procedure is relatively easy; firstly, you can try adjusting your wire speed up or down until you hear a constant buzzing sound as you weld. If you hear this sound, congratulations to you! You have successfully solved the issue.
Check Your Wire Size
The next big factor is the size of the wire. You have to ensure that you have got the right-sized wire for your welder. This is one of the most common issues users get to deal with often.
The other day, someone dropped some welding wire off as it was 0.35, not 0.45 wire.
As could be expected, the welding started running at a slow pace, and since he had set it up for 0.45, this is why the welder was popping and resulted in a terrible-looking weld.
Final Words
Truth be told, what I have come to understand by reading about the issues of the users of welders online, most of them actually failed to set the accurate wire speed and the voltage often. When you are not a professional, you have to handle your welder with extra care. Most importantly, read the user manual of your welder.
It’s much more critical to optimize the voltage of your welder than is wire speed. Optimizing the voltage of your welder will allow the wire to be fed into the wire puddle. I would suggest you go through the chart provided by the company of your welder.
And please, don’t try to make any changes in the setting when you have no idea about how it’s going to impact the performance. If you do, you might ruin not only your project but also the welder.