Hissing sound from regulator on gas bottle - Eastwood 135

[zogthegreat]

Hi everyone!

CobraKing gave me a heads up on a Eastwood 135 mig welder:

https://www.eastwood.com/mig-welder-110vac-135a-output.html

(thanks again CobraKing! ). With discount I paid $229.00 USD with shipping for it. After using a cheap arsed Chinese flux core only welder, this thing is a dream! However, I'm having 2 problems with it. The first is that there is a hissing sound at the regulator when I turn on the argon/CO2. I looked at the connectors and I noticed that there are no gaskets on the regulator or the connecting hoses:

Is this normal, or should I contact Eastwood? I can't tell if the gas is leaking out, I'll test today with some soapy water the way you check for LP gas leaks. I first used the gas yesterday and it was windy and cold, so I didn't feel like fracking with it.

The second problem is that when I'm welding on a flat surface, I'm getting some nice welds. I still need more practice to get those pretty welds, but I'm happy with the penetration. However, when I weld in a tight place, I get a lot of hissing at the tip and my wire tends to make a large ball at the tip. Any suggestions as to what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

zog

 

[anickode]

As for the gas connections, those are metal to metal fittings. I usually connect my regulator to the bottle with a 12" crescent wrench. Hand tight, then a little bump on the wrench to seat it. Careful, brass threads will strip easily. If it squeals or groans, it's too tight. Do not use Teflon tape or pipe sealant in an attempt to make it seal. These fittings don't work like that, and any foreign matter going into the regulator can ruin it, or cause pressure creep, which can ruin parts of the welder.

As for the balling up, your wire feed speed is too low. Flat position welds, gravity is helping you out, but when you get out of position, the wire isn't moving with enough velocity. You either have the voltage set too high for your feedrate, or you have the feedrate set too low for your voltage.

What size wire are you using? I know your machine isn't digital, but using .030 wire, a good starting place is 18-18.5 arc volts and 180-200ipm wire feed.

MIG is different than other welding processes in that it's a constant voltage process. The arc is maintained at a more or less constant voltage as opposed to constant current like stick or Tig welding. MIG welding is a short circuit process. The wire touches the metal and burns like a fuse element. The voltage dictates how far back it burns, and the feedrate dictates how fast this process happens. Amperage is dependent on wire feed rate and the arc's ability to burn back a sufficient amount to keep up with the feedrate. If your arc voltage is too high, it will burn back faster than the feedrate can sustain, and the metal has nowhere to go but backwards, instead of being captured by the surface tension of the puddle.

This is also why MIG can be such a spattery process if not dialed in just right. The wire is literally exploding.

Being an experienced (and well trained) weldor, I can tell you that MIG welding is the easiest to do, and the hardest to do right. You can pick up a mig welder and lay down a flawless bead on a piece of metal, and be able to peel it right off with a chisel because it has no penetration or fusion because the settings weren't right for that situation. Or you can lay down a weld that is every bit as strong as a 7018 stick weld.

 

[zogthegreat]

Thanks anickode,

So the hissing sound from the regulator is normal? I already had the connectors set up that way, (I set them up like I would a propane tank).

Thanks for the tip on the wire feed, I'll play around with it once I get started today.

 

[anickode]

Thanks anickode,

So the hissing sound from the regulator is normal? I already had the connectors set up that way, (I set them up like I would a propane tank).

Thanks for the tip on the wire feed, I'll play around with it once I get started today.

It shouldn't hiss just sitting there, no. It could have a slight internal leak. Double check your connections with some soapy water. If your connections are good, the regulator is most likely flawed.

 

[zogthegreat]

I checked with soapy water and it seems to be leaking from where the regulator is connecting to the tanks:

I tightened as you instructed, but it keeps on leaking. Any other suggestions?

BTW, I increased my wire feed speed as you suggested and I'm getting better welds now. I'll have to get some scrap steel and spend some time practicing.

What size wire are you using? I know your machine isn't digital, but using .030 wire, a good starting place is 18-18.5 arc volts and 180-200ipm wire feed.

Right now I'm using the .023 that came with the welder. I was going to use that up and then buy some .030. However, if you think that I will get better results with the .030, then I will run out and get that.

 

[mckutzy]

I'd get it checked out at a welding regulator shop, I think a diving shop might have similar experienced people aswell...
Since its brass it can be finicky for tightening sometimes, then unfortunately it suddenly breaks...

 

[anickode]

I checked with soapy water and it seems to be leaking from where the regulator is connecting to the tanks:

I tightened as you instructed, but it keeps on leaking. Any other suggestions?

BTW, I increased my wire feed speed as you suggested and I'm getting better welds now. I'll have to get some scrap steel and spend some time practicing.



Right now I'm using the .023 that came with the welder. I was going to use that up and then buy some .030. However, if you think that I will get better results with the .030, then I will run out and get that.

.023 will work fine too. You just have to crank the speed way up. .030 is a good median diameter for thicker and thinner stuff. I run almost exclusively .035 or higher most of the time, except I do keep a roll of .030 in my harbor freight 180 for quick little fixes and such.

The thinner the wire, the lower voltage you can run it at. A .035 wire is nearly unusable below 14v. Inversely, thinner wires can be used at higher voltages, but the feed rates required will often exceed the capacity of the machine. There are some good charts online to help figure this stuff out. In your machine, you would never need thicker than a .030 anyway since amperage is your limiting factor.

I do think that with your machine, .030 wire will make you the happiest.

As for the leaking, where did your tank come from? It looks brand new.

Inspect the mating surfaces closely. Any Knicks or scratches will cause leakage. If your tank came from a welding supply, and you're just on a swap program, use it up, then let them know the reg won't seat fully on that one. If it does it on the next bottle you know it's the regulator. If you have established that it is definitely leaking out of the tank to regulator connection, a welding supply shop will be able to replace the connecting nut and Inlet tube on your regulator without replacing the whole regulator.

 

[Kartorbust]

We were always told to NEVER use an adjustable/crescent wrenches on these. They tend to slip compared to a box open end wrench. If I remember it's a 15/16" wrench on these might be 1" (been over a month since I took mine off).

I'd buy a new regulator, they are usually cheap. Some say buy a flow meter, but those are not necessarily needed, unless you really want one. As far as wire goes, .023 is fine for sheet metal and auto body work. Usually even cheapo welders (flux cored and/or mig) have a chart in the door where you swap out the wire for what to use for what thickness, as well as gas to use (straight CO2, C25, etc).

Here's a chart for future reference.

 

[zogthegreat]

So I went to get a refill bottle of argon/CO2 today and I spoke to the guy at the counter about my problem. He checked my regulator on another bottle and it did the same thing. I called Eastwood and they are going to send me a replacement regulator, but they are on back order, so they won't be shipping until next week. I'll just keep closing the valve between welds until the new regulator comes in.

I also pickup a 2 lb spool of .030 wire, (I had .030 tips from my old welder):

I know to you pros out there it's probably a so-so weld, (if that!), but for me, it's pretty good and I'm happy with the results.

We were always told to NEVER use an adjustable/crescent wrenches on these. They tend to slip compared to a box open end wrench. If I remember it's a 15/16" wrench on these might be 1" (been over a month since I took mine off).

I'd buy a new regulator, they are usually cheap. Some say buy a flow meter, but those are not necessarily needed, unless you really want one. As far as wire goes, .023 is fine for sheet metal and auto body work. Usually even cheapo welders (flux cored and/or mig) have a chart in the door where you swap out the wire for what to use for what thickness, as well as gas to use (straight CO2, C25, etc).

Here's a chart for future reference.

I have a guide like that also, unfortunately, mine does't have amps or my wire speed in ipm's. It goes by the leters and numbers on the face plate:

I know that it does the same thing, but I would prefer a setup like Kartorbust's, it would make switching to another machine easier.

I did figure out why I kept getting too much gas. It seems that the knobs are really easy to move and the cord from the torch was touching the amp knob, moving it as I moved. Now that I'm aware of the problem, I'm setting things up so that the cords don't touch the knobs.

Thanks to everyone for helping figure out what was going on.

 

[anickode]

We were always told to NEVER use an adjustable/crescent wrenches on these. They tend to slip compared to a box open end wrench. If I remember it's a 15/16" wrench on these might be 1" (been over a month since I took mine off).

I'd buy a new regulator, they are usually cheap. Some say buy a flow meter, but those are not necessarily needed, unless you really want one. As far as wire goes, .023 is fine for sheet metal and auto body work. Usually even cheapo welders (flux cored and/or mig) have a chart in the door where you swap out the wire for what to use for what thickness, as well as gas to use (straight CO2, C25, etc).

Here's a chart for future reference.

Never had an issue with crescents. At least not a 12". Problem is using too small of one. Yes, it might open far enough, but it might not be deep enough. If the flats aren't fully engaged, you're going to ruin stuff. Also gotta use it the right way, not backwards. Thatll ruin stuff in a hurry too.

 

[zogthegreat]

I just noticed that I can only weld 12 ga with gas. Any thing larger I can only use flux:

This is somewhat disappointing because Eastwood advertises that you can weld up to 1/4", they just don't tell you flux core only.

 

[anickode]

I'm a bit spoiled on the welding front. I got this baby a little over a year ago... Not for the average DIY'er, but the capability is just incredible. Wanna weld 1/2" fillets, single pass spray transfer with 1/16" wire at 300 amps? Gotcha covered, but it'll run .023 wire at 12v just as clean as can be too.

And still, I will frequently reach for my HF 180 for little hobby stuff like go karts. Nice compact torch with a real flexible lead (I did upgrade it to a 10' HTP gun), and .030 wire.