MM 211 having problems

[Kenny Brutcher]

Hi all, I am having problems with welding anything steel, My gun cap is arcing to the metal I am welding. I have never had this happen before. I am running 030 solid wire,75/25 gas ,220 power,I have tried auto set up and manual set up.Not alot of hours on this machine (aprox30) My MM172 was much more forgiving than the new MM211. I am not sure whats up.Any body have this problem. I have checked polarity and that is where its supossed to be.

[aametalmaster]

Check for a piece of slag inside the nozzle or on the contact tube....Bob

[Miller Kevin]

Kenny,

If you don't find anything shorting across from the tip to the nozzle then the insulator in the nozzle has to be shorted. The most common reason for that happening is to much noz-dip. If you are using noz-dip you only want to dip the very end of the nozzle about a 1/4" is plenty. Using more than a little can saturate the insulator and can cause the nozzle to short out. If you are not using noz-dip then it sounds like the insulator in the nozzle has just failed.

In either case replacing the nozzle should take care of the arcing issue.

[Kenny Brutcher]

Yep, It was a tiny piece of junk way back in the tip of the gun. This was the first time I had that happen. Thanks everybody for the help. I stay so busy that the little things go overlooked. Thanks again.