Basic setup tips MM211

[jfk92]

Hi all,

I have a decent idea of what I need to adjust but would like to get your feedback from experience. Spent some time over the holiday playing with my new MM211 and had a little wire jamming here and there. Adjusted the tension roller a bit - and plan on checking it's at the 'starting point of "3"' per the manual later. What do you recommend/find for an .030 wire on 1/8" or 1/4" pieces - run on auto set as well as manual (can't see a diff). I had an odd issue where the gun had come out of the machine a bit - must have not tightened that down enough during initial setup - corrected.

General questions - using a flux core/gasless for right now - will the junk/spatter that builds up in the nozzle and general heat add to some jamming/wire feed stops? The NOZ dip - recommended? After a few jams/corrections I set the machine away more so the cable was straight as possible - not that it was coiled up to begin. Also made sure the spool knob wasn't cranked down to pinch the wire roll and it was free spinning.

Planning on dropping off a 40# tank for C25 fill this week - while at GTS-Welco will pick up some NOZ dip - anything else recommended while I'm at a legitimate supply store?

Thanks alll,

John

[Cgotto6]

Make sure as you said the tension set on the wire spool not too tight. Using the torch while keeping its hose straight as possible should help. Make sure the spool of wire is being fed counter clockwise, with the wire coming off the bottom of the spool and going into the tensioner and rollers. A large amount of slag build up in the nozzle could cause feed problems. Have you changed the polarity on the machine to run that flux core wire?

[jfk92]

. A large amount of slag build up in the nozzle could cause feed problems. Have you changed the polarity on the machine to run that flux core wire?

Thx Cgotto6 - polarity is set correctly, a lot of spatter from the flux - might be a little hot too with autoset - adding to that? first time I ran it was manual - no issues - will try some more - pretty sure I have the tension roller light.

[Thrutraffic]

Plugged mine in out of the box. Changed nothing with feeder. Has run two spools of wire so far. No problems. One box .030 and one box of 0.35. I hear .030 is better in this machine and think that's probably true.

Have only run 240 V so far.

Do you need a nozzle for FCAW? There's no shield gas.

Auto set feature seems to run extremely hot. For thin stuff I manually set. I only use auto for ~3/16 and up.

[jfk92]

Have only run 240 V so far.

Do you need a nozzle for FCAW? There's no shield gas.

Auto set feature seems to run extremely hot. For thin stuff I manually set. I only use auto for ~3/16 and up.

Thx Thrutraffic - I have yet to run 240 - maybe I'll do that next just - well b/c I can! Unsure about the need of the nozzle - but perhaps I misspoke - meant the tip within the larger exterior nozzle. I didn't have the issue with it on manual - perhaps onto something there - with the heat....thx for the feedback.

[Broccoli1]

Auto-Set does not work with Fluxcore wire- well it will "work" but it is not designed for Fluxcore- the machine is trying to Auto Set for solid wire and gas.

[jfk92]

Auto-Set does not work with Fluxcore wire.

well that's great information! and gives me some confidence in what I felt too - just wasn't sure if it was 'real'. So - in 'not working' would that be effected with too much heat, spatter etc? not necessarily feeding the wire, right? or....
thx

[Broccoli1]

well that's great information! and gives me some confidence in what I felt too - just wasn't sure if it was 'real'. So - in 'not working' would that be effected with too much heat, spatter etc? not necessarily feeding the wire, right? or....
thx

Exactly- Solid wire is SOLID

Fluxcore wire is hollow, with the Flux inside.

The manual doesn't exactly state that the AS feature is only for Solid wire but if you look at the Diagram on page 28 it has an Example of .035 wire and at the bottom it reads "use 75/25 Argon/CO2 gas."

AS is only for .030 and .035 Solid wire. If you want to use .023 solid wire or Fluxcore then you'll need to switch the machine to manual mode.

[Cgotto6]

Great tips all.

I plan on getting a knurled drive roll - I'll search the miller website, cyberweld etc. As per that - I read the manual yesterday afternoon and noticed the 'recommended starting point' for the drive roll pressure arm was a setting of "3" - out of "4". I had mine at "1" even less, possibly 1 1/2 as well. So I went home and cranked it down - and it felt like it took about 300 cranks (exageration) to get it down to the "3" - was not comfortable with that much - might bring it back up to say - "2" next time I run it - but plan on getting a knurled drive roll anyway.

If you have the tension too light that could lead to slippage which could also be contributing to your spatter problem. There is a correct tension that you must balance. Nobody can say what that may be as wire, rollers, and the tensioner all vary.