What zit gonna be?

[OneWithWood]

When the wire no longer feeds through it and it is burnt.
Coating the tip with petroleum jelly prior to each use will protect it somewhat.

[Gary_C]

There are anti-splatter sprays and gels available to help prevent sticking to the nozzle and tip. Sometimes the hole in the tip becomes elongated and sometimes it just gets bent and doesn't feed well. Sometimes a glob will stick to it and then you grind or break it off. The tip will usually tell you when it needs replacing.

You can avoid the rusty wire problem by taking the wire spool in the house when you are not using the welder but I always forget. It's also waay cheaper to buy larger spools of wire but you lose on that advantage if the wire gets rusty.

[thecfarm]

I run 30th wire,but run 35th inch tip. Had some guy suggest that. I did have some problems and Lincoln had a more aggresive roller,with teeth on it,that I put on. That made it feed better. This was in the first month that I had it.

[Ox]

For me, my tip is bad when I get sporadic no-feed conditions.  I'll take the tip off and chase the center hole with torch tip cleaning wires.  A very small drill bit would work, too.   I'll reuse it a second time after this.  Then a new one.  They're so cheap through Amazon that I don't mess around much anymore.  All my consumables are bought online, the prices locally are outrageous.  I love to help local business but when the prices are more than 4 times the amount, I draw the line.  I have a bottom line to watch out for, too.  It's called my family and taking care of them.

[Magicman]

I spray my hood/tip with non-stick cooking/kitchen spray.  MIG pliers are good for removing spatter, etc. from the hood/tip.  I would not want to do without those pliers.

[21incher]

I also use the anti spatter spray on my tip, nozzle, & parts I am welding. I use gas and usually run between 30 & 40 pounds of wire before the tip is worn. One thing that helps when learning to weld is a nice flat non flamable table at a comfortable height to clamp parts to.  Can't wait to see your next creation.

[Al_Smith]

Right after I graduated from HS in 1966 I worked at Baldwin -Lima -Hamilton as a welder .BLH at that time made large cranes,etc .At one time it was the home of the famous Shay locomotive from a bygone era later large steam locomotives .

We had some wire feed machines,argon gas not flux core. They were fine for some things not so good for others .They were versatile though .

However things like crane frames and booms which were xray quality welds were always done with stick,generally 7018 rod .

[Kbeitz]

I still like my old welder...



 

[Al_Smith]

Thyratron rectifier by the looks of things ,interesting

[Ox]

No, YOU'RE a thyratron!!!  Please don't swear at us, Al.  ;D