Avoiding Wire Feeding Problems; Fan Control; Wire Feed Overload Protection; Welding Thermal Overload Protection - Lincoln Electric 11817 Operator's Manual

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9. When no more welding is to be done, close valve
on gas cylinder (if used), momentarily operate gun
trigger to release gas pressure, and turn OFF
POWER MIG® 216.
NOTE: When using Innershield electrode, the gas
nozzle may be removed from the insulation
on the end of the gun and replaced with the
gasless nozzle. This will give improved visibil-
ity and eliminate the possibility of the gas noz-
zle overheating.
AVOIDING WIRE FEEDING
PROBLEMS
Wire feeding problems can be avoided by observing
the following gun handling procedures:
1. Do not kink or pull cable around sharp corners.
2. Keep the gun cable as straight as possible when
welding or loading electrode through cable.
3. Do not allow dolly wheels or trucks to run over
cables.
4. Keep cable clean by following maintenance instruc-
tions.
5. Use only clean, rust-free electrode. The Lincoln
electrodes have proper surface lubrication.
6. Replace contact tip when the arc starts to become
unstable or the contact tip end is fused or
deformed.
7. Keep wire reel spindle brake tension to minimum
required to prevent excess reel over-travel which
may cause wire "loop-offs" from coil.
8. Use proper drive rolls and wire drive idle roll pres-
sure for wire size and type being used.

FAN CONTROL

The fan is designed to come on when input power is
applied to the POWER MIG® 216 and go off when
power is removed.
INPUT LINE VOLTAGE VARIATIONS
High Line Voltage — Higher than rated input voltage
will result in output voltages higher than normal for a
given tap setting. If your input line is high, you may
want to select a lower voltage tap than given on the
recommended procedure chart.
Low Line Voltage — You may not be able to get
maximum output from the machine if the line voltage
is less than rated input. The unit will continue to weld,
but the output may be less than normal for a given tap
setting. If your input line is low, you may want to select
a higher voltage tap than given on the recommended
procedure chart.
OPERATION
WIRE FEED OVERLOAD
PROTECTION
The POWER MIG® 216 has solid state overload pro-
tection of the wire drive motor. If the motor becomes
overloaded, the protection circuitry turns off the wire
drive motor and gas solenoid. Check for proper size
tip, liner, and drive rolls, for any obstructions or bends
in the gun cable, and any other factors that would
impede the wire feeding. To resume welding, simply
pull the trigger. There is no circuit breaker to reset, as
the protection is done with reliable solid state electron-
ics.
WELDING THERMAL OVERLOAD
PROTECTION
The POWER MIG® 216 has built-in protective ther-
mostats that respond to excessive temperature. They
open the wire feed and welder output circuits if the
machine exceeds the maximum safe operating tem-
perature because of a frequent overload, or high
ambient temperature plus overload. The thermostats
automatically reset when the temperature reaches a
safe operating level and welding and feeding are
allowed again, when gun is retriggered.
WELDING PROCEDURE
INFORMATION
NOTE: See inside cover of machine or Section F of this
Instruction Manual for additional, commonly used welding
procedure.

LEARNING TO WELD

Welding is a skill that can only be learned by practic-
ing. No one can become an accomplished welder
simply by reading about it. The following link
"Learning to Weld" document will help the inexperi-
enced operator to understand the basics about wire
welding and provide guidance to help develop this
skill.
"Learning to Weld" link:
http://content.lincolnelectric.com/pdfs/products/
navigator/im/LTW1tri.pdf
POWER MIG® 216
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