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MAINTENANCE&SERVICING
General Maintenance
This welder has been engineered to need minimal service providing that a few very simple steps are taken to properly
maintain it.
1. Keep the cabinet cover closed at all times unless the wire needs to be changed or the drive pressure needs adjusting.
2. Keep all consumables (contact tips, nozzles, and liner) clean and replace when necessary. See "Consumable
Maintenance" (below) and "Troubleshooting" (page 25) for detailed information.
3. Replace INPUT POWER CABLE, ground cable,
4. Avoid directing grinding particles towards the welder. These conductive particles can build up inside the machine and
cause severe damage.
5. Periodically clean dust, dirt, grease, etc. from your welder. Every six months or as necessary, remove the side panels
from the welder and use compressed air to blow out any dust and dirt that may have accumulated inside the welder.
6. If available, use compressed air to periodically clean the liner, especially when changing wire spools
WARNING: DISCONNECT FROM POWER SOURCE WHEN CARRYING OUT THIS OPERATION.
7. The wire feed drive roller will eventually wear during normal use. With the correct pressure, the idler roller must feed the
wire without slipping. If the grooves in the wire feed drive roller are worn deep enough that the idler roller and the wire
feed drive roller make contact when the wire is in place between them, the wire feed drive roller must be replaced.
8. Check all cables periodically. They must be in good condition and not cracked.
WARNING: ELECTRIC SHOCK CAN KILL! Be aware that the ON/OFF SWITCH, when OFF, does not remove power from
all internal circuitry in the welder. To reduce the risk of electric shock, always unplug the welder from its AC power source
and wait several minutes for electrical energy to discharge before removing side panels.
Consumable Maintenance
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN THE CONSUMABLES TO AVOID THE NEED FOR PREMATURE REPLACEMENT
OF THE GUN ASSEMBLY.
MAINTAINING THE CONTACT TIP:
The purpose of the CONTACT TIP is to transfer welding current to the welding wire while allowing the wire to pass through it
smoothly.
Always use a contact tip stamped with the same diameter as the wire it will be used with.
1. If the wire burns back into the tip, remove the tip from the gun and clean the hole running through it with an oxygen-acetylene
torch tip cleaner or tip drill. If the burned-back wire cannot be removed, the tip will have to be replaced.
2. With extended use over time, this hole will become worn. Increased wear on the hole causes increased resistance in the
transfer of welding current from the contact tip to the wire. This will result in less stable arc characteristics and difficult arc
starting.
CAUTION: KEEP THE NOZZLE CLEAN!
During the welding process, spatter and slag will build up inside the nozzle and must be cleaned out periodically. Failure to
clean and/or replace the nozzle in a timely fashion will cause damage to the front end of the gun assembly, which is not
replaceable. The results of the inaction may require the replacement of the entire gun assembly.
Failure to keep the nozzle adequately cleaned can result in the following problems:
A shorted nozzle results when spatter buildup bridges across the insulation in the nozzle allowing welding current to flow
through it as well as the contact tip. When shorted, a nozzle will steal welding current from the wire whenever it contacts the
grounded workpiece. This causes erratic welds and reduced penetration. In addition, a shorted nozzle overheats the end of the
gun which can damage the front-end of the gun.
TESTING FOR A SHORTED NOZZLE!
Arcing between the nozzle and the workpiece always means the nozzle is shorted, but this can be hard to detect through the
lens of a welding helmet. The following testing method is another way to tell if a nozzle is shorted.
With the welder unplugged from the AC power source, touch the probes of an ohmmeter or continuity tester to the end of the
contact tip and the outside of the nozzle. If there is any continuity at all, the nozzle is shorted. Clean or replace as needed.
work
clamp, or gun assembly when damaged or worn.
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