Stoody 965-G will not feed

I've had a 30 lb spool of 0.045 965 for about 5 years, unopened. Rebuilt a bucket, figured should maybe do a little building up on the corners. Couldn't find the knurled rollers for the 12RC, so thought, WTH, see what happens. Went great for about 20 minutes, and then stopped feeding. Dug around, found the knurled rollers, but that wire flat refuses to feed. Pulled the liner, blew everything out, new tips, can't hardly get it to come out the tip long enough to see if the tension is right. It'll push to the end, and out, but put the tip on and you'll get about 1 foot and that's it. I think we reset at least 20 times today. Call me crazy, but it almost seems like the wire is defective, like it's too soft? Any ideas?

So I am guessing the wire feeder is a Miller 12RC. You would not have a 0.035 tip on end by any chance, not sure if it would even pass through if it was. Wonder if your whip is packed with fine dirt is only other thing I can think of. I use to have a 12RC Feeder but sold it. Simon C

Sorry I missed you other post saying it is a Hobart. Welder Daves suggestions might work. Simon C

Simon C said: Sorry I missed you other post saying it is a Hobart. Welder Daves suggestions might work. Simon C Click to expand... Sorry I'm confusing. I do have another thread on the Hobart, but I'm not trying to use that. We're attempting to run this wire with the 12RC suitcase ran with a XMT304. The liner has only had a couple 44 pound rolls of hard wire through it. The 965 worked fine for about 20 minutes with the smooth rolls. Switched to the knurled, but I'm not sure that was the problem. We have tried 5 different new tips, they were working perfectly with the hard wire. Get it fed through, screw the tip on, squeeze the trigger, and you get about 6" and bird nest. I am thinking of running to Jamestown tomorrow for a new liner and some 0.052 tips.

Hardfacing wires called for knurled drive rolls. If it fed good for 20 minutes I'd suspect either the wire expanded from the heat and jammed in the contact tip (similar to aluminum wire, could try the next size up contact tip), the contact tip needs cleaning or replacing (which you did), there was a sharp curve in the gun cable or the liner needs to be blown out or replaced. Might want to use the next size up liner. Another possibility is the wire is deformed. I've had standard flux-core wire that was deformed/ squished on the roll and had to cut several feet of wire out of the roll. Hardfacing wire is soft so would deform easily. It would also be more susceptible to the drive rolls shaving off little bits of wire especially if the knurled drive rolls are a little too tight.

Got it sorted out. Went to Jamestown, picked up new liner, new drive rolls, new diffuser. Installed new liner, trimmed it so it was almost touching drive rolls. New drive rolls, backed off tension about another 1/2 turn. Pushed the wire through, put the tip on, ran about 3' out with no issue. Proceeded to lay down about 5 lbs with not a single blip at 24V and wire speed about 250 inches/min. I believe the old liner was just used up.

When cutting a new liner make sure it's long enough with a loop in the gun cable. If you cut it with the gun straight the liner will be short once there's any kind of loop in the gun cable. Being it's a soft wire the tighter drive rolls may have deformed the wire. Glad it's working good now. Wire feeder problems can be really frustrating!! Watched another welder throw the Mig gun 20' across the floor because out of the blue the wire feed screwed up. I had it happen too in the same shop using flux-core wire. Worked great for 20 minutes then for no apparent reason it started feeding erractically. It really sucked because the bad weld was inside a corner and the only way to remove it was with a die grinder. If the bad weld isn't completely removed you just porosity and have to grind it out again.

Shimmy1 said: Got it sorted out. Went to Jamestown, picked up new liner, new drive rolls, new diffuser. Installed new liner, trimmed it so it was almost touching drive rolls. New drive rolls, backed off tension about another 1/2 turn. Pushed the wire through, put the tip on, ran about 3' out with no issue. Proceeded to lay down about 5 lbs with not a single blip at 24V and wire speed about 250 inches/min. I believe the old liner was just used up. Click to expand... Glad you got it fixed. Have seen on some other wire feeders the wire passing through a filter before going into the cable. Very hard to see dirt inside a cable like that, and like Welder Dave said that wire probably gets stuck easier than other hard wires. Simon C

Simon C said: Glad you got it fixed. Have seen on some other wire feeders the wire passing through a filter before going into the cable. Very hard to see dirt inside a cable like that, and like Welder Dave said that wire probably gets stuck easier than other hard wires. Simon C Click to expand... We have a wiper on the wire between the guide and the spool.

Flux-core/hardfacing wire generally has a graphite coating to prevent rust and make it feed easier so you don't need a wiper before the drive rolls. It would actually make feeding worse because it would remove the graphite. That's why your hands are black after handling the wire rolls. Solid wire can use a wiper and sometimes a lube but the lube can attract dirt. You can get non copper coated solid wire. It's common on automated systems with large drums of wire because it doesn't flake off from the drive rolls as easy as copper coated wire and plug the liner. It will rust much easier though. That's where you might want a lubricated wiper. If your using a 12RC suitcase wire feeder the wire isn't exposed like on a conventional wire feeder. Some wire feeders have optional covers to keep the wire protected from dirt, grindings, dust, etc.

I cut my liner and put a cleaner, after it leaves the rollers, if there is room.

HarleyHappy said: I cut my liner and put a cleaner, after it leaves the rollers, if there is room. Click to expand... I cannot picture a feeder with so much gap that you can fit something between the rolls and the liner. I can't imagine it wouldn't bird nest at the slightest resistance.

Some Mig guns have a tapered inlet into the liner that will go closer to the drive rolls than a plain liner. 4 drive roll feeders are nice because you don't need as much pressure on the wire to get good feeding.