Hello and a question if that's ok?

[Chris evans]

Hi everyone, looking forward to contributing to the forum. I did a short course in welding about 6 years ago to help repair my it car which I had crashed. Had a decent welder at the time but that got stolen a while back. Anyway, I want to play around with a welder again and bought an ancient Motamig 90 for a few quiet. The question is , should I bother trying to get it working. The wire speed seems a bit random, only working I the 8 upward. I was pressing the trigger with no wire just to check operation, but then it started smoking after a minute or so. Was I doing something silly?

This is a live torch model so will be tricker to use, so before i start investing time and effort should I just buy soemthing newer? I don't even have a regulator for it and it looks like it uses the smaller DIY bottles.

Any advice welcomed!

 

[Bill Edwards]

Personally I wouldn't put too much effort, time or money into it. Take a quick look and see if you can find out why it smokes, but unless it is a simple easy fix which I don't think is likely it may not be worth the trouble. Once you've fixed that you'll have to sort the wire feed problem (unless they're related) to then find any other faults.

 

[Chris evans]

Thanks bill sound advice. I will take it apart to , squirt some contact cleaner in various places, get the emery paper out etc basically spending no money but the previous owner said the trigger was US and it does seem to have a bit of a delay and don think you can repair it

 

[marlinspike]

Worth registering with Machine Mart. They will send you emails with discounts and if you're lucky a 20% off code.

 

[Sticky]

My first post in 6 years, I must come here more often!

A couple of days ago I bought a Motamig 90 from a guy in Bishops Stortford. I came here looking for some info on it and it turns out it is the one Chris talks about in his post....

It looks to have had a hard life and suffered at the hands of a previous owner who seems to be under the impression bathroom sealant has a home in a mig welding torch. For £30 quid I was willing to take a punt though. I've found the source of the smoke, one of the brushes in the wire feed motor had grease on it and it was getting hot and smoking. No idea where the grease came from but it was there. Bit of brake cleaner on the brush and commutator and it is fine now.

The trigger switch was a bit dicky and needed firm pressure to get the motor to run, so I opened the torch up to find most of the insides gummed up with bathroom sealant, presumably in an attempt to seal a leaking torch. The switch/gas valve was all gummed up and the gas hose didn't even reach in to the valve so I doubt any gas got through at all. Electrical contacts were all corroded and after a quick cleanup the motor runs lovely now and the trigger moves smoothly and easily now.

Just need to finish cleaning the torch handle of sealant, then I can put it back together. I need a new tip for the torch and I can then try putting some wire through it. It seems to be a solidly made machine, hopefully it will be OK. It's not cost me much so far, £30 and a few hours of my time.

Fingers crossed....

Simon.

 

[Wallace]

I serviced my old Mig before selling it on to a friend, the grease inside the wire feed gearbox had turned into glue over time slowing the initial start up feed. A wash out and fresh grease made a big difference, it was like a different machine.