This thread may hold the answer to why I am having trouble with my new MIG welder (Lincoln 135--120 volt). I was doing fine using flux-core wire, and slowly learning to make a decent looking weld. I decided to try welding with gas shielding, and chose CO2, based on a number of people in the group--it's cheap and readily available.
I have not been able to make a weld. Using .025 wire, I can barely get an arc at my hottest setting, and the deposited metal is in beads, barely stuck to the surface. My impulse is to turn up the heat, but I'm using all I've got.
I have already discovered that I needed to reverse the polarity. I have purged a lot, and raised my gas pressure, to make sure I was getting enough. I can hear the CO2 and feel it blowing on my lip.
I am working in a sheltered, outdoor location, so breezes could be hurting me, but I have seen others weld outdoors with MIG. And, even if I wait for calm air, I don't do any better.
Does all this discussion about the dissociation of CO2 in the arc mean that it takes more voltage (current) to weld with it? Or am I doing something wrong that I don't recognize, due to being so low on the learning curve?
If I have to, I will just continue using flux-core, but I'd sure like to know what's going on.