cheap spool gun wiring (2023 Update)

Try again Ihave an older unimig 175 which seem to be the same as a unimig 190. it has three knobs,current voltage and wire speed,a euro socket for main mig cable,two euro sockets for dc,positive and neg, and a din socket for spool motor I think. I have ordered an el cheapo spool gun which does not come with plugs on end of wiring but does come with a separate 4pin din plug,(I think) . so how do I connect it all up.

Looks like the Unimig have a Euro connector for a MIG torch and Dinse sockets for MMA, MIG ground lead and a spool gun power supply. My spool gun came with a Euro plug already attached but you say yours doesn't have one so best to fit one, they're not expensive. My spool gun was advertised as having a Amphenol connector for the torch power but I couldn't find any that matched but eventually identified it as a 4 pin GX16 aviation connector so had to get a matching socket to add to my MIG for spool gun supply. You likely need to find out what connector is used for your Unimig spool gun motor power and if you're lucky it'll match your torch or otherwise change one or the other to suit.

One problem I have is that it seems to have a cable for the dc with sheilding or something ending up with a copper lug 0n it where do I put that lug?

From looking at ones as you describe supplied without a Euro plug that would be the power lead so it would need to be fixed to the brass core of the plug kit.

Yes the power lead,but I am talking about what looks like shielding of the power lead which ends with a brass lug with an 8 mm hole in it.

As you say your welder has a Euro socket for a MIG torch I do wonder why you didn't buy a spool gun with a Euro plug to start with. With MIG requiring different power supply characteristics to MMA/TIG and no information about the internals of your welding power supply connecting your spool gun to the Euro connector should get it working. What you see as a shield is likely the main power conductor, unless you can find something else, and I suspect will be around the shielding gas line so that helps cool the conductor much like happens with TIG torches whether water or air cooled.

The difference is a couple of hundred dollars,

. With MIG

The main power conductor looks to be a plastic covered heavy wire with what looks like a shielding wire with a lug , I have not got it yet but am looking at various cheap spool guns on the net,if you just get a cheapie up on the net you can probably see the lug. there is the heavy wire and four small wires(probably for spool motor and this lug.

unless you can find

There is a three position switch for mma mig and tig With the tig I just plugged it into the negative socket with pos earth and it seems to work but I have not got a handle on tig welding yet, it sticks all the time,I have trouble maintaining ark, I tried aluminium with argon but not much success and I tried steel with argon, I have welded steel with oxy acetylene on and off all my life and even aluminium with oxy many years ago,so I thought tig would be a breeze. I do not know the best settings for current and voltage for tig as a beginner, or even if the voltage setting is applicable for mig

Youtube , welding tips and tricks . Jody is an excellent teacher . Probably won't help with your spoolgun hookup , but you can for sure learn a lot from him about TIG and MIG welding .

delivered. Are they really that much more where you are, is it Australia?

Should be interesting what you actually find when it arrives, I didn't realise you were only going by the pics on the net as I've never found a good detail shot of the end connections.

AFAIK the only way you can weld aluminium with a DC set is to use reverse polarity to break up the oxide film but that hammers the TIG torch as 2/3 of the heat is produced there rather than at the work piece.

yes but ebay is worldwide.

Spoolgun... I've just started Ali welding this summer - marine applications. You should find it interesting - assuming you are coming from steel. I'm using conventional MIG with conventional "push" feed from a conventional-sized spool on the wirefeeder, so can't comment on spoolgun.

100% Ar and gets into spray at low Amps - by 150A it can be sweet (apparently it's from >=130A). Jody at weldingtipsandtricks gave me a lot of inspiration early on.

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