Thread: Newbie Cigweld Transmig 165 turbo settings help??

Does it have a chart on it? I have the Transmig 135 and it has a chart on the front with settings ect. I've also seen it on the inside of the door before with some larger models.

Yep, been there and there is no chart with f... all help from CIG.
There are a couple of threads dealing with the 165 on this forum.
Have a search for '165' in tags.
Try with .8 wire @ HIGH2, wire speed 5,6,or 7 with gas.
Try with.6 wire @ LOW2 , wire speed 5 with gas.
I use High2 @ 6.5 with .8 wire for 3 and 6 mm thick steel fillet welds and High1@ 5 for .6 wire.
Adjust your settings from these starting points.
Have fun, its all a learning curve.

MIGs have wire speed and voltage control, not amps. Current is controlled by arc length etc. For the rollers you could try one of the BOC stores. If you are starting out you should run solid wire with gas.

If you need a hand getting started let me know, I'd be happy to give you a hand, where in Adelaide are you located.

Rgds - Gavin

The rollers are the same for stainless and solid mild steel wire. You only need to change them for flux core or aluminium which is different again.

On my transmig 195 you can flip the rollers around for different size wire, from memory I have 0.9 and 0.6 grooves. Not sure if yours will be the same.

To get the machine running right I set the voltage and press the trigger on the gun and at the same time adjust the wire feed knob till it sounds like bacon frying.

Originally Posted by Jonesy_SA

Big questions, in the past when I used migs they had wire speed and amps. This has a toggle switch for coarse with high and low on it, and a dial switch with 3 settings market fine. How do these relate to amps etc?

Hi,
Firstly wire and amps are the same thing. The dial is rotary and the more you increase it, the faster the wire speed becomes and and the higher the amperage is set.One is locked to the other

The other toggle controls are the voltage switches coarse and fine.

Increasing the voltage is as follows:
The coarse is set at a figure (number) and then the fine. Step all the way throught the fine numbers to increase and step up to the next coarse number,

Example from coarse No 1 goto fine no1 > no.2> no3> to highest fine number then step up to coarse No 2 then goto fine no1,2,3, or whatever. Always set this first.

The voltage steps up incrementally throughout that range.

The lowest setting Coarse 1 fine 1 will be suitable for thin sheet metal and has the wire speed adjusted until it sounds lke crackling bacon ( according to some texts).This will be in the short arc range .

At the opposite end the,ie highest Coarse no and highest Fine no the arc will be headed towrads spray(a hissing sound)

To recap this ,set your voltage setting to reflect your heat input requirement-lite sheet or heavier plate. Then set the wire ( tune it back and foward,lower and higher) to gain the arc you require.

Rememmber that 99% 0f the problems you will encounter will be mechanical and actions to check the wire feed,the wire guide sytem,liner, and contact tip and shroud need to be carried out very often.
Read the welding lesons in the sticky above as you will find material to help you.
For the drivewheels go to a dedicated welding shop.Take the model number and info from the welding gun head if it is there for contact tip etc .

Cheers

Originally Posted by Gavin Newman

Current is controlled by arc length etc.

A point of correction here. Current does not relate to arc length.

I hate to sound know it all and nit picky, but it is a really important point in understanding how to set the controls.

In point of fact mig does not have an arc length that is considered variable .Variation is the stickout length of the electrode wire - the distance between work and contact tip will alter the arc voltage not the amperage.


< Constant voltage power supply.

The arc voltage is established by setting the output voltage on the power supply.

The power source will supply the necessary amperage to melt the welding electrode at the rate required to maintain the present voltage or relative arc length.

The speed of the electrode drive is used to control the average welding current.

This characteristic is generally preferred for the welding of all metals.

The use of this type of power supply in conjunction with a constant wire electrode feed results in a self-correcting arc length system. >

The C & P was sourced from the welding guru.
Hope this helps

grahame

Hi all,
Thanks for the assistance seems there is a real great bunch of folk here.
buildspacetrain - thanks for the setting stating points

Gavin -I am located in the western sub's near aami stadium.

Couple of follow up questions:
Grahame Collins: Regarding how to set voltage. Now i think about it i have use a welder that had two rotary switches. One for coarse and one for fine (fine-tuning?). I followed a chart that would recommend a coarse setting and use the fine dial to fine tune till i was happy (i think the tech class at school had one machine like that). I understand that principle fine but my machine has one rotary switch 1-3 labelled 'Fine' and a toggle switch labelled "coarse" with 'low' and 'high' settings.
Mig Welder, CIG, Transmig 165 turbo Auction &#40;0016-81433&#41; &#124; GraysOnline Australia
It is listed as having 6 voltage settings:
http://www.toolmart.com.au/media/pdf//706555.pdf

Hypothetically if the voltage range was 15-20 with individual settings of 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 i presume in my case if i was to start at the lowest setting and work up i would:
Set the toggle switch to low coarse and start at 1 on the fine rotary switch this setting could be 15, then 2 would be 16 and 3 being 17 volts. If i require more voltage i would select coarse high on the toggle switch and start back at 1 on the rotary switch which now equals 18 volts, 2 = 19v and 3= 20v.... Would that be correct?

At the moment the mig is set up for stainless however i will be using it for diy i.e. making a trolley for the bloody heavy thing out of tube, and once confident on auto body rust repair (another thing i need to learn). Obviously for the auto work ill need to run .6 wire and gas but i have been tossing up about buying a flux core feed roller and .8 wire for diy work. I found the roller part number and sears in USA has them for $6.95 if they are just as cheap in Aus i think it could be a good go.

Im told the unit is still under warranty but as the owner did not provide a receipt from their purchase its pretty much pointless. So ill probably open it up clean and replace anything thats a bit warn like the gas hose etc which seems a little perished.

Seems ill be on the phone to the TAFE's to find their next mig classes.

jonesy

Originally Posted by Jonesy_SA

Hypothetically if the voltage range was 15-20 with individual settings of 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 i presume in my case if i was to start at the lowest setting and work up i would:
Set the toggle switch to low coarse and start at 1 on the fine rotary switch this setting could be 15, then 2 would be 16 and 3 being 17 volts. If i require more voltage i would select coarse high on the toggle switch and start back at 1 on the rotary switch which now equals 18 volts, 2 = 19v and 3= 20v.... Would that be correct?

Spot on. If you need a hand getting started, yell out. I'm up in the hills but I'm down your way quite often visiting my parents.

Gday Jonesy_SA,

Heres the link for the CIGWELD transmig 165 manual (its 12mb, so wait a minute for it to load)

http://www.greyshirtguy.com/TransMIG...rotated%29.pdf

It covers some basic explanation of the settings in question however i think Grahams fuctional explanation of the settings will serve you better . I took grahams advice and just started welding steel together and when i got it right, i wrote down the settings and thickness of metal etc for later reference.

The rollers you should be able to pick up at your local welding supplier. One thing CIGWELD is good for, is availability of parts.

Hope this helps

G'day. I have a 165 and love it.
It's used for Steel ,Stainless and Ali.

For general steel work ( Duragal etc) I use High 2, wire 6.
For auto body low 1, wire 3 or 4. Wire size: 0.6
For Ali 6mm high 3, wire 8 ot 9. Wire: 0.8
For Stainless high 2, wire 5 to 6. Wire 0.8
Gasless Sux ####. Stay with Gas.

Get a tub of Nozzle dip it is great. I use the same rollers for all wires.

I have never had a problem with Ali bird nesting at the rollers. I try to keep the gun lead as straight as possible.