Hey guys let me jump in real quick with a question.

First I suspect i am underpowered. The HF gun says "20amp minimum" I'm attached to a 15amp socket and then to make it worse... 100' of extension cord. It works for my 140 amp Lincoln welder... but whatever...

So I tried the 2 and 3mm studs. Instant weld taps... to 3 seconds.... up to 10 seconds.

The 2mm are sticking at about 3 seconds... sometimes. But mostly neither are at all.
I soaked the tips in phos... so clean, cleaned the metal, etc... proper metal prep... then on the burns... I am getting "galvanized welding"-like white powders... at the metal and the gun tip... and no stick.

Any ideas?

I did make a sweet improvement to the puller though!!

My first thought is that HF is the problem. I have never bought anything from them that I didn't think was absolute junk and either returned it or threw it away.

I suggest you plug it in directly (without the extension cord) and see if it works any better - but I doubt it will.

If you look on youtube, almost everyone demonstrating an HF stud welder show the same problem. Pins don't stick. Some HF stuff is serviceable, but anything with an electric function is junk.
I have a motorguard, and the pins stick with the shortest of trigger pulls - to the point that they can be easily twisted off and reused if you wanted to.

Breaker size shouldn't be a problem unless you are tripping it. Wiring in the wall might be a problem. They use small wire on the 15A circuits, and if it's a long run from the box to the outlet then you are going to get some voltage drop. Lots of voltage drop using the 100' extension cord. All combined your actual voltage applied to the welders transformer is sagging, probably a lot. Therefore your output from the welder is less that it could be.

Just as a test... try minimizing the amount of wire between the welder and breaker box. Plug the welder into an outlet as close to the box as possible and see if there is any improvement.

GotScout wrote:Hey guys let me jump in real quick with a question.

First I suspect i am underpowered. The HF gun says "20amp minimum" I'm attached to a 15amp socket and then to make it worse... 100' of extension cord. It works for my 140 amp Lincoln welder... but whatever...

The 2mm are sticking at about 3 seconds... sometimes. But mostly neither are at all.
I soaked the tips in phos... so clean, cleaned the metal, etc... proper metal prep... then on the burns... I am getting "galvanized welding"-like white powders... at the metal and the gun tip... and no stick.

Any ideas?

The White Powder you are seeing is contamination which explains the not welding 3 sec is way to long for either of my stud welders yours too I am sure.

You said you soaked your Studs is Phos? do you mean Phosphoric Acid????
If so this is what is causing the Whit Powder contamination.
I assume you did this because of the Flash Rusting that the Pins do? Don't worry about it just use them as they are.

First get some new Studs!!!!!
(I have a Bunch of the HF Studs heavy and light and I don't have much trouble with them myself although I do prefer a commercial brand better)
Next Clean your spot Where you want to put a Stud Mechanically I use a 2 inch disk on my 90 degree Die Grinder with a 2 inch 36 grit disk grind the metal shiny clean, Not only the area for the Stud but the Ground as well. If you dont have a Good clean ground the machine wont work properly!
Hold gun with stud on metal firmly but do not push hard just enough for the outer ground to make good contact with the metal squeeze trigger while watching Tip Once tip reaches a Glowing Red let go shouldn't take more than one second.

The center Tip Can get Dirty simply remove Tip and clean all with Steel wool or clean wire Brush. The Outer Half ring Ground can also become nasty I use some Sand paper on it or my Grinding disc on my Die grinder to clean it up. I have also used a File to clean these up up too just depends on my mood and whats close by for me, which ever method you chose at this point is up to you but I would mechanically clean all the contact points shiny clean before trying again.

In future Don,t use any metal treatments on Any surfaces that you plan to weld on till after your done doing all your welding then you can treat the metal any way you like.
Removing metal treatments even mechanically is hard it gets into the Grain of the metal and contaminates it when trying to weld. Sanding with 80 grit and then a Stainless Wire brush in a Die Grinder works well beware of flying wires!

A 100 foot Extension cord is Gonna have a healthy Voltage drop probably enough to trip a 15 amp breaker I would and do use a shorter Heavier gauge extension cord myself.
I have gotten away with using a 100'er that lays around my shop though so I don't think this is your problem.

Youtube demo

If you look closely at the car this guy is working on you can see that the Car has been Dipped to remove paint and rust a very expensive ordeal. It also leaves a Coating on the metal that the guy has attempted to remove before using the Stud gun looking at the Studs he didn't remove all the Coating from the metal as the White Smoked contamination remains on the metal after attaching the Stud. He also claims of having some trouble with the Gun and getting some studs to stick if you listen carefully.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P33G6HuNVak

The Contacts of the welder and the Metal being worked on has to be clean.
Removing a Metal treatment is Hard as it gets into the Grain of the metal on a Microscopic level I have had Good luck using 80 grit on a DA and Then a Hi speed Stainless Steel wire Brush on a Die Grinder followed by wiping with Water born Wax and grease remover and Evan then there is no guaranty that you fully removed the residual coating that the metal treatment left behind.

Unless You are a Pro and Know exactly what you are doing and know exactly How to use Metal treatments Stay away from them! They can and do cause more problems than they are worth in most circumstances by the home Hobbyist.

Cool thanks guys. Yeah the wiring out to the barn is low amp... I spoke with my electrical guy and we are running a 10/2 box direct from the supply box soon.

That seems to be the issue. Rather than having the juice to zap the pins... with all my restrictions I am trying to just slow cook them into place... and that is the fail!

Thanks for replies!
-Steve

The HF stud gun is fine for DIY use. The studs can be spotty though Motorguard studs aren't expensive. Whatever voltage drop in your run and the coating seem to be limiting the use of the tool.

You can test by taking it up to the house and trying on an unfinished sheet or cut off panel. (you could do this in the kitchen or bathroom) Hit it with a flap wheel to expose the bare metal and try again. That will tell you if you have a bad gun or if the other factors are why they won't stick. Judging from the post and pics I'd say it was prep and low voltage but you can confirm by testing the tool.

Dave

i got bit by that gun to, sounds like we should try different studs? i never thought of that but i found the gun to be a mess.

allot of mine would bounce off after good prep. i was working on a 79 vw rabbit. when i tried in areas to hold trigger longer for some red burn i found i was stressing and pulling metal plugs out. once in a while one would work but it left me pissed off.

its gonna be a few weeks before i head back to projects and can report back after using some other studs. any specific brand the best?

I have a Harbor Freight one that's been doing fine
for several years now.
But voltage is important, I use a heavy duty chord
to a dedicated circuit. It will greatly shorten the life
if you starve it for power.