I've recently aquired a SIP Migmate 130 to play with (thanks Andy) and I am told it has a feed problem that needs sorting out.
Upon closer inspection the feed motor appears to be quite weak - the slightest resistance and it stalls.
I am going to replace the plastic wire liner which might be slightly kinked, get a new roller kit and generally give it a good service before setting it up for some work.

I was advised to renew the mig wire as it has a little rust starting to appear and drop a gel sachet in the compartment to absorb any moisture.

Is there anything else I should do or replace? Also, what gauge and type of wire should I choose for general purpose welding)

check the rollers are the right tightness. Wire would probably best be 0.6 or 0.8mm, personal preference really. Start with the cheap things, ie check the reel isnt too tight and the rollers are ok, look for obvious kink, get a new tip, then maybe replace the wire if its still no better.

Check the swan neck, if the plastic liner goes right to the tip and is melted in there it causes problems.

MIne went like that. new tip and cleaned up the rollers and nipped them up tight against the wire. No more trouble.

Thanks for the input guys

I have now replaced the liner. There was a small nick in the middle but not enough to cause the sticking. I read somewhere to ditch the bendy coil guide in the swan neck (which was quite rusty) as these can cause problems. The whole wire run now seems smooth enough right up to the tip (which has seen better days) but the motor still stalls really easily at the slower speeds.
Looking at the motor drive, it looks very low tech - the square motor shaft just runs through a hole in the plastic assembly which has loads of play, so maybe there is room for improvement here. The reversable drive wheel seems in good nick. It has two grooves and I am using 0.08mm wire in the large groove - is that right?

I'm getting some new tips tomorrow along with a new roll of wire so I'll see what happens when these are fitted.


[Edited on 30-12-05 by RazMan]

If you are using rusty wire, this will cause the drive to slip, in other words the motor keeps going but the wire feed stops. But if the motor is stopping I would say that you either need a new motor, or the motor is not getting enough current.

I have Clarke MIG and have had no end of fun and games with wire jaming.

sometimes it just does not pull the wire, worse at other times the wire bunches up just after the roller!!!

At the mo' it is just right. Anyways things to check is to have the reel fitted loosely, not so loose so the wire unwinds! Also the clamp for the roller is not too tight nor too loose - trial and error really!!

There are two groves in the roller, as you correctly assume, the larger is for 0.8 mm, smaller for 0.6 mm.

To check your motor, put wire in but do not feed it to the torch inner and run it - if the motor stalls, then it is knackerd. Does the motor run when it is not pulling wire? Can you stall it easily by holding or pressing on the roller?

Hi 02GF74 .... or can I call you 02


At the weekend I gave it a good spring clean. I replaced the inner liner, ditched the old wire and replaced it with a spanking new roll and fitted a new tip and hooked up a bottle of gas (Argon & CO2) the welder. I also ditched the spiral steel liner in the swan neck as I was advised that these are more trouble than they are worth.

The result is a much smoother feed although still a tiny bit erratic at lower speeds (although this might be normal). The motor seems to be quite powerful when I try and stall it with a finger so I guess the problem was with the liner. It might be why yours is buncing up between the roller and feed-out.

I havent had a chance to try it out yet but at least it looks the part now

As luck would have it, the next bit of welding I need to get organised is made of alluminium! I don't think I am ready for that yet (and of course it will mean buying different gas & wire) so it is off to the TIG welder later in the week.


[Edited on 3-1-06 by RazMan]