Having issue with 20 gauge sheet metal and MTS251Si

[clydesdale]

Hi,
I am having a little trouble with my new MTS251Si. I am using .025 wire. We have dialed it down t0 15.5v and 128 wire speed. I have had a hard time maintaining an arc and it appears a fresh tip will help for a little while, but then it starts to sputter again and won't maintain an arc. Changing the tip will fix the issue for a while.

The other issue is that there seems to be a good deal of play with the wire in the liner. With the gun off, I can move the wire in and out about 3/4 inch. Is that too much?
Would a 24 series gun be a better choice for the smaller .023 wire and .030 wire that I use for sheet metal?

I bought this machine to do larger projects as well, but my understanding is that it can run this smaller wire. Any thoughts or advice? Thank you.

[clydesdale]

We figured it out. The tips that I purchased were not very good. They would not last. Once a better brand of tip was used, we had success with the small wire on sheet metal.