Welder question/troubleshooting

I recently had my whip/gun replaced on my century welder. Seems like as the wire comes through the whip and into the tip it seems to be hung up a bit, almost as if it is dragging. If I unscrew the tip, there is no problem with the wire coming out. Seems like after I fight through it for a few minutes the wire then seems to flow smoothly though. Both the wire is .030 and the tip is the matching .030, first thing I checked. I do have a foam pad that the wire feeds through just before it goes into the wheel that feeds it into the whip, should I place a bit of oil on that pad to help it slide perhaps?

my hobart 187 did that sometimes,it has a spring type thing all down the lead and it hung on that right at the tip.

Its probally a bur in either the tip or the liner inside the lead

not to hijack the thread...but i have a troubleshooting ? too.....so my gas just got below 500psi and i am getting an incosistent arc.....is it time for a refill....does this normally happen when it gets down this far or should i be able to drain it to 0psi (or close to it) without a drastic change in arc quality?

i get that sometimes too,usually around 120 psi,i get "bug holes" in my beads. i usually just turn the regulator up a bit and it goes back to normal

DAve, is the contact tip the right size for the wire you are running? Tony, I usually run my tanks completely empty without any problems.