MiG welder: how thick can it weld?

[Jeff Lary]

Well i may have spoke out of turn it may also be 1/8 rod but i thought it was larger i get great results in any case.

 

[tnjind]

I still dont get it with the folks here saying how thick their XXX machine will weld and what thickness it wont weld. That is like saying how big a pile of dirt can you move with your BX Kubota tractor compared to a Grand L without qualifying it with any time limit. A 110volt machine can weld any thickness material made if you have the time to make many, many passes. Even with a 220v or 480V machine you need to limit the size of the fillet weld pass because at some point, regardless of the power the weld will start to cold lap and not tie into the existing weld or basemetal. Generally speaking the larger the machine, the higher amperage you can run which equates to higher wire speed and/or bigger diameter wire so you have faster deposition rate. But given the time and multi-pass welds,with your 110 volt, you can eventually weld the same thickness as a big industrial machine, you just may miss your next vacation because you havent finished welding but dont worry, you will eventually get to the finish line. Just like the tortoise and the Hare race, you can do is slow or fast but in the end both of you end up at the same place.

Low duty cycle will kill that theory. I use my 110 alot, I do understand what you are saying. The same as a 5 horse motor will drive your truck, with enough gearing, do you want to do that. No but you could.

 

[bikerdib]

Well i may have spoke out of turn it may also be 1/8 rod but i thought it was larger i get great results in any case.

Don't get me wrong, I certainly wasn't questioning your ability or knowledge. You can get decent results running the 3/16 7018 on AC but best results will be had DC+ and like I said, my welder doesn't put out that high an amperage on DC. Maybe you had it backward, 3/16 6011 and 1/8 7018? In my experience, I see very little difference running 6011 AC or DC+ (maybe slightly less splatter on DC); however, DC- doesn't give as deep a penetration. If I have good clean metal or have the time to clean it up I'll grab 7018 every time but just to make a quick repair on less than favorable metal condition I will use 6011. When working with thin sheet metal I'll often use 6013.