cqaigy2
Super Member
Sometimes they will shift forward or backward and bind.
Thoughts on this used welder?
- Thread starter joshuabardwell
- Start date
Sometimes they will shift forward or backward and bind.
OP
joshuabardwell
Elite Member
Well, the fan is still not fixed, but I took the cover off the welder and aimed a box fan at it so I could get a little more practice in. I moved from the relatively shaded part of my driveway that I was working on to an in-the-sun part, and lo and behold, I could actually SEE the rod and the work piece, just a tiny bit. Made starting the arc much easier, although I still have a lot of practice to go. At least I wasn't going by feel alone, though, just stab-stab-stabbing at the piece until I got lucky. Here are some of my practice beads.
These are all AC E6011. One question that I have is what is the "crackly" black material at the edges of the bead? Is it just flux that is not getting brushed off? Or is that undercutting? Or something else?
I tried again to use DC, but no love. The rod would stick immediately no matter what I did. I even tried turning the amps all the way up on the machine. I could see that the rod was a lot hotter: the sparks it made while scratching were larger and the flares it made when I pulled it away after sticking were larger, but no arc. Finally, with the most careful of careful motions, I was able to strike a very precarious arc (at recommended amperage for the rod). The pool moved very slowly and the hot metal wanted to actually bead up and roll along the surface of the work piece. When I was done, there was very little penetration and lots of tall build-up of weld metal, some of which cracked off when I brushed off the slag. See below for two examples:
I can't for the life of me figure out what's going on here. Maybe I should spring for a box of fresh rods just to rule that out. Or is this just lack of technique? DC is supposed to be easier, but so far, I cannot even really get started with it. For the very-brief time that I actually had a DC arc going, I thought I got a sense of its benefits. The pool was steady and not spattering and jumping around. I want more of that!
BTW, I also tried both AC and DC with E7018, but with terrible results. But since those are low-hydrogen and they have not been stored in a dry location, I would chalk that up to the rods.
These are all AC E6011. One question that I have is what is the "crackly" black material at the edges of the bead? Is it just flux that is not getting brushed off? Or is that undercutting? Or something else?
I tried again to use DC, but no love. The rod would stick immediately no matter what I did. I even tried turning the amps all the way up on the machine. I could see that the rod was a lot hotter: the sparks it made while scratching were larger and the flares it made when I pulled it away after sticking were larger, but no arc. Finally, with the most careful of careful motions, I was able to strike a very precarious arc (at recommended amperage for the rod). The pool moved very slowly and the hot metal wanted to actually bead up and roll along the surface of the work piece. When I was done, there was very little penetration and lots of tall build-up of weld metal, some of which cracked off when I brushed off the slag. See below for two examples:
I can't for the life of me figure out what's going on here. Maybe I should spring for a box of fresh rods just to rule that out. Or is this just lack of technique? DC is supposed to be easier, but so far, I cannot even really get started with it. For the very-brief time that I actually had a DC arc going, I thought I got a sense of its benefits. The pool was steady and not spattering and jumping around. I want more of that!
BTW, I also tried both AC and DC with E7018, but with terrible results. But since those are low-hydrogen and they have not been stored in a dry location, I would chalk that up to the rods.
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ChristianHF
Member
From a web site I frequent Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info
I'm just starting stick welding, and have recently tried to "graduate" from E6013 to E6011 Welding Rods, as you suggest. Problem is, when I finish a weld using E6011 rods, I always wind up with a fairly large crater at the end of the weld seam, because the E6011 is so "aggressive". How do I avoid this?
Answer to E6011 welding rods Question
I know exactly what you are talking about.
2 welding tips come to mind for getting rid of the crater problem at the end of the weld:
1. Make sure your amperage is not too hot and if you are welding on an AC DC machine, AC works better. DC will allow Arc Blow to start happening midway into burning the rod. E6011 rods are made to run on all polarities but AC seems to be the sweet spot and will definitely prevent arc blow (when a magnetic field sets up and causes the rod to burn unevenly and be extra aggressive).
2. When you stop the bead, keep the rod in the area and light right back up in the crater with a close arc for about a second after the crater has had a few seconds to cool. that should fill the crater without making a new one.
The reason I like E6011 rods better than 6013 rods is that I have seen lots of students have trouble with the 6013 rods trapping slag pockets. 6013 rods make a pretty weld under pristine conditions, but when you have to burn thru a little rust, or weld downhill, they just plain suck. E6011 rods come in 5/32" diameter also and even if all you have is a 200 amp buzz box and E6011 rods, you can weld a lot of stuff.
I'm just starting stick welding, and have recently tried to "graduate" from E6013 to E6011 Welding Rods, as you suggest. Problem is, when I finish a weld using E6011 rods, I always wind up with a fairly large crater at the end of the weld seam, because the E6011 is so "aggressive". How do I avoid this?
Answer to E6011 welding rods Question
I know exactly what you are talking about.
2 welding tips come to mind for getting rid of the crater problem at the end of the weld:
1. Make sure your amperage is not too hot and if you are welding on an AC DC machine, AC works better. DC will allow Arc Blow to start happening midway into burning the rod. E6011 rods are made to run on all polarities but AC seems to be the sweet spot and will definitely prevent arc blow (when a magnetic field sets up and causes the rod to burn unevenly and be extra aggressive).
2. When you stop the bead, keep the rod in the area and light right back up in the crater with a close arc for about a second after the crater has had a few seconds to cool. that should fill the crater without making a new one.
The reason I like E6011 rods better than 6013 rods is that I have seen lots of students have trouble with the 6013 rods trapping slag pockets. 6013 rods make a pretty weld under pristine conditions, but when you have to burn thru a little rust, or weld downhill, they just plain suck. E6011 rods come in 5/32" diameter also and even if all you have is a 200 amp buzz box and E6011 rods, you can weld a lot of stuff.
OP
joshuabardwell
Elite Member
Here's a photo of the leads plugged into the DC terminals.
I am looking into whether I may have a bad rectifier. As a start, I put a multimeter on the DC terminals. I measured 55 VDC, which if I understand correctly is about the right range. On a hunch, I set the multimeter to AC and measured 22 VAC. I don't know a lot about rectifiers, but should any AC at all be coming out of there?
OP
joshuabardwell
Elite Member
I did a little more testing with a multimeter. The rectifier bridge has four diodes as near as I can tell. Two of them show 3.3 MOhms through them and 0.44 volts drop using the multimeter's diode test function. The other two show 2.5 MOhms and 0.41 volts drop. Not knowing the specific model of the rectifier (I will have to get a mirror to read it, I think) I don't know for sure whether this is within spec, but it passes the most basic diode test: you have a voltage drop one way and an open the other. (I verified the opens too.)
EDIT TO ADD: Of course, with mega-ohms of resistance one way, perhaps it makes more sense to conclude that the diodes are open both ways.
EDIT TO ADD: Of course, with mega-ohms of resistance one way, perhaps it makes more sense to conclude that the diodes are open both ways.
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dex3361
Elite Member
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Best way to tell is test the diodes and see if they are good. Not real hard to do once you locate the diodes. There should be 4 of them. They may look like this DIODE. Here is a description of how to test the diodes. DIODE TESTING.
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Joshua, I am sure sorry you are having so much trouble with the welder. Yes DC is much nicer to weld with than AC, and I am having trouble understanding why yours does not seem to work..Maybe Shield Arc could help if he comes across this.. Those DC "welds" are called "bird turds" I have heard of this with MIG welders but never seen this on an arc machine. I am wondering if the diodes are bad in some way that cannot deliver much current or there is a high resistance joint somewhere. I am just not sure what the problem is, Obviously your transformer seems good as it will weld on AC but sure does not seem to do much on DC. I sure hope you get it going and start enjoying DC welding.
James K0UA
James K0UA
cowski
Platinum Member
your dc welds are cold.weld a few passes with the dc turned all the way up.then swap the cables and try a few more.post them and let me look . also clean your welding plugs.i use a car battery brush.check your 220 receptacle and make sure it has enough voltage.
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OP
joshuabardwell
Elite Member
According to your test, the diodes should have a resistance of between 0 and 1 ohm. Mine have a resistance between 2.5 and 3.3 mega-ohms. That certainly would seem to cause cold welds. However, I have not disconnected them from the heat sink (would require desoldering) and I read that that may cause incorrect readings.
EDIT TO ADD: A thread on the Miller forum indicates that diode resistance over about 1 mega-ohm should be treated as "open" and indicative of a bad diode. Sounds like I have four bad diodes and the next step is to replace them. Good thing I know how to solder! Now to figure out what the correct part number(s) are. Urgh.
I know that heat is one of the main things that causes diodes to fail. What do you want to bet a previous owner operated the welder with the broken fan and toasted the diodes? Oh well. I said when I bought it that $100 was a fine price for an AC-only welder in this range. Looks like that's what I ended up paying for. It even came with a nifty hand truck included!
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