Thoughts on this used welder?

[joshuabardwell]

BTW, if you look at the above picture, the second bead from the right was my attempt to use the high-output AC terminal. I figure since it was marked for 6013, and that's what I had, I'd give it a go. I had a hard time getting the arc going and keeping it going. Back to the low-output terminal for me!

 

[k0ua]

I got an auto-darkening helmet today, and boy howdy is that a treat. Only thing is, now I have to remember to make sure it's turned on again when I get done grinding. There's an accident waiting to happen. Maybe I should use a different face shield when I grind. So far, I just look away and tap the work piece to confirm that the lens darkens before I start welding in earnest.

Anyway, here's today's work.

View attachment 283328

I went out and bought a brand new box of 1/8" E6013 just to rule out bad rods as a source of my DC problems. All of the above beads were run with those rods. I was able to consistently get a DC arc struck, but I had to run the welder all-out at 140 amps to do it, which seems higher than would normally be recommended. The DC beads also seem taller than they should be, to my amateur eye. Bear in mind this is on a piece of about 3/8" thick T-stock, if that's relevant. On the AC side, I think the 6013 runs a little nicer than the 6011 I was using, although the auto-darkening hood and my slight increase in experience probably play in.

I am no expert but did you try DCEP ? that is what I would have used. Those thin ropey beads I believe are caused by DCEN.. and possibly by traveling too fast. I am still thinking the DC setting is not delivering the rated current, as you are having to set it too high to get going... I wish a more experience weldor would pop in and offer some more suggestions. but my analysis is reverse those DC leads.. to have the electrode positive for more penetration, try traveling a little slower. There are some good tips on the miller site.

Miller - Five Steps To Improving Your Stick Welding Technique

James K0UA

 

[joshuabardwell]

I am still thinking the DC setting is not delivering the rated current, as you are having to set it too high to get going...

Great minds think alike. In the interest of SCIENCE, I switched the leads and ran some beads. They were just on a different part of the piece and I didn't photograph them. I agree that current is not being delivered. If I have to turn all the way up to 140 just to get an arc started, and the resulting beads are that thin, I can't think of any other explanation--not that I'm an expert, mind you. At this point, though, we believe that the diodes are good; we believe that the leads are fine; the rods are fine; the terminals look okay. I just can't think what else could be the issue.

Someone--maybe here, I don't remember--suggested turning the welder all the way up and sticking a rod to the work piece for about ten seconds, then looking for what part of the welder is hot. I have an IR thermometer. I may give that a go. See if there is a bad contact somewhere.

One other note that was interesting--maybe relevant, maybe not. I couldn't get the arc going with DC using the "scratch" method. What worked most consistently was actually dragging the tip of the rod across the piece. After a half-inch or an inch or so, the arc would get going. Weird. Of course, I couldn't have done that before I got the auto-darkening helmet. I never did go back and try the 6011 rods and see if that worked for them.

Anyway, I think my AC beads are looking... well, not mediocre even, but they do look like beads anyway... I cut up some pieces of scrap, and tomorrow I think I'll try sticking some metal together!

 

[joshuabardwell]

PS: You're not going to critique my AC beads at all? Come on! Give me some feedback! :cool2: One thing I know for sure is that I need to end the weld better. I need to build up some metal instead of just flicking off and leaving a "ramped" appearance. I really am not sure how to judge subtler things like whether there is good penetration, whether the travel speed was right, and so on.

 

[k0ua]

PS: You're not going to critique my AC beads at all? Come on! Give me some feedback! :cool2: One thing I know for sure is that I need to end the weld better. I need to build up some metal instead of just flicking off and leaving a "ramped" appearance. I really am not sure how to judge subtler things like whether there is good penetration, whether the travel speed was right, and so on.

The AC beads look pretty good. I wish you were here and could weld for a while on my little Everlast DC machine. That way you could get some practice with a known good machine.

James K0UA

 

[joshuabardwell]

The AC beads look pretty good. I wish you were here and could weld for a while on my little Everlast DC machine. That way you could get some practice with a known good machine.

Awww shucks. I was just fishing for a compliment anyway. I watched the Wall Mountain SMAW instructional videos, and I gotta say they're pretty awesome. That, combined with the advice to watch the pool, not the arc, is what's driving my current practice. Frankly, I should go through and watch them again, just so they're fresh in my mind. Eventually, I think I will go hit up the welder who lives down the road from me... maybe see if he'll trade me some instruction for a few pounds of farm-fresh pork.

I hear you on the DC machine. The DC arc is so docile compared to the AC arc. Eventually, I will figure out what's going on with this machine, but until then, I'll stick with AC and still get a lot done.

 

[dex3361]

The thing that puzzles me here is that it is much easier to weld DC than AC. Your beads look cool to me but that could be the speed you are moving(to fast) or it could be that your current is low. It would be a good idea to have a experienced welder try to run a few beads to see what he thinks. If you had a DC amp clamp you could strike an arc and measure the amps on DC and then measure the AC as well. Try running a few more beads on DC ad a little side to side zig zag movement and go much slower forward. Your amps on 6013 should be about 130 - 135 amps tops amd try EP and EN. Make sure the metal is clean. Your beads are promising for a beginner. So dont give up. Keep in mind you will not stand a chance if your welder is not working correctly. Its hard enough to learn with a perfect machine.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Your beads look cool to me but that could be the speed you are moving(to fast) or it could be that your current is low. If you had a DC amp clamp you could strike an arc and measure the amps on DC and then measure the AC as well.

I don't think there's any possibility that I was moving too fast. My travel speed felt quite slow, and if I went much slower, the weld metal beaded up. You can kind of see an example of this at the beginning (top) of the left-most DC bead in the photo above. The travel speed was definitely slower than with AC on the same rod, and the deposition rate was also slower.

I don't have an amp clamp, but I think that low current is a safe diagnosis. At the recommended amperage (per the box), I can barely get a spark, never mind an arc. Now I'm tempted to buy an amp clamp though... Oh, if only I had all the money in the world! (Heck, if I had all the money in the world, I'd just buy a new welder and stop fooling around!)

 

[dex3361]

Most AC amp clamps do not read DC so make sure the one you buy will fit for the intended purpose.

 

[joshuabardwell]

Most AC amp clamps do not read DC so make sure the one you buy will fit for the intended purpose.

No worries.

Auto ranging AC/DC Digital Clamp Meter - Amazon.com