jbwilson
Silver Member
When stick welding, sometimes the arc flares and I have difficulty in keeping the arc going. This might happen on the same job, where I may do good welds with 4 sticks, but the 5th one plays havoc, resulting in having to grind down the weld to remove slag deposits. This happens mostly when I am doing fillet welds on fairly thick pieces of mild steel and can occur whether I run it at high amps - 120, or low amps - 100.
I am using 3.2mm (1/8th) 6012s. My welder is a Miller Econo Twin using 3 phase power with an high OC voltage - around 75 to 80 amps, so the problem is with me rather than the machine I think. I generally use DCEP. Could my problem be one or more of the following:
1) Old electrodes - The ones I'm using are over 5 years old although I have stored them in a dry place inside my house.
2) Poor quality electrodes - are there differences in quality between different brands for the same electrode specifications.
3) Slag inclusions on the other side of the fillet weld which affect the arc.
4) Wrong current type for the electrode - will AC or DCEN make a difference with 6012 or 6013 electrodes.
5) Welding machine losing it's voltage during the welding operation causing the arc to flurry.
6) Just accept that having a stable arc is a skill that I'll have to double my efforts to master.
I am using 3.2mm (1/8th) 6012s. My welder is a Miller Econo Twin using 3 phase power with an high OC voltage - around 75 to 80 amps, so the problem is with me rather than the machine I think. I generally use DCEP. Could my problem be one or more of the following:
1) Old electrodes - The ones I'm using are over 5 years old although I have stored them in a dry place inside my house.
2) Poor quality electrodes - are there differences in quality between different brands for the same electrode specifications.
3) Slag inclusions on the other side of the fillet weld which affect the arc.
4) Wrong current type for the electrode - will AC or DCEN make a difference with 6012 or 6013 electrodes.
5) Welding machine losing it's voltage during the welding operation causing the arc to flurry.
6) Just accept that having a stable arc is a skill that I'll have to double my efforts to master.