Hoping for a deep thought. Picked up a newer generation Lincoln 225 amp AC welder off of Craigslist. It was obviously barely used, came with 20 lbs. of 7018, helmet, gloves all of which were like new. It had been sitting in a shed for a few years so I took it apart, blew the detritus out, cleaned and greased all the contacts. It blew my thirty amp breaker first thing so I put in a 50 and ran 6-2 cable to the plug, a total run right at 50 feet. The wire cost more than the welder.
I stick welded some years ago, even took a class so I'm raw but not helpless. The problem: I can strike an arc and run a bead for a couple of inches then it just quits. Same on various amperage settings. Grounded directly to the work. After a while I am able to strike an arc again and go another couple of inches then it quits. I'm keeping the arc to less than a rod diameter and dragging the weld. It's almost like there was a thermistor or circuit breaker that is cooling and resetting but I can't identify such an item in the unit. I can't imagine a break in the transformer would behave like that but who knows? The rod is plenty old, could I be getting some kind of slag that is bridging? The puddle still looks ok at the time it quits so it's nothing I can see.
Think it would be worth a try with some fresh rod?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I stick welded some years ago, even took a class so I'm raw but not helpless. The problem: I can strike an arc and run a bead for a couple of inches then it just quits. Same on various amperage settings. Grounded directly to the work. After a while I am able to strike an arc again and go another couple of inches then it quits. I'm keeping the arc to less than a rod diameter and dragging the weld. It's almost like there was a thermistor or circuit breaker that is cooling and resetting but I can't identify such an item in the unit. I can't imagine a break in the transformer would behave like that but who knows? The rod is plenty old, could I be getting some kind of slag that is bridging? The puddle still looks ok at the time it quits so it's nothing I can see.
Think it would be worth a try with some fresh rod?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.