Inverter stik welder problems

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A welder once related to me that lack of use can negatively effect transformer welders. I was wondering if this is can be true for inverter type boxes.
I purchased a little 140 stick welder from one of the advertisers here. I do not weld much at all but I wanted something that could. I used it a couple of times last year. Put it in a suitcase in a covered garage and took it out last week for a project. Well the thing had a completely different complexion. Last year it handled welding a cutting edge on a log splitter with no problem. This year it is having trouble starting an arc and sputtering with something as small as 3/32 6011's. Doesn't matter what rod I use, acts the same way (tough start and tough to keep going). Some of the digital read out bars have disappeared but this is no problem but it will not go above 125 amp read out even on a 220 circuit.
Contacted company 5 days ago with no return phone call as yet so i am asking here if lack of use can be troublesome. Thanks

 

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After I wrote this, I went outside to play around with it some more. It seems there could be a read out problem opposed to actual output. Last year the thing ran beautifully on 115 amps for a 1/8" 7018 rod. Last session proved this to be a very "sticky" setting. It was hot enough, but sticking rods. (7018 on top of wood stove for 5 hrs). So on a whim, I jacked the reading up to 125 or as high as it would go (read out). Very little sticking and arc starting much more readily. This was on bare metal sanded with a grinder first as was the project. This goes back to my first question. Did the welder sort of "regenerate" itself the more it got used or did something go haywire with the readout amperage over the winter because I left it out in the garage? Just checking to see if anyone else experienced anything like this with their inverters.

 

[CCWKen]

Perhaps it's condensation that didn't dry out until you took it out of the suitcase. Probably not a good idea to store it that way.

I was doing some welding with a buzz box last week and ran short of rods. Ran up to the local auto parts and picked up a pound of 3/32" 6011. (What I was using when I ran out.) First spark and bead was crap. I looked at the sleeve and sure enough, made in China. I made a couple of procedure changes and finished the work but I'll never buy that stuff again. I'm glad all they had was a one-pound sleeve of the stuff. I might have bought more. I'll have to remember where I bought the original rod and stock up.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Most of your name brand filler is made in China now, and some of the best running MIG wire is made in China. I've run some US stuff that was pretty lousy. Where it is made doesn't have as much to do with it as the composition of the wire.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Arrow, not remembering if you bought from Everlast or not, but if you did, pm me. If you didn't that's ok, I'll still try to give you some information. Leaving a piece of electronic equipment out in a place that is exposed to the elements can, even though you are protecting it in a suit case, wreak havoc. Where you are things can get below 0 and cold I assume. Things can freeze up like capacitors or displays. Corrosion can enter the picture, and even in cold temperatures, it could theoretically cause soldered joints to contract at a different rate than the board or wire that are applied to causing separation. Just some theories,, that I wanted to offer to be helpful or at least give you a possible insight to what i going on. But again, if it is ours and you dd not get a call back, pm me your number, and we'll get on it.

 

[CCWKen]

This stuff was not "name brand". I'd have to go out to the shop and look but it was called something like FlashFire, FlashBurn or something of the sort. Probably some literal translation. That's about all it did was flash. Even the coating was a different color. It looked like redwood sawdust.

I got it from a locally owned auto parts that in the past only sold the best and catered to the area farmers as far as stocking sideline materials. They still use paper catalogs and hand written receipts--No computers. I should have known things would change after the "old man" passed away last year. It's the kind of auto parts I remember from the 50s and 60s. They could get you anything. Small towns are loosing their edge.

 

[yomax4]

You can clamp a set of DC tongs ( meter ) over your ground cable and test true output. Also double check your polarity.

 

[arrow]

Arrow, not remembering if you bought from Everlast or not, but if you did, pm me. If you didn't that's ok, I'll still try to give you some information. Leaving a piece of electronic equipment out in a place that is exposed to the elements can, even though you are protecting it in a suit case, wreak havoc. Where you are things can get below 0 and cold I assume. Things can freeze up like capacitors or displays. Corrosion can enter the picture, and even in cold temperatures, it could theoretically cause soldered joints to contract at a different rate than the board or wire that are applied to causing separation. Just some theories,, that I wanted to offer to be helpful or at least give you a possible insight to what i going on. But again, if it is ours and you dd not get a call back, pm me your number, and we'll get on it.

Thanks Mark. I specifically did not name a brand so as to not unnecessarily disparage a particular company product for something I might have caused. I kept the welder in the heated cellar for all of the time. I then did a project last fall and left it in the garage over the winter. Of course the welder was always under cover but if cold can effect them, then cold did it in. I will take your advice, put it in a Tupperware container and keep it in the cellar.
No matter who I bought it from, the onus seems to be in my court.

 

[arrow]

You can clamp a set of DC tongs ( meter ) over your ground cable and test true output. Also double check your polarity.

Polarity was the first thing I checked. Can a AC/DC voltage meter be made to relate anything in this regard or does it have to be a dc clamp meter?

 

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Well it seems that indeed because I did not use the welder much at all and the fact it was kept in an unheated garage, moisture that ordinarily would have been evaporated by use just got to sit in all the little connections and mosfets and eventually flaked up the welder.
The kicker of it is that to "fix" the welder costs more than I payed for the thing and not by a little bit. Makes me wonder why I didn't buy a transformer welder as the total cost to replace the welder with a new one more than equals the cost of an original transformer.

If you live in a climate of humidity or variations of heat and cold or you do not have a heated shop or garage be careful where you keep your little inverter if you do not use it much.

 

[4570Man]

This is where the saying "buy once cry once" came from.

 

[Big Barn]

This is where the saying "buy once cry once" came from.

Buy as many times as necessary. Men don't cry.

Terry

 

[s219]

Was this one of the budget brands? Are they really that fragile? Because I have a relative with a Hobart inverter (wire feed though, not stick) that has been stored in a barn for many years, through summer and winter, with no issues. I have a hard time believing a welder isn't able to tolerate unconditioned shop/barn/etc storage. I'd wager the majority of people don't have conditioned workshop spaces.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

Some welders are more susceptible to it than others and because it is "cheaper" doesn't necessarily reflect the level of resistance. Even your "modern" transformer welder will have some electronic circuitry. And even if not, connections can and do corrode and rust. I think he would have been better off if he had left it out completely rather than sealed in a suitcase where moisture is slow to leave.

 

[4570Man]

Who has a air conditioned shop? I have a heated shop ( sorta ), but nobody around here has a air conditioned shop.

 

[Scooby074]

Well it seems that indeed because I did not use the welder much at all and the fact it was kept in an unheated garage, moisture that ordinarily would have been evaporated by use just got to sit in all the little connections and mosfets and eventually flaked up the welder. The kicker of it is that to "fix" the welder costs more than I payed for the thing and not by a little bit. Makes me wonder why I didn't buy a transformer welder as the total cost to replace the welder with a new one more than equals the cost of an original transformer. If you live in a climate of humidity or variations of heat and cold or you do not have a heated shop or garage be careful where you keep your little inverter if you do not use it much.

I feel for your predicament. This is sort of the reason I go against the "cool kids" and recommend that the typical TBN'er who keeps his welder in his shop gets an old school transformer welder like a Lincoln Toumbstone or Miller Thunderbolt. They will outlast your grandkids Ive seen them in old barns, rusted, and still working, like a Timex. You shouldnt have to keep your welder in bubblewrap! The problem here isnt your treatment of your machine, but the quality of components in the machine itself.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

I feel for your predicament. This is sort of the reason I go against the "cool kids" and recommend that the typical TBN'er who keeps his welder in his shop gets an old school transformer welder like a Lincoln Toumbstone or Miller Thunderbolt. They will outlast your grandkids Ive seen them in old barns, rusted, and still working, like a Timex. You shouldnt have to keep your welder in bubblewrap! The problem here isnt your treatment of your machine, but the quality of components in the machine itself.

Amen Scooby. I have a Montgomery Ward AC/DC 225A Rectifier type that is at least 60 years old and it works just fine. I run 1/8 and 5/32 all day w/o a stutter. It sets in my unheated garage for the last 5 years. Have no idea how it was treated in its former li(fe)(ves). Guy I bought it from had it stored under a tarp in the rain. Bought it cheap. Best buy I have made in a long time. 150# of rod in the last 5 years. I never run on AC so have no idea there. 6010 is my primary rod, 7014 if I want a pretty cap, 6011 if it is dirty/rusty/painted stuff.

Ron

Ron

 

[Shield Arc]

I cut my teeth on transformer, and generator welders. I still have a couple old transformer welders, and three generator welders.
But the control over the puddle these inverters have just amazes me! Hot start means nothing to me, but the adjustable arc force is the best thing since chocolate ice cream!:laughing:
How long will they last? God only knows, but they are sure fun to play with!:thumbsup:
Here is one of my transformer welders. 1937 Lincoln.

 

[muddstopper]

My first welder was a tombstone. bought it new back in early 1980's. Had a plugin on the power pole beside the drive way. Kept it covered with a plastic trash bag. Didnt have a shop or basement to store it in. I "Upgraded" a couple years ago and I still believe that old tombstone will out weld my much newer/bigger 250/250 stick tig machine with 1/8 7018.

 

[cqaigy2]

Ditto on the tombstone/xformer. I inherited my Dad's, bought in early 70's, i did have to shave some of the nylons parts to get the selector to operate, but it welds just fine.