OP
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
Next round of manufacturing actually, but will probably be officially a 2015 model.
Update: Video of the Power iMIG 140 E 120 Volt MIG welder from Everlast
- Thread starter Mark @ Everlast
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Next round of manufacturing actually, but will probably be officially a 2015 model.
OP
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
New video (Part 2) with a little more detail about setup and accessories. Had some issues with the video cameras issues for this series, but should be easy enough to watch except a little bouncing of the video trying to set up the unit up close. Part 3 might get this thread shut down since it no doubt will be controversial whatever the results of the actual welding. Hopefully not.:thumbsup:
MinnesotaDaveChalmers
Platinum Member
Personally, after owning and liking high quality inverter stick welders (and I really like big old monster transformer welders) I think inverter migs are a game-changer.
I will like getting more amps output from the same size platform and same input volts/amps.
Of course, since they are new technology, I'll wait my customary 10-15 years before owning one :laughing:
I will like getting more amps output from the same size platform and same input volts/amps.
Of course, since they are new technology, I'll wait my customary 10-15 years before owning one :laughing:
OP
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
Moster transformers are nice. Some of the best stick welders I have ever run were giant copper buzz boxes without a fan! But...outside that, the super fast switching capability of inverters 40k+ hz (in the case of some of our welders though others are at 100K) provide a much more stable and consistent DC arc than something switching 60 times a second. That's why they weld so close to the old generators with DC output imho.
OP
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
Here's part 3. Almost forgot to update. It does do a great root weld.
Arc weld
Veteran Member
The arc seems to want to throw some big globs of spatter for a lower amp machine? Your root looks a little heavy, possibly from going a little slow and pushing but at the one end looks like lack of penetration. Root passes are usually done with a pulling (gun) angle and for a 120 volt machine probably not as much build up. Just for an experiment, try putting the plates on a 45 deg. angle and weld the root from the top to bottom with a 5/32" gap and only about a 1/16" land slowly twisting your wrist side to side to tie in the edges. My guess is it will come out real nice. You can put the arc almost to the bottom of the groove and watch/listen for full penetration without getting too much build up on the back side. I think with pushing the root, there's a little more guessing/hoping you're getting enough penetration.
Usually on production pipe spooling, you don't use a land at all with a MIG root. 3" and under pipe usually uses a 5/32" gap rod and 4" and up uses a 3/16" gap rod. Big vessels will use a 1/4" gap rod. With heavy wall pipe you might want a larger gap on smaller pipe. For test welds a lot of welders like to have a little bit of a land. Roots can be funny sometimes, they look perfect but still fail the bend test even with 7018 fill and cap. Even guys with 30 years experience will still have the odd weld fail. Most job tests will let you try again IF everything looks like good but for some odd reason it didn't pass the bend test.
Just curious if that machine can only use the 4"(2lb) spools of wire?
Usually on production pipe spooling, you don't use a land at all with a MIG root. 3" and under pipe usually uses a 5/32" gap rod and 4" and up uses a 3/16" gap rod. Big vessels will use a 1/4" gap rod. With heavy wall pipe you might want a larger gap on smaller pipe. For test welds a lot of welders like to have a little bit of a land. Roots can be funny sometimes, they look perfect but still fail the bend test even with 7018 fill and cap. Even guys with 30 years experience will still have the odd weld fail. Most job tests will let you try again IF everything looks like good but for some odd reason it didn't pass the bend test.
Just curious if that machine can only use the 4"(2lb) spools of wire?
OP
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
Arc weld.... I've done plenty of MIG open root plates. Never failed a one except my first overhead...and most people push MIG. I've been MIG welding for 22 years. By no means that is a life time, but at this point there's no guessing if I am getting penetration or not. You actually have MORE buildup pulling right in the center of the plate. I am not sure if you were watching the same video. The lack of penetration on the ends was because the end of the plate was sitting on square tubing. I did not use a backer or runoff tabs and the ends.
I am not sure where or how you learned and where you weld professionally with MIG, but some of the things you have said about testing and stuff have been a little off. Maybe it's a regional thing. With MIG you can also back gouge the root and weld it up on the back...But since MIG welding an open root with a 110V machine is not an accepted AWS practice "what's correct" is a moot point (hence the regional differences?). I did it to test the machine, not the weld.
You can hear and see the penetration just as well pushing as you can pulling...you can see the arc bite in at the front of the weld. The gap was fine, the buildup was fine, and the root was fine. And definitely the speed was fine. And I definitely don't need to twist my wrist, unless I want a case of carpel tunnels syndrome.
Btw, the root did not fail. I completed that plate. The face bend did yes...the root had ne'er an issue. No pulls, no cracks and no porosity. But I expected it to fail as I was experimenting with different settings and technique on that particular one on subsequent passes. When I get more time, I will go back and experiment with different settings.
As far as globs of spatter...the MIG puts out more than your average 120V mig does which is averaging 90 amps at max...This was higher than that with the .030 wire I used for the test. It is also the wire brand as I have noticed more spatter with it than some other brands using the same machine and settings...But it was off the shelf at my lws and was handy for the video to purchase since they were out of what I was looking for. It welds fine for all intents and purposes otherwise. This was not a high dollar wire.
As far as the land goes, I used a 3/32 land. No knife edge here.
I don't need to do more "experiments" for your sake here. I am not some young'in. The point of the video was to show basic capability of the unit, not to demonstrate open root MIG welding. Considering this was the first and only go I had with the machine, it turned out pretty good.
I am not sure where or how you learned and where you weld professionally with MIG, but some of the things you have said about testing and stuff have been a little off. Maybe it's a regional thing. With MIG you can also back gouge the root and weld it up on the back...But since MIG welding an open root with a 110V machine is not an accepted AWS practice "what's correct" is a moot point (hence the regional differences?). I did it to test the machine, not the weld.
You can hear and see the penetration just as well pushing as you can pulling...you can see the arc bite in at the front of the weld. The gap was fine, the buildup was fine, and the root was fine. And definitely the speed was fine. And I definitely don't need to twist my wrist, unless I want a case of carpel tunnels syndrome.
Btw, the root did not fail. I completed that plate. The face bend did yes...the root had ne'er an issue. No pulls, no cracks and no porosity. But I expected it to fail as I was experimenting with different settings and technique on that particular one on subsequent passes. When I get more time, I will go back and experiment with different settings.
As far as globs of spatter...the MIG puts out more than your average 120V mig does which is averaging 90 amps at max...This was higher than that with the .030 wire I used for the test. It is also the wire brand as I have noticed more spatter with it than some other brands using the same machine and settings...But it was off the shelf at my lws and was handy for the video to purchase since they were out of what I was looking for. It welds fine for all intents and purposes otherwise. This was not a high dollar wire.
As far as the land goes, I used a 3/32 land. No knife edge here.
I don't need to do more "experiments" for your sake here. I am not some young'in. The point of the video was to show basic capability of the unit, not to demonstrate open root MIG welding. Considering this was the first and only go I had with the machine, it turned out pretty good.
Arc weld
Veteran Member
If you're using the same amps and volts for the root it shouldn't matter if it's a 110 volt machine. MIG roots on pipe and vessels aren't usually in the 17-19 volt and 110-120 amp range. A simple butt weld with MIG shouldn't need run off plates, back up bars, the ends cut off or even grinding to do a simple bend test. Doing pipe and vessels, you do twist your wrist side to side and some welders have got carpel tunnel from it. The root pass has a perfect profile about the height of a dime. Alberta is recognized as having some of the best welders in the world. I'd say I'm an OK welder but I got my training at the same places and they've set up training all over the world.
OK, I watched the video again. I'm not trying to knock your welding Mark. I'd actually like to see a successful bend test on 3/8" so the topic can be put to bed. In about your 3rd practice bead(the one at the front) there was almost no sparks/spatter coming off the arc at all. I think part of the problem with the spatter may have been because you didn't have as good of ground as possible with the plate sitting on the very rusty tubing. A clean ground can make a big difference on MIG. Downhand MIG roots are pretty easy when you have the machine set right, (Jody on welding tips and tricks say's the same thing). It might just be because I can't see it in person but the land looked more than 1/16" and the root seemed a little ropey with almost like a start and stop in the middle. Downhand MIG root can look almost as nice as a TIG root and it can be hard to tell it wasn't wasn't welded from the backside. That's why suggested trying a downhand root. It's easier to make it look perfect. I couldn't find a picture of the backside of a downhand MIG root in a quick search on the net but they do look really nice when done right.
OK, I watched the video again. I'm not trying to knock your welding Mark. I'd actually like to see a successful bend test on 3/8" so the topic can be put to bed. In about your 3rd practice bead(the one at the front) there was almost no sparks/spatter coming off the arc at all. I think part of the problem with the spatter may have been because you didn't have as good of ground as possible with the plate sitting on the very rusty tubing. A clean ground can make a big difference on MIG. Downhand MIG roots are pretty easy when you have the machine set right, (Jody on welding tips and tricks say's the same thing). It might just be because I can't see it in person but the land looked more than 1/16" and the root seemed a little ropey with almost like a start and stop in the middle. Downhand MIG root can look almost as nice as a TIG root and it can be hard to tell it wasn't wasn't welded from the backside. That's why suggested trying a downhand root. It's easier to make it look perfect. I couldn't find a picture of the backside of a downhand MIG root in a quick search on the net but they do look really nice when done right.
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OP
Mark @ Everlast
Advertiser
ArcWeld,
Let's not blow up this thread. But I will say, that your method of testing is NON standard for all the tests I know of. No one tests full length plates without making coupons. You always cut the ends off and always grind a proper test plate if it is done "correctly". At least in all my training and all the other pros I've ever talked to.
Let's not blow up this thread. But I will say, that your method of testing is NON standard for all the tests I know of. No one tests full length plates without making coupons. You always cut the ends off and always grind a proper test plate if it is done "correctly". At least in all my training and all the other pros I've ever talked to.
ThomasH
Gold Member
Thanks for the response. I think it is fair to say that most consumer welders are rated at the limit of their capacity under optimal conditions. Not to draw an absolute parallel, but consumer air compressors are advertised the most extreme way. It is miraculous to put it kindly to claim 6HP+ for a plug in 120 volt machine, since it takes about 750 watts to generate 1 HP and that is *if* the motor is 100% efficient (and they aren't even close to that). So it would take about 37 amps in a 100% efficient motor, assuming my math is right...
There has been some discussion here lately about a new Lincoln 210MP inverter welder, which is rated at a much lower input amperage requirements than the output power would seem to require. That is, well, really creative sales foolishness.
Everlast is putting their best forward, although I must say that their ratings are much more honest, and based on a ratings method that are comparable across manufacturers. That said, I look at welders can do at a 50% duty cycle, because a 10%-20% cycle is just too low IMHO. Just my take on things, but I think pushing a welder at the edge of it's capacity is not a prudent thing to do as far as the welding result unless you are really skilled or there is no reasonable alternative. Just my $.02.
Ok, I will shut up now...
