welders welders welders

[Jim Timber]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again! When it comes to Mig welding there is no substitute for power.
Here you guys be the judge.

You can always turn it down, but you can't turn it up any farther than it'll go.

Seems like the money part is where folks get hung up. Good welders aren't cheap. Even the cheap welders aren't all that cheap when you start getting into ones that will weld serious thickness'. If you're building yard art, you can probably get by with something that doesn't have much arc-on time available. If you're welding trailers or buckets or anything with some seams to it, you're going to find out how we're not lying when saying you need to be able to keep putting out the juice more than 2 minutes at a go.


I got my handler 125 as something to do little stuff up at the property without having to haul my big welder up there. I figured it'd be slow, but I didn't expect it to be as slow as it was. Will that turn out to be a good purchase long-term? That's yet to be seen. For now I can run it off my 5000W genset, so that's a plus.

 

[Jim Timber]

SMAW is a different animal. I've wondered if I would've been better off getting a little inverter stick power supply instead of the handler. Both are gasless in my application and I can run either process although I'm not a fan of the smoke from stick. FC seems to be a little less smoky which makes sense since it's also a bit less heat too.

 

[roadhunter]

SMAW is a different animal. I've wondered if I would've been better off getting a little inverter stick power supply instead of the handler. Both are gasless in my application and I can run either process although I'm not a fan of the smoke from stick. FC seems to be a little less smoky which makes sense since it's also a bit less heat too.

I love my little inverter. About the size of a lunch box.

 

[Jim Timber]

I rented a maxstar once, and that had a nice arc on 120v.

 

[flyerdan]

Many years ago I bought a used Millermatic 250, just looked in the book for the duty cycle and it is 40% @250 amps, 60% @200 amps, and the 100% line runs off the chart at about 150 amps. In my home projects, I've yet to run it hard enough for the fan to kick on, much less come close to the overtemp light. But I guess if I ever need to stitch a piece of railroad track to a truck frame, I won't be able to do it in a single go.
As for my Tigwave 250, I'm guessing that it has a higher duty cycle than the electric meter, which would probably spin itself out of the box if it ever ran wide open.

 

[Sodo]

If you're welding trailers or buckets or anything with some seams to it, you're going to find out how we're not lying when saying you need to be able to keep putting out the juice more than 2 minutes at a go.

Jim how many inches is 2 minutes welding with your Hobart 125?

 

[Furu]

From my understanding most of the machines will not necessarily shutdown at duty cycle limits. As a result you may very well be able to weld beyond said limit. The problem is the long term effects that exceeding the limit may have on the machines internal components and failure rate.

Whatever works for you in your application is what is right for you to buy and own. Don't try to tell others that only you are right. Explain the issues and the pros and cons but avoid dogmatic statements that everyone needs to operate the way you do.
There are folks on here that never weld more than an inch at a time and less than a minute total in 10 minutes. There are others that weld much more. I know that my welding needs and habits have changed significantly as my skill set has changed and my needs have changed.
The discussion of welding until the unit shuts down (well exceeding the DC in almost all cases) reminds me of the discussions on what oils to put in chainsaws both mix and bar oils. It is your equipment. Treat it as you want to treat it. I respect my equipment and I value its worth to me and will not knowingly abuse it or take it beyond its limits as I don't care to spend money and time to repair the damages. Other folks look at things differently.

If you are a person that accepts the added wear and tear that exceeding the DC puts on the machine before it shuts itself down (if it even does that, not all machines will) that is fine. That is one way of operating. If others think differently that is fine. The one mode is just as wrong for one group as the other mode is for the other group. I know which group I fall into. For the price difference I will almost always buy the machine that limits me the least (assuming I can afford that option).

 

[Jim Timber]

Jim how many inches is 2 minutes welding with your Hobart 125?

Maybe 4? Took forever and a whole lot of swearing and shut down time to get these done. 8x8" 1/16" plates.

So much so, that I did them on two different days. Would've been a half hour project otherwise.

Even on the container, the handler was colder than I wanted it. When you turn up wire speed on my big welder, it turns up the heat. When you turn up the wire speed on the handler it just makes the arc suck more. :lol:

 

[Shield Arc]

I've wondered if I would've been better off getting a little inverter stick power supply instead of the handler.

Jim if you decide to buy an inverter SMAW machine. I have my brother-n-law's Everlast PowerArc 200ST. This welder is very impressive with 6010. I'm starting to believe it will stack 6010 better than my Lincoln V350-Pro. And right there with any of my Lincoln SA-200s.
Mark with Everlast takes very good care of us here!:thumbsup:
POWERARC 200ST - Stick Welders | Everlast Generators

 

[Sodo]

Don't try to tell others that only you are right. Explain the issues and the pros and cons but avoid dogmatic statements that everyone needs to operate the way you do.

but hokayyyyy..... Furu methinks you take forum opinions a little too seriously. You only have to follow my orders if nothing better comes up. :laughing: But nothing will. This will spiral off-topic before anything definitive comes up. It always does because duty-cycle is like chainsaw size, pickup size. Any size you can imagine on the internet - size is king!

Jim 4 minutes would be bothersome. Maybe it was due to extension cord? Insufficient generator? If you don't supply it with sufficient power, the volts go down and the amperage goes up and I suppose that can cause problems.

These welds, all you can see in this pic, 167 inches were done continuously in 25 minutes on a 20% machine, (on generator) continuous welding not shutting down once. It's a LOT more, and higher heat than those 8x8" 1/16" thick plates. BTW 1/16" thick has a known amperage requirement that is significantly below the Hobart 125's capabilities. You might consider othee deficiencies, that 125 is a good machine. I had a Hobart 115 (or 120?) for a few years in the '90s (pre-internet).

I was wiped out though.:shocked: It would take a foreman cracking a whip to get me to do that again.
....no foremans here i'm pretty much unemployable at this point