AC welding

[Shedendman]

Ok for some of you that dont know i picked up this some time back
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/gamble-on-a-boc-transweld-ac-160.62006/

Been to busy with other things to try it out but the bank holiday yesterday gave me something to do,so thought crank it up and burn a few rods why not

photos not looking right as i load it,depending how you see it but far right or bottom 2 runs are 6013 3.2 @100amp
next 2 are @ 85amp one after is @ 75amp
Quite surprised how smooth they went,may i add these were super6's oh the steel is some old bit of RSJ around 8mm thick
The next run is an unknown rod could be a hard facing one
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/rod-id-please-or-what-the-hell-are-these.58732/
Got loads of these so why not burn one,that was also 3.2mm @125amp,again felt really smooth to use
Right now for those blobs of poo,these are 4mm 7018 ac/dc at full wack 160amp
well all i can say it didnt want to play at all,murder at striking,didn't want to burn,was not having it at all,but in the rods defence,they weren't dried out plus again super6's

All theses runs are from stainless 316L 3.2 rods fired up from 95-110 amps,except the blob,7018's didnt want to play
Now i'm not worried about how my runs are etc,one thing i did notice on AC was rod angle i found on AC things were far better if i had the rod say 10-20 degrees from vertical and got that tip right in there.
Quick question though and i didnt think of it after i packed away.
Would the 7018's be better on DCEP or DCEN just a curious ask

 

[Wendelspanswick]

Ok for some of you that dont know i picked up this some time back
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/gamble-on-a-boc-transweld-ac-160.62006/

Been to busy with other things to try it out but the bank holiday yesterday gave me something to do,so thought crank it up and burn a few rods why not
View attachment 83581
photos not looking right as i load it,depending how you see it but far right or bottom 2 runs are 6013 3.2 @100amp
next 2 are @ 85amp one after is @ 75amp
Quite surprised how smooth they went,may i add these were super6's oh the steel is some old bit of RSJ around 8mm thick
The next run is an unknown rod could be a hard facing one
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/rod-id-please-or-what-the-hell-are-these.58732/
Got loads of these so why not burn one,that was also 3.2mm @125amp,again felt really smooth to use
Right now for those blobs of poo,these are 4mm 7018 ac/dc at full wack 160amp
well all i can say it didnt want to play at all,murder at striking,didn't want to burn,was not having it at all,but in the rods defence,they weren't dried out plus again super6's
View attachment 83583
All theses runs are from stainless 316L 3.2 rods fired up from 95-110 amps,except the blob,7018's didnt want to play
Now i'm not worried about how my runs are etc,one thing i did notice on AC was rod angle i found on AC things were far better if i had the rod say 10-20 degrees from vertical and got that tip right in there.
Quick question though and i didnt think of it after i packed away.
Would the 7018's be better on DCEP or DCEN just a curious ask

Pretty sure that 7018's need a high OCV (open circuit voltage) to strike correctly, I guess your BOC welding plant pushes out about 50V OCV whereas those rods would need around 80V OCV or more.
Having read up on it you can get 7018 designed for AC and a lower OCV but the normally have a suffix on the label.

 

[Kent]

Electrode positive on nearly all 7018 but a few will work either polarity. Not sure about on ac can't remember

 

[Shedendman]

OK dumb dumb question time
How would i measure the OCV on this?

 

[HughF]

 

[Bsmith]

If I remember right a 7018 is a filling rod so may be used more on DCEN as electrode negative gives slightly less penetration.

 

[PTvor]

If you look at a few datasheets/boxes, a lot of 7018s are DC+ only. Some are AC/DC and the recommended OCV varies but it's generally 60V or more. A buzz box has usually has an OCV of about 50V and won't run them properly. A few can run DC- as well. In the US they sell low voltage 7018s specially designed for buzz boxes but I don't think they are available in the UK. The old oil cooled welders had a high voltage range for rods needing a high OCV. There no problems running them on inverters.

If you've got an AC welder, it would certainly pay to look into the OCV requirement of any rod you were intending to use so as not to end up buying a box of unusable rods. If you come across some 7018s with no box or identification apart from the number it's near certain that you won't be able to run them on a buzz box.

Often with 6013s it says on the box something like "suitable for use with light transformer welders" emphasising that they will work with a buzz box with the standard 50V OCV, but generally there are no problems running 6013s on a buzz box

 

[BrokenBiker]

Ocv is open circuit voltage...set a multi meter to a suitable range (above 50v) on ac volts and clamp neg lead into earth and pos lead into stinger (or other way, doesn't matter with ac), turn welder on and it will show you the ocv on the screen

 

[Shedendman]

Ocv is open circuit voltage...set a multi meter to a suitable range (above 50v) on ac volts and clamp neg lead into earth and pos lead into stinger (or other way, doesn't matter with ac), turn welder on and it will show you the ocv on the screen

Yer i knew that

 

[Bill Edwards]

As I'm reading it your set has DC as well as AC so I would think it'll run 7018 fine.
However, some 7018 rods will not run (even straight from a sealed packet) without being dried first, that's probably the problem here. Plus anything with Super6 on stands a good chance of being the worst of the worst.

 

[BrokenBiker]

As I'm reading it your set has DC as well as AC so I would think it'll run 7018 fine.
However, some 7018 rods will not run (even straight from a sealed packet) without being dried first, that's probably the problem here. Plus anything with Super6 on stands a good chance of being the worst of the worst.

i dont mind their 6013 too much...well i dont mind the 5kg i have her at the moment...have been burning them the last 2 days filling up a gap to grind flush and they have all burnt well and consistent...their mig wire on t'other hand is attrocious

 

[Bill Edwards]

They're a brand that just wants avoiding because it's pot luck as to what you end up with. It might be from a good batch, it might not...
Good rods don't cost much and the difference it makes can be vast, I've repeated my mistake of buying cheap enough times to have finally learnt my lesson.

 

[PTvor]

As I'm reading it your set has DC as well as AC so I would think it'll run 7018 fine.
However, some 7018 rods will not run (even straight from a sealed packet) without being dried first, that's probably the problem here. Plus anything with Super6 on stands a good chance of being the worst of the worst.

Looking at the picture on the other thread, it's not clear that it does do DC as well. It's called an AC160 and there are no + and - signs on the dinse sockets. No mention of DC anywhere.

It looks as if you put the earth lead in the dinse socket at the bottom then turn the switch to one of three positions. For each switch position each socket produces a different current.

No mention of it on the BOC manuals page.

http://www.murexwelding.co.uk/gb/en/support/parts-lists-and-instruction-manuals.cfm

 

[Shedendman]

Looking at the picture on the other thread, it's not clear that it does do DC as well. It's called an AC160 and there are no + and - signs on the dinse sockets. No mention of DC anywhere.

It looks as if you put the earth lead in the dinse socket at the bottom then turn the switch to one of three positions. For each switch position each socket produces a different current.

No mention of it on the BOC manuals page.

http://www.murexwelding.co.uk/gb/en/support/parts-lists-and-instruction-manuals.cfm

Correct,no DC at all

 

[HughF]

6013/7016/6011 then...

 

[Sarto]

Are 7016 an AC rod?
I've tried them on my father's old Deca, and they wouldn't run at all.
Mine are the GEKA Laser B43, maybe they are not the best quality...

On dC+ they burn right.

 

[PTvor]

6013/7016/6011 then...

This generator welder should work with 7018, provided they are specified to work with AC and provided it meets the specified OCV for the particular 7018 in question, which might be over 70V. It's a question of measuring the OCV and reading the packet or datasheet and choosing an electrode likely to work according to what the maker says about it.

 

[HughF]

Are 7016 an AC rod?

The ones I buy are... Comet J50N

 

[Bill Edwards]

Ah, I read it that it had DC available as the op asked a question about whether the 7018 were best on DCEP or DCEN...

 

[Shedendman]

This generator welder should work with 7018, provided they are specified to work with AC and provided it meets the specified OCV for the particular 7018 in question, which might be over 70V. It's a question of measuring the OCV and reading the packet or datasheet and choosing an electrode likely to work according to what the maker says about it.

The 7018 rods i use as i stated are super6's 4mm() which on the box have AC/DC,but like you said perhaps not enough OCV (to which i've yet to measure) to run that size.
Plus they weren't dried out properly,just straight out of and old pack,it was mainly just a test/play

Ah, I read it that it had DC available as the op asked a question about whether the 7018 were best on DCEP or DCEN...

Sorry perhaps i should have said electrode neg instead of electrode pos

I have some 3mm 7018 AC/DC rods coming soon so may try to see if these burn better (well its worth a try)

Have to say i was very impressed how the SS 316L's 3.2mm burnt,easy to strike and flowed well