Finally put my hands on a welder

[solemnwarning]

I've been meaning to do it for ages, today I finally dusted off the AC arc welder I got from Lidl a few years ago, stuck some cheap eBay rods in it and tried laying a few beads on some plate.

Yeah...

First rod went ok, managed to start it and lay a few things that kind of resembled beads. Next couple of rods I couldn't get to start at all, just stick to the plate, tried winding the current up/down with no improvement. Next rods were difficult to start, but worked ok once I managed to get an arc going. I don't want to instantly start blaming my tools, but general opinion on here seems to be to avoid cheap rods (I still had to try for myself), does this sound in line with other peoples' experience with them?

The thermal cutout kicked in after that, I'll try some more once the fanless thing cools down.

(The horizontal beads at the top of the plate are from the first rod)

 

[BrokenBiker]

what size rods are they and what amps were you using? you may find that a combination of cheap nameless rods and a cheap aldi/lidl ac buzzbox are going to make life difficult..

i learnt on big 3 phase stick sets and they were lovely, then started using my fathers ancient 100 amp buzz box and couldnt get any rod to start for quite a while...then bought myself an inverter and it was brilliant, just hold the rod close and it strikes...im now on my second and its just the same...

im not saying the welder is crap by the way...far from it, if it chucks the current out to melt the rod then it will weld just fine but ime cheap ac boxes are difficult to use no matter what rod you use...

to give yourself a fighting chance try and get some fincord rods, or some esab, bohler etc

i am using parweld rods at the moment but i wouldnt reccomend them to a begginer as i found them tricky to get used to and some rods out of the pack react differently to others

 

[solemnwarning]

2.0mm "Super 6" 6013 rods atm, 55A, give or take a bit when I try fiddling with it.

I went through a few more rods before it overheated again (I think I'll be adding a fan), some practically started themselves, others, again I couldn't get going at all.

I'll look into getting some better rods in the new year once I'm back at work, might go see my friend and compare the welder side-by-side to his fancy professional one too.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

.... might go see my friend and compare the welder side-by-side to his fancy professional one too.

I wouldn't do that, you'll only make yourself sick with envy. Get some decent rods of a known make, I know someone who uses a welder the same as yours and it welds just fine. Sorry, don't know which rods he uses.

 

[solemnwarning]

Bit more...

 

[DecK]

Mabe a bit more power needed or else your travelling too fast. I think you might be travelling to fast from the photos
Super 6 are not the best rods. Have 5kg of their 7016's here that I'm using on everything I can to see the back of them. Same issues as yourself, most of them run ok but are a pig to start and stick to the work piece. That's running them off an inverter too which would be easier than your AC buzz box. 2mm rods would make things that bit more difficult to learn with as well. If your set can supply over 100 amps you might be better with 3.2mm rods.

 

[solemnwarning]

Based on Arc Welding Faults, yeah, I think I'm going too fast. I'm having trouble keeping the arc length constant too, but I'm still in my first afternoon

Max output current on the welder is 80A, I think 2.0-2.5mm rods are probably about right for the sort of fabrication/repairs I'd like to be able to do for now anyway, so I'll keep at it.

 

[DecK]

What kind of shield have you got? Is it the little one that comes with those welders. Basically a piece of flat plastic with a handle. If it is, a cheap helmet would be a help for you. Having a free hand to guide the rod helps when your starting off.

 

[solemnwarning]

I've got an auto helmet, switching between using one and two hands to control the rod as I seem to sometimes get too rigid with two and sometimes too shaky with one.

 

[solemnwarning]

Done for today, the duty cycle is just painful once its warm. As is having a piece of slag ping into your lip.

Top set of welds done at ~60A, bottom set at ~70A

 

[Bill Edwards]

Chuck aside those rods and buy something decent - Murex, Pheonix etc, don't make life hard for yourself. And don't go for 2mm again as they are hard work to all, never mind a novice. I suggest 2.5mm, although bigger tends to be easier to pick up however your set will heat up even faster so I suggest sticking to 2.5mm.

Those welders are by no means pleasant to use compared to some (OK, most) alternatives however they do the job and it it quite possible to turn out good welds from them. I used them for years before gaining access to something better, and I think it's fair to say they'll make you a better welder.

 

[solemnwarning]

Not arguing, but why are thinner rods harder to work with? Also, thicker rods preclude welding thinner plate, don't they?

 

[DecK]

The thicker rods, 3.2 mm and up, are more rigid for lack of a better phrase. The tip of light rods can "bounce" around if you have any shaking in your hand. Someone else will probably be able to explain it better.

 

[cumbriasteve]

^^^^ agree re the rods, years ago when I got my first set I bought some 1.6 rods thinking small would be easier, they were a nightmare, went all over the place, was like trying to weld with a length of elastic, once I upped to some thicker rods life became easier by a long shot.

 

[HughF]

Would you like to buy an Oxford/pickhill oil cooled machine I'll deliver it and give you some pointers if you want to improve your arc welding?

Actually, if I'm passing by, I can give you a couple of hours. I'm near Poole.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Not arguing, but why are thinner rods harder to work with? Also, thicker rods preclude welding thinner plate, don't they?

They are shaky, wobbly things as explained above, and also seem to produce a lot of slag and very little weld metal, of which very little goes where you want!
They're just hard work.

Yes, thin metal calls for thinner rods, if the rods are too thick you just blow holes. But really if you can't weld it with a 2.5mm rod you're using the wrong process. Yes, you can get thinner rods (down to 1.6) to do thin metal, but it's horrible work and really not recommended.

^^^Oil cooled welders are a good step up from buzzboxes, they're fairly nice to use.

 

[T0rnado69]

I bought some 1.6 rods thinking small would be easier, they were a nightmare, went all over the place, was like trying to weld with a length of elastic

i used some 1.6mm rods when i lived in scotland, never had a mig then.
was repairing a rotten door post on a capri for a neighbour.

they was a nightmare to use, i used to cut them in half
and use half at a time. to make it easier to weld with a whippy rod.

 

[cumbriasteve]

i used some 1.6mm rods when i lived in scotland, never had a mig then.
was repairing a rotten door post on a capri for a neighbour.

they was a nightmare to use, i used to cut them in half
and use half at a time. to make it easier to weld with a whippy rod.

Exactly what I ended up doing too

 

[solemnwarning]

Would you like to buy an Oxford/pickhill oil cooled machine I'll deliver it and give you some pointers if you want to improve your arc welding?

Actually, if I'm passing by, I can give you a couple of hours. I'm near Poole.

That's... kind of tempting actually ^^

More information on the machine? Whats the current range? Duty cycle? How heavy is it? A dainty flower (fat weakling) like myself might not actually be able to move it xD

Still burning my way through the 2mm rods, I can strike an arc most of the time now and the length is getting more consistent, still struggling with speed though.

 

[solemnwarning]

Last bit of today's action.