had a play today

[BrokenBiker]

Just having a little play welding a few strips of steel onto my fire pit for legs, the firepit is just the top of a propane bottle and some 8" strips cut out of the bottle and welded on as legs.

i have been fairly happy with my welds on a bench, then decided to challenge myself and weld this up with no where to prop my hand for support, welding at chest height having to hold the steel up with my left hand to stop it rolling around...

im happy enough with it although the ends of the welds arent the best and they could be a bit striaghter...full penetration on 4mm though so they arent going to go anywhere

tacked up with a short rod, then put a full one in to weld it up, bottom weld first, was a bit shakey as you can see but after that one i was quite steady

could be much better but its on there and not coming off

EDIT:
forgot to mention this was a 2.5mm parweld 6013 rod, 70 amps, DCEN. all welds were done in horizontal position (first time ive done anything that wasnt flat in about a year

 

[MattH]

I think you've got plenty of strength there!

 

[BrokenBiker]

definitely enough strength...im not happy with the size of the welds, far too wide but i was travelling as quick as i could without coming out of the puddle

 

[BrokenBiker]

says so on the box...plus i got full penetration there with 70 amps so dcep may have been a bit hot

 

[Richard.]

They are a multipurpose electrode that happily run in both polarities depending on what level of penetration/reinforcement is desired. 6013's don't offer great penetration generally when compared to basics and cels so if I was using them particularly in position Id nearly always run them in EP polarity.

 

[BrokenBiker]

They are a multipurpose electrode that happily run in both polarities depending on what level of penetration/reinforcement is desired. 6013's don't offer great penetration generally when compared to basics and cels so if I was using them particularly in position Id nearly always run them in EP polarity.

i always used to run in ep with fincord rods, but on the box of 2.5 parwelds i have it says dcen so i swapped the leads over...they do feel a lot hotter than they are i.e. a fincord at 80 amps feels colder and easier to control than one of these at 70 amps, as i say i was traveling as fast a si could without coming out of the puddle and still got a wide weld. the slag creeps right up on the rod further than the fincords too.

 

[Richard.]

Oh and where are my manners.
Lovely job Brokenbiker. The welding looks good.

 

[Richard.]

i always used to run in ep with fincord rods, but on the box of 2.5 parwelds i have it says dcen so i swapped the leads over...they do feel a lot hotter than they are i.e. a fincord at 80 amps feels colder and easier to control than one of these at 70 amps, as i say i was traveling as fast a si could without coming out of the puddle and still got a wide weld. the slag creeps right up on the rod further than the fincords too.

Which really does show how they vary From brand to brand.

 

[BrokenBiker]

yeah, the 3.2s are a bit better but not much, but as im only welding 4mm and getting full penetration with the 2.5s i havent bothered with the 3.2s much...going to use these up as only have 2.5kg of each then go back to fincords for 6013, but wanna get some 7018's in too

 

[decepticon]

says so on the box...plus i got full penetration there with 70 amps so dcep may have been a bit hot

not bad welding for what its for, more practice will neaten it up.
How do you know you got 'full penetration' and why do you think you need it? you probably got very little penetration with your settings but penetration doesnt really matter, good fusion is all you need.

 

[MattH]

not bad welding for what its for, more practice will neaten it up.
How do you know you got 'full penetration' and why do you think you need it? you probably got very little penetration with your settings but penetration doesnt really matter, good fusion is all you need.

Just a guess but I'd say looking at the back would show the penetration.

 

[BrokenBiker]

i know there is full penetration because there is weld material breaking through the back of the base material. why do you assume i got very little penetration?

 

[wheresmejumper]

Why DCEN over DCEP?

Everybody ive worked with whose opinion ive respected unanimously say weld with them on the negative.whether they knew the theorey behind it or not its how they were taught

 

[BrokenBiker]

i was taught with a transformer machine, but was told to weld with dcen on an inverter, but when i bought my first parweld i didnt even look at the instructions, just threw the leads in and ended up with dcep, didnt cause any issues so left them there but these parweld rods were running so hot i thought to swap the leads and see if it helped, and on 7- amps dcen they are a bit better

 

[Rrunnach]

When my lads move onto pipe, I train them up using 2.5 & 3.2 E6013 electrodes, on DCEN. I also ask them to try DCEP, see how it goes and, ask them their opinion, can I can tell you, they all revert back to DCEN. They also have the option of rooting with E6010's, on DCEP, most (they are learners) can find it difficult mastering these rods, they return to E6013's.

Oh, 4" dia lcs pipe, 5mm WT.

Plant, 3 phase Lincoln Electric inverter.

 

[decepticon]

i know there is full penetration because there is weld material breaking through the back of the base material. why do you assume i got very little penetration?

I assumed the bottle which you attached the leg to ran continuously behind the leg which you welded on, if the piece you welded on has nothing behind it and you can see weld material coming thro the joint and it has fused to both pieces then i apologise and you have gained strength.
Would be good to know if the bottle runs behind continuously and if it doesnt would be nice to see a pic

Not trying to 'knock'what you have done but i like things to be clarified, respect you for posting the pics

Cheers

 

[BrokenBiker]

i must admit i did notice a difference on dcen especially with these rods

 

[BrokenBiker]

I assumed the bottle which you attached the leg to ran continuously behind the leg which you welded on, if the piece you welded on has nothing behind it and you can see weld material coming thro the joint and it has fused to both pieces then i apologise and you have gained strength.
Would be good to know if the bottle runs behind continuously and if it doesnt would be nice to see a pic

Not trying to 'knock'what you have done but i like things to be clarified, respect you for posting the pics

Cheers

its the top of a propane bottle, i cut it off at the top weld on the bottle, put a small plate over the hole for the valve then put the legs on, will try and get a better pic, its full of ash and rainwater at the moment as it hammered down about half hour after i lit it and burnt about 12 old newspapers in it just to get rid of them

 

[super noob]

I always thought DCEN was for use on thin stuff with 1/16th rods?

I've only used DCEP or AC when welding anything though....did 25mm plate today with DCEP as most rods I've tried recently seem to prefer that to AC on the inverter

 

[wheresmejumper]

Even 6011 id always run negative. 6010 and 7018 positive