- Thread starter otchie1
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shenion
Tool Pack Rat
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Some arc welders have a release for the slider. I.e pull knob out, turn to setting, then push in.
Otherwise open the case, maybe pointer has come loose.
£ is a good deal for a 250A unit. Not real high duty cycle (about 110A at 60%), but will work.
Otherwise open the case, maybe pointer has come loose.
£ is a good deal for a 250A unit. Not real high duty cycle (about 110A at 60%), but will work.
otchie1
Coocoo Cooocoooo
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Glad you got a bargain :-)
The only non-obvious numbers on that spec plate relate to the duty cycle.
100% (continuous usage) at 55A with 2mm sticks
12% at 250A with 5mm sticks
The box is rated at 220V A/C for a slightly scary 40A which means that it'll throw your circuit breakers if you try and use it with thicker sticks at higher Amperages.
The only non-obvious numbers on that spec plate relate to the duty cycle.
100% (continuous usage) at 55A with 2mm sticks
12% at 250A with 5mm sticks
The box is rated at 220V A/C for a slightly scary 40A which means that it'll throw your circuit breakers if you try and use it with thicker sticks at higher Amperages.
Yeah £30 - Some bugger pushed it up from £10 to £30 (my top bid within 10 minutes of me bidding 
It all works fine, i haven't tried turning it up much yet but it seems to lay fairly nice welds, and the lights don't dim too much. Unlike my old compressor. I'm hoping the 40A figure is a peak thing. The biggest MCB in my consumer unit is 32A
Think i might need to put a new ring in the garage.
I'll try pulling the knob to get the gauge to slide but i reckon something has shifted inside. I'll have a look at some point.
All the numbers on the top confuse me lol, although the duty cycle bit helps.
Cheers for the help guys.
I'll let you know how i get on with it.
It all works fine, i haven't tried turning it up much yet but it seems to lay fairly nice welds, and the lights don't dim too much. Unlike my old compressor. I'm hoping the 40A figure is a peak thing. The biggest MCB in my consumer unit is 32A
Think i might need to put a new ring in the garage.
I'll try pulling the knob to get the gauge to slide but i reckon something has shifted inside. I'll have a look at some point.
All the numbers on the top confuse me lol, although the duty cycle bit helps.
Cheers for the help guys.
I'll let you know how i get on with it.
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All the figures are pretty straight forward;
Top line, U0 is the output voltage, i.e welding voltage, 50hz is self explanatory, I2 is the secondary or welding current range, 30-250A.
Second line is electrode diameter,
3rd line is also I2 or welding current,
4th line ED/DC is the duty cycle.
Looking at the figures as columns you can see that if you're using a 2mm rod at 55 amps, the duty cycle is 100% and a 4mm rod @ 160A gives you a duty cycle of 30%.
IP21 is the protection rating of the cabinet, 21 means you can't stick an object greter than 12mm inside it and water falling vertically won't do any harm.
I1 is the input max current, not sure what KL is and the fuse symbol bottom right looks like it's 25-32 amp with a time delay.
Hope you or someone else finds this useful.
Top line, U0 is the output voltage, i.e welding voltage, 50hz is self explanatory, I2 is the secondary or welding current range, 30-250A.
Second line is electrode diameter,
3rd line is also I2 or welding current,
4th line ED/DC is the duty cycle.
Looking at the figures as columns you can see that if you're using a 2mm rod at 55 amps, the duty cycle is 100% and a 4mm rod @ 160A gives you a duty cycle of 30%.
IP21 is the protection rating of the cabinet, 21 means you can't stick an object greter than 12mm inside it and water falling vertically won't do any harm.
I1 is the input max current, not sure what KL is and the fuse symbol bottom right looks like it's 25-32 amp with a time delay.
Hope you or someone else finds this useful.
shenion
Tool Pack Rat
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- Stone Mountain, GA USA
32A should be fine. Would probably want a dedicated circuit, don't want to trip a breaker welding just because your compressor happened to kick on.
Mine's on a 50A breaker. Trips every once in a while with no load (probably charging caps.) Then again breakers here are near instantaneous.
I was surprised how much mine does. I always thought of stick as being 175+ amps. I have blown holes with 140A
You call your self a Newb, how much stick work have you done? I enjoy it, but was a big learning experience. I'm now good on flats and OK on verticals. Still playing with different rods, polarity and current settings. Was hankering for a bigger MIG, but the stick has given me more options.
I have taken to writing settings on the boxes, i.e. Mid Range, Dial at 55, DCEP.
Bet the indicator has just slipped off. Probably an easy fix.
Mine's on a 50A breaker. Trips every once in a while with no load (probably charging caps.) Then again breakers here are near instantaneous.
I was surprised how much mine does. I always thought of stick as being 175+ amps. I have blown holes with 140A
You call your self a Newb, how much stick work have you done? I enjoy it, but was a big learning experience. I'm now good on flats and OK on verticals. Still playing with different rods, polarity and current settings. Was hankering for a bigger MIG, but the stick has given me more options.
I have taken to writing settings on the boxes, i.e. Mid Range, Dial at 55, DCEP.
Bet the indicator has just slipped off. Probably an easy fix.
I think i'll replace the 32A MCB Type B with a Type C just until i get a new cable run. that should take a little start up surge.
I'm a newb at stick welding, well all welding really.
I've got a Monomig151 as well which i'm pretty good with.
My only previous experience with Arc welding was the little 60 or 80 amp half broken air cooled jobbie in the school workshop a couple of years ago. And 10 minutes on a proper heavy duty 3 phase 350 jobbie.
Thats why I went for this one, i thought it would be big enough to let me learn on it properly, and it is.
I've got some thick plate and you can get a nice fat arc going and play with it properly.
I'm a newb at stick welding, well all welding really.
I've got a Monomig151 as well which i'm pretty good with.
My only previous experience with Arc welding was the little 60 or 80 amp half broken air cooled jobbie in the school workshop a couple of years ago. And 10 minutes on a proper heavy duty 3 phase 350 jobbie.
Thats why I went for this one, i thought it would be big enough to let me learn on it properly, and it is.
I've got some thick plate and you can get a nice fat arc going and play with it properly.
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Shenion, although I was weaned on mig and did gas at college years ago I really enjoy MMA welding too, there's something strangely satisfying about it. I got given an old 140A non fan-cooled set years ago which I replaced with a Clarke 190A fan-cooled set and tbh, it's not much better, just doesn't seem as nice to use but I've already given the 140 away .
Chris, the quality of the electrodes make a big difference, they're not all the same, different brands behave in different ways. I've got some which the slag pretty much just lifts off as the weld cools and others which you have to bash the hell out of the weld to get the slag off. Oh and keep your rods dry too, they're hygroscopic
.Chris, the quality of the electrodes make a big difference, they're not all the same, different brands behave in different ways. I've got some which the slag pretty much just lifts off as the weld cools and others which you have to bash the hell out of the weld to get the slag off. Oh and keep your rods dry too, they're hygroscopic
otchie1
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shenion
Tool Pack Rat
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- Stone Mountain, GA USA
Woz, yes, there is something about stick. The Clarke MIG was my first "real' welder. Did some MAP/O2 brazing before, "Learning" was most dealing with a heat source that was inadequate Using gasless on the Clarke gave me the impression stick must be real mess. But not so. Have done some welds that rival my MIG and needed only a few taps of the slag hammer.
Yes, good rods make a difference. Have some cheapies that work, but make a mess. I have picked up several boxes off ebay when the price was worth shipping (just got some Lincoln Fleetweld 47 7014 3/32" for $0.99/5lb.) I only look for sealed boxes. Even those needed to be baked as the box was beat up.
Chris, if you used a 3P welder you were spoiled I sold 2 3P units that would have been awesome to use, just don't have the power here.
What you have should do well. Looks like AC only, but most rods do well on AC. At 250A it will have the headroom to be real smooth at lower amps. I played with a cheap 100A unit. Spent most time trying to start/unstick rods and maintain a stable arc.
Post some pics of the welds.
Using gasless on the Clarke gave me the impression stick must be real mess. But not so. Have done some welds that rival my MIG and needed only a few taps of the slag hammer.Yes, good rods make a difference. Have some cheapies that work, but make a mess. I have picked up several boxes off ebay when the price was worth shipping (just got some Lincoln Fleetweld 47 7014 3/32" for $0.99/5lb.) I only look for sealed boxes. Even those needed to be baked as the box was beat up.
Chris, if you used a 3P welder you were spoiled
I sold 2 3P units that would have been awesome to use, just don't have the power here.What you have should do well. Looks like AC only, but most rods do well on AC. At 250A it will have the headroom to be real smooth at lower amps. I played with a cheap 100A unit. Spent most time trying to start/unstick rods and maintain a stable arc.
Post some pics of the welds.
Been out playing with it tonight, gotta get that gauge fixed methinks, cant figure out what amps i'm playing with, but plenty for my needs. I was welding around some tube, after i started to get over the sticky rods it's quite fun, strange the way the hotter the metal gets the more the pool runs. Never really noticed it with the MIG.
Shenion, I only got to play with the big 3phase beasty for about 10 mins and it was great, made even me look like a pro
I'll get some pics up soon for some constructive criticism
Gotta get some decent sized scraps to work on first though.
Cheers Chris
Shenion, I only got to play with the big 3phase beasty for about 10 mins and it was great, made even me look like a pro
I'll get some pics up soon for some constructive criticism
Gotta get some decent sized scraps to work on first though.
Cheers Chris
