Welding Tips and Tricks

PeteM wrote:That does help to know its maximum capabilities.

By measuring outputs though, you can find the machines "sweet spots" for different types of welds and wire sizes. For uphill, being able to hit it at like 18.5 volts and between 220-230 ipm. or stainless at X volts and Y ipm, etc. It's also nice to have some settings you can pretty much hang your hat on as good. Then if something is going wrong- you know it is really going wrong, rather than it being just a bad set up for the type of wire and weld.

You can check operating voltage at the terminals where they connect to the gun block and clamp (+ and -) by having someone hold the pins of the voltmeter to the posts as you do a short weld.

Thanks Pete, hopefully I can do that very soon and report back. Looking at the specs of this machine, is an ok machine? I kinda understand it but not 100%. Thanks


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They're actually quite good for their intended use. For home shop/hobbyist welding they're perfectly fine, and you can cover a lot of ground with it.

I firmly believe that good technique trumps all. Once you get some time on the metal with it and develop the techniques- no one will be able to look at a weld and say "That was done with a blah-blah-blah, and this was done with a (insert name here).

On the other hand, I've seen some crappy "welders" fail on some really nice machines. Like a brand new pipeworx just wasn't good enough for them...

PeteM wrote:They're actually quite good for their intended use. For home shop/hobbyist welding they're perfectly fine, and you can cover a lot of ground with it.

I firmly believe that good technique trumps all. Once you get some time on the metal with it and develop the techniques- no one will be able to look at a weld and say "That was done with a blah-blah-blah, and this was done with a (insert name here).

On the other hand, I've seen some crappy "welders" fail on some really nice machines. Like a brand new pipeworx just wasn't good enough for them...

Gotcha! Thanks for the input[THUMBS UP SIGN]


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Sacman,

What you're looking for on the voltage side is OCV, or "open circuit voltage", which is easy to determine with a voltmeter. At the wire feeder, you'll see the post connected to the feeder for electrode contact, and the ground (workpiece) connection. Ideally, you'll connect your voltmeter across these such that you don't have to hold them there. Unlock your wire feed rollers (gas off, of course), so you don't feed wire. For each voltage setting available to you, hit and hold the trigger and record the reading after it stabilizes.

Knowing this, along with actual wire feed speeds, will help you use weld calculators to set up for anything you're doing. Keep in mind, even the calculators are only starting points, and it's in the hands of the user to fine-tune for the specific application.

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:Sacman,

What you're looking for on the voltage side is OCV, or "open circuit voltage", which is easy to determine with a voltmeter. At the wire feeder, you'll see the post connected to the feeder for electrode contact, and the ground (workpiece) connection. Ideally, you'll connect your voltmeter across these such that you don't have to hold them there. Unlock your wire feed rollers (gas off, of course), so you don't feed wire. For each voltage setting available to you, hit and hold the trigger and record the reading after it stabilizes.

Knowing this, along with actual wire feed speeds, will help you use weld calculators to set up for anything you're doing. Keep in mind, even the calculators are only starting points, and it's in the hands of the user to fine-tune for the specific application.

Steve S

Ok great,thanks Steve. I see what your talking about, what would be a good setting on the volt meter? Also could just connect one of the leads to the ground alligator clip and hold the other on the electrode contact? Thanks, Chris.


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Your OCV will be DC, and will range from 15V to 30V, or even more depending on the machine. If you have a 50V scale on your voltmeter, I'd start there.

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:Your OCV will be DC, and will range from 15V to 30V, or even more depending on the machine. If you have a 50V scale on your voltmeter, I'd start there.

Steve S

Will do, thanks for the advice and your help. Gonna try and get it done asap and report back. Chris


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Otto Nobedder wrote:Your OCV will be DC, and will range from 15V to 30V, or even more depending on the machine. If you have a 50V scale on your voltmeter, I'd start there.

Steve S

Ok Steve, I did what ya said to do. Set voltmeter @ dcv200 and went thru each setting. With one lead on wire feeder electrode and the other on the ground clamp. This what I got

A-22.5
B-24.6
C-28.0
D-32.2

Thanks Chris


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That seems very high for operating voltage. Probably normal for OCV though.

PeteM wrote:That seems very high for operating voltage. Probably normal for OCV though.

Out of curiosity, because I don't know lol. Do you think that it will change under a load?


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Sacman wrote:

PeteM wrote:That seems very high for operating voltage. Probably normal for OCV though.

Out of curiosity, because I don't know lol. Do you think that it will change under a load?


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Yeah. Typically the OCV is (open circuit voltage) when the machine is on but not welding. Then when the circuit closes with the trigger depressed it switches to operating voltage with current and the welding begins.

Sacman wrote:

PeteM wrote:That seems very high for operating voltage. Probably normal for OCV though.

Out of curiosity, because I don't know lol. Do you think that it will change under a load?


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It should not change more than millivolts, since you have a "constant voltage" source for MIG. However, these numbers are very high for the machine you're using. You're sure the voltmeter was set for DC?

You "may" have to have someone record actual welding voltage, but if this varies from OCV that much, the voltage will change a lot with wire speed, meaning it's nowhere close to being a "constant voltage" source.

Steve S

How the pictures looked it was high voltage is made entirely be correct. And if it's the transformer based machine could have an internal short across some of the winding causing the high voltage.

Not really. I have a similar machine that reads similarly. When no welding is being done, the circuit is open, therefore the term OCV, or open circuit voltage.

32 volt max OCV is very typical for that line machines. Millermatics are typically around 30 also.

It's ChuckE, but useful enough-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_zBP-psFUk

Otto Nobedder wrote:

Sacman wrote:

PeteM wrote:That seems very high for operating voltage. Probably normal for OCV though.

Out of curiosity, because I don't know lol. Do you think that it will change under a load?


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It should not change more than millivolts, since you have a "constant voltage" source for MIG. However, these numbers are very high for the machine you're using. You're sure the voltmeter was set for DC?

You "may" have to have someone record actual welding voltage, but if this varies from OCV that much, the voltage will change a lot with wire speed, meaning it's nowhere close to being a "constant voltage" source.

Steve S

Hey Steve, here is the meter I used. I brought it for a repair on a clothes dryer and didn't wanna spend a whole lot of money on it considering I was hardly ever going to use it. It got the job done lol. I left it on the setting I used. I'm not very savvy with sort of stuff. I'll give it another go but with actual use and report back, Thanks Chris.


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Here is my machine that I'm using. According the website they made several different models "weld pak 100" hd and plus. They all seem to be the same,just wondering is all. Thanks guys for all your useful help and knowledge it's appreciated.


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sacman, set voltage to B. Then take a gun in one hand, another hand shall grab the wire speed control knob. Grab piece of scrap metal, thick one preferred. Begin to weld one handed and adjust your wire speed with another hand. If it is too slow you gonna see slow large droplets of metal falling, if too fast, your wire will stuck in the puddle and spark a lot as an arc can not melt it so fast. Find those two extreme points, too slow and too fast and turn your wire speed knob in the middle between those two - that`s your welding current. Nice buzzing low spatter euphoria. If you need more energy, move to C and repeat the story.

Ooops, flux core, but, should work. Just drag not pull your welds. And move your gun in C pattern.

Get a better helmet. I don't think you can see the puddle, or the "line" that you're supposed to be following from the weld joint.

cherwolf wrote:sacman, set voltage to B. Then take a gun in one hand, another hand shall grab the wire speed control knob. Grab piece of scrap metal, thick one preferred. Begin to weld one handed and adjust your wire speed with another hand. If it is too slow you gonna see slow large droplets of metal falling, if too fast, your wire will stuck in the puddle and spark a lot as an arc can not melt it so fast. Find those two extreme points, too slow and too fast and turn your wire speed knob in the middle between those two - that`s your welding current. Nice buzzing low spatter euphoria. If you need more energy, move to C and repeat the story.

Ooops, flux core, but, should work. Just drag not pull your welds. And move your gun in C pattern.

10-4 will do, thanks for the advice.



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Oscar wrote:Get a better helmet. I don't think you can see the puddle, or the "line" that you're supposed to be following from the weld joint.

yeah I brought a new auto dimming helmet and was messing settings in the beginning of the night those pics where taken. Thanks for the friendly advice.


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I stand corrected. I pulled out the manual for the Millermatic 252 today, and looked at the volt/amp curves, and OCV does not match setpoint voltage below about 50A, or basically while not welding.

Our ancient Lincoln CV305 transformer machine does seem to match OCV to the setpoint whether it's loaded or not.

My bad...

Steve S

Otto Nobedder wrote:I stand corrected. I pulled out the manual for the Millermatic 252 today, and looked at the volt/amp curves, and OCV does not match setpoint voltage below about 50A, or basically while not welding.

Our ancient Lincoln CV305 transformer machine does seem to match OCV to the setpoint whether it's loaded or not.

My bad...

Steve S

Ok so your saying my machine is a transformer machine? I haven't had a chance to use the volt meter while welding yet. Should I still? Sounds like I don't. lol I think. I read the manual I don't remember seeing anything specific like that in there. I have a lot to learn, thanks.


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