Sorry no pics but I was laying some welds onto about 2mm steel with my Clarke 160EN (150 amp) using CO2/Argon mix in the disposables. Found I had to have the crappy little regulator turned up to full to get any gas to come out too, which I think reading elsewhere its a 'feature' of these regulators.
I could get a weld going OK - I could see the weld pool - but the wire seemed to have a small blob on the end of it just on top of the weld pool.
I didn't seem to get a good sizzle either - it always seems a bit harsh in sound and was a bit crackle & poppy.
Final welds looked OK though.
Turning the power down a setting didn't seem to give enough power and I struggled to get penetration.
Edited to add I'm using 0.8mm wire.
The wire speed on this machine seems to be very sensitive - turning up just a little it seemed way too fast and you could feel it pushing the torch away. Turning it down and it burned back towards the torch with a blob on the end of the wire. Generally I was using a setting around 6, and tried varying it between about 5 and 6.5. It was obvious outside this range was way off.
I didn't get steady enough to try turning the dial while welding.
I generally used the pull technique, which just seemed natural to me.
I experimented with the power settings but settled on 3 min which gave good penetration, going to 2 max didn't feel like enough and really had to go slow to get through to the other side.
When welded all the welds had a brown dusting around them - is this normal?
I was welding inside in my garage, which is brick built and pretty draught free, though bloody cold when I have to unplug the 3kw fan heater to run the welder!
I also had a piece of metal scrap that was a bit strange - different to the other stuff - it left white fluffy deposits around the weld, I was concerned this might be zinc coated so didn't use it any more.
All advice appreciated. I need some more scrap now....
Chris
I could get a weld going OK - I could see the weld pool - but the wire seemed to have a small blob on the end of it just on top of the weld pool.
I didn't seem to get a good sizzle either - it always seems a bit harsh in sound and was a bit crackle & poppy.
Final welds looked OK though.
Turning the power down a setting didn't seem to give enough power and I struggled to get penetration.
Edited to add I'm using 0.8mm wire.
The wire speed on this machine seems to be very sensitive - turning up just a little it seemed way too fast and you could feel it pushing the torch away. Turning it down and it burned back towards the torch with a blob on the end of the wire. Generally I was using a setting around 6, and tried varying it between about 5 and 6.5. It was obvious outside this range was way off.
I didn't get steady enough to try turning the dial while welding.
I generally used the pull technique, which just seemed natural to me.
I experimented with the power settings but settled on 3 min which gave good penetration, going to 2 max didn't feel like enough and really had to go slow to get through to the other side.
When welded all the welds had a brown dusting around them - is this normal?
I was welding inside in my garage, which is brick built and pretty draught free, though bloody cold when I have to unplug the 3kw fan heater to run the welder!
I also had a piece of metal scrap that was a bit strange - different to the other stuff - it left white fluffy deposits around the weld, I was concerned this might be zinc coated so didn't use it any more.
All advice appreciated. I need some more scrap now....
Chris