Help me understand this MIG welder

[DocSjulle]

Hi.

I got this MIG welder and have been doing some great work with it welding on my steelboat.


https://allweld.pl/ideal-praktik-200#galleryName=productGallery,imageNumber=1
https://allweld.pl/ideal-praktik-200#galleryName=productGallery,imageNumber=1

It worked well welding in a bow thruster tube and some window frames in 5mm tube material and 5mm hull plates. But I´m still strugling to understand the settings.

I have measured the wire speed feed going from 2,1 mpm to 4,3 mpm, which seems a bit slow to me, and the power knob reads Amp, where I read most other welders control the voltage, not to mention the inductance knob.

Ussually I have it around 7 on the wire speed, which is 4-4,2 mpm, and 7-8 on the power knob, and the inductance roughly in the middle. I use 0.8mm solid wire with mixed gas 82/18%

There was no welding chart included so no help there.

Does anybody know this welder and have some tips for dialing in the buttons ?

Regards
Kim

 

[eddie49]

Hej, og velkommen til Forummet!
I am glad that you are pleased with your inverter MIG welder, and that it is working well in a fairly heavy-duty application.
It looks similar to the Uptime 160:

Review - Uprtime Mig160 IGBT 160 amp Mig welder MMA, Euro Torch.

Hi everybody so i been wanting a more powerful mig now for some time, I have a 25-115amp draper mig not great. And i had seen this on ebay and many others like it, But this was the cheapest £159.99 including postage. Once i had seen it for days this little man in my head said buy it, i couldn't...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

I agree that the maximum wire speed of 4.3 m/min is low, I'd expect about double that. Perhaps the brake tension on the spool spindle is too high, or on the pressure roller it is too low.

These types of imported inverter welders have random methods of identifying the values on the control knobs and the digital displays. You are correct in expecting the "power" control to be expressed in Volts, but often it is labelled "Amps". Professional welders using high-end machines and following written procedures will know the exact voltage specified for a job, but amateurs tend to estimate requirements in Amps, so the Volts dial is often mislabelled Amps. This label implies that the designer knows the resistance of the full welding current path, including the arc itself, and can estimate what current will flow at a given voltage.

The wire speed control could be calibrated in metres or inches per minute, but on a cheap machine it is just scaled from 1 to 10. However, some machines label this control "Amps", because actually wirespeed does affect current!

Regarding inductance settings:
Having an inductor in the MIG welder output circuit helps with flow-out ( wetting ) of the weld pool. When the wire touches the workpiece there is a dead short. Since MIG welders use a constant-voltage power source, current rises very quickly. The inductor slows the rate of current rise. It alters the time ratio between the dead short, which melts the wire, and the arc, which heats the weld pool and the metal of the workpiece.
More explanation of inductance in MIG welding is here:
https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/faq-what-does-inductance-do
https://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/mig-welding-inductance.html
From the latter link, the basic advice is: use the low inductance setting for thin metal, and high inductance for thick metal.

[ As opposed to a traditional transformer-based welder, an inverter welder does not have an actual output inductor. I guess that the control alters the response rate of the constant-voltage feedback circuit. ]

Some of these concepts are discussed in this recent Forum thread, and the threads linked from it:

Choosing between these 2 welders for car repairs (thin sheet metal)

Hi, I'm new to this forum and new to welding in general. I'm interested in purchasing a MIG inverter welder that would mostly be used for car repairs (thin sheet metal...) and other occasional tasks around home. I would use argon+CO2 gas as well. For the welder, I'd say my budget is roughly...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

 

[DocSjulle]

Thank you for your reply.

I spent some time playing around with the welder today, and after realizing the amp knob is only an amp knob when using stick welding, and a voltage knob when mig welding, it makes a lot more sense what everyone is saying about wire speed also affects amperage.

I also think I get the inductance funktion now, it definitely makes the weld pool more wet and fluid.

Unfortunately I burned a hole in the gas line inside the mig gun, so I might mount an EU plug in the machine, and get a 5m gun together with a longer ground wire.

It really is a cracking little welder, I was pushing 160amps and both the ground wire and mig gun wire got warm, but no blown fuses this time even though the manufacturer recommends a 20amp fuse.

I’ll look into getting a bit more wire speed, as there is not much difference from 7 to 10 on the scale. It might just be an adjustment on the pcb.