Is this normal? Glowing rod?

[SiPMerlin150]

Do i have my amps set too high?

2.5mm 6013 rods, when i do full runs where i'm using a full rod, i've noticed the whole rod is heating up and glowing like a heater element! I can tell when this happens as the you can see the rod being vaporised and it can sometimes burn away 1 inch per second!

I have the settings on the welding box set in the lower range of what a 2.5mm rod would be ran on, and the slag peels off the welds easiy too.

( i am skeptical at the power settings accuracy on the unit as its a cheap screw in/out power selector with a small arrow in a viewing window).

 

[brightspark]

Do i have my amps set too high?

2.5mm 6013 rods, when i do full runs where i'm using a full rod, i've noticed the whole rod is heating up and glowing like a heater element! I can tell when this happens as the you can see the rod being vaporised and it can sometimes burn away 1 inch per second!

I have the settings on the welding box set in the lower range of what a 2.5mm rod would be ran on, and the slag peels off the welds easiy too.

( i am skeptical at the power settings accuracy on the unit as its a cheap screw in/out power selector with a small arrow in a viewing window).

amps probably 2 high knock it down a bit and as long as the rods strike easily and weld on a lower setting it will be fine. i rarely look at the welder settings u just know when its 2 high or 2 low with practice

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Thanks brightspark!

I'll turn it down a few notches then! Thought those rods were burning away too fast. Not got any slag inclusions though, and my vertical up welds have been looking great!

I'm still learning, so not looking at the welders power settings will eventually come naturally to me, hopefully soon though, as looking at how out this power setting scale is, i wont be using it!

 

[rich r]

I'm certainly finding 6013 2.5mm rods better at around 70A than the 80A indicated on my Aldi buzzbox. Like you say - they get consumed so fast that dropping the current gives you more chance of keeping the arc nice and short and moving the rod at the right speed.

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Dropped the current and its gone away for the most part. My vertical up welds peel themselves still, so my worries in a cold weld are over!

I'm going to order a box of 3.2's now i'm near finishing my 2.5's. Gotta be easier to use too. I've been watching the puddle and using a slightly lower angle to push the slag away from tip of the rod. I've noticed that compared to 7018's the 6013's have a heavy slag

 

[rich r]

You'll find 3.2s a lot easier than 2.5s - far less slag compared to metal. The only issue I have with 3.2s is that 120 Amps welding current really is about the limit for a domestic 13A plug on a cheap buzzbox, so it's easy to trip the circuit breaker in my garage when using them.

 

[SiPMerlin150]

You'll find 3.2s a lot easier than 2.5s - far less slag compared to metal. The only issue I have with 3.2s is that 120 Amps welding current really is about the limit for a domestic 13A plug on a cheap buzzbox, so it's easy to trip the circuit breaker in my garage when using them.

Oh yes, i've must of burned through about 14 or so fuses with this welder, and its alway when you've passed the halfway mark on the power selector, the only way around this is to wire the welder up to its own dedicated 16 amp round plug socket and run it back to the eleccy box in your house (All this must be done by a qualified electrician) and install a 16 amp breaker in the fuse box.

A box of 3.2's are on the way to me now i've burned through 5kg of 2.5's

 

[rich r]

Yeah - when I bought the welder I looked into putting in a 16A commando socket in my garage, but decided that I could live with only going up to 3.2mm rods and replacing a 13A fuse in the plug every now and then. I've drawn a red line on the gauge on the welder so I know if I go above that it'll pop the fuse as soon as the arc strikes.

I'm doing it the other way round from you - had a play with 3.2mm rods, then moved to 2.5mm ones. I'm not fairly happy with horizontal butt and fillet welds with 2.5mm and 3.2mm, but my vertical ones are pants

 

[SiPMerlin150]

I'm doing it the other way round from you - had a play with 3.2mm rods, then moved to 2.5mm ones. I'm not fairly happy with horizontal butt and fillet welds with 2.5mm and 3.2mm, but my vertical ones are pants

I've used 3.2's in the past, (my first lot of rods that i tried with my welder were some 1.6mm! they were some cheapo ones until i tried a reputable brand that i fell in love with and have used them ever since)..

I have some 4.0mm electrodes and they are the absolute limit on the 150 buzzbox, if not a tad bit underpowered, the beauty is they burn down so slow and when you're learning to do vertical up welds anything that helps you keep a good tight arc and consistency is good, until that position of welding becomes second nature, ( Like all the veteran welders on here )

I've practiced and awful lot on this position and its getting more and more easier. I shall post a few pictures of my method.

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Might get shot for this by the pro's on here ,,,, one learner trying to share what works for him to another..

Heres a few pics, of my vertical up's

The long stringer is 'cold', quite low on amps whilst the second one is much better. Its easier to learn it with lower amps because the molten weld pool isn't as likely to run downwards onto itself. Also i've included a reference of how i angle my rod as i'm welding in this position 45 degree downwards.

These are wide stringers so the action is a little slower than a narrow bead, which makes it easier. Hold each corner for a second then evenly whip across to fill the middle. Concentrate on the sides, and the middle takes care of itself

Tip: Wear a hat/cap AND hood and eye protection under your face shield. Hot blobs or molten metal and sparks land on your head, and inside you visor, and trust me, after having a blob burn into the side of my cheek, making me do a silly dance!

 

[rich r]

Thanks - those pictures are really helpful. I think the problem I'm having is that the 2.5s are burning back so quickly that I struggle to move it slowly whilst keeping the arc nice and short (I try to drag the rods, resting on the outside of the flux coating).

But I can see that actually my biggest issue is that I'm not moving side to side enough, which is why the metal just runs down until it cools - leaving big drip like blobs. So I shall go out and try again - but take more time to do nice wide weaves, so hopefully the metal cools off and has a chance of supporting the next line.

I've got a cotton cap that I wear under the helmet - which does seem to protect my thinning hair judging from the sooty dots on it. I've also learnt to wear a thick sleeved top after getting a few tiny spots on my arms

I have got some 4mm rods, and my welder will go up to 160 Amps - though obviously not on a 13A plug. I might take another look at whether I can put a 16A socket in the garage to use outside so I don't use the sockets or lights in the garage. I have a 32A breaker in the house feeding the garage consumer unit.

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Looking forward to some pictures of your welding

I know what you mean when you say that the metal runs down and away....don't be fooled because a lot of what runs away is molten slag. Some welders actually use the arc to blow the slag away from the weld as its taking place, (keeps slag from getting trapped inside a weld and causing inclusions).

I'll have to do a short video sometime of doing a vertical weld with this method, its always better to watch a short video over and over again than to try and describe a method

 

[rich r]

Just been out and tried again - with more of a left-pause-right-pause technique as you suggested. This is at 80A with Aldi 2.5mm rod. Result! OK, it's a bit wandering and not very neat edged, but it's blob free and slag inclusion free. For comparison, it's about 3 times the width of a straight horizontal stringer that I did just before to warm up.

So I did some more on a different bit of metal, at a lower current, varying the angle slightly. Here's a couple of the better ones.

I found that getting the rod too perpendicular meant I got slag inclusions and the weld height too high (as the metal ran down slightly more). Too much the other way and I could see the red gases blasting the slag upwards, but it made a crater and splatter and wasn't as neat.

Tried a couple of fillet joints, which weren't pretty, but had some good sections and would probably actually be strong enough to hold the two bits of metal together if it wasn't too important.

I'll practice doing more vertical lines of weld until I get the angle and weave speed consistently right, then I'll try doing some more joints.

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Thats looking good already! A big part of creating most positional welds is being in a comfortable position throughout the weld, making sure that you can feed in the rod at a consistant rate.

I'm pretty sure that those welds as shown in the picture will hold two pieces of plate together.

Notice how the weld divets and 'undercuts' the metal where you stop? To reduce this dimple, hold the rod in a still position for a second at the end, just to give it chance to fill up that divet in the plate, then lift the rod away to break the arc.


Are you still using Aldi rods? Have you tried any other brands yet?

 

[rich r]

Yes, I need to get the hang of filling the crater before stopping. I do it automatically when doing horizontal welds. I guess I need to angle the rod slightly more perpendicular as it remove it too, so I don't blow little blobs of metal off the end.

Still on the Aldi rods - but as I'm getting fairly nice welds with them, I'm probably going to carry on using them until they're all gone, then buy something better. I think when I come to weld the hinge onto the gate (the reason I wanted to learn in the first place), I'll be using decent rods and have had enough practice so that I'll do a good job, and only have to do it once.

I've been speaking to electrican friends and have decided that I should run a 16A socket off the 20A breaker that my garage sockets are on (only two sockets). I've run the 2.5mm twin and earth today, and should be getting the plug and socket this week.Then I can take the 13A plug off the welder and fit a 16A one. I might just be able to use the 4mm rods then, which will be interesting, as I imagine they go much slower and leave hardly any slag when compared to 2.0mm or 2.5mm rods!

 

[SiPMerlin150]

Its actually much easier to use decent rods even when you practice, if you find that the slag is very tricky to get off the weld with thos aldi rods, most cheap rods are a bit hit & miss. Allow me to recommend a brand that i have been using since the beginning of my welding experience. Heres a link to them, - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/40-x-2-5m..._Metalworking_Supplies_ET&hash=item2a152868a0 This guy dispatches fast and i've used him plenty of times Weldequip sells them on here in 5kg boxes, but i doubt it you'd eat through a box, unless you're welding for a few hours each evening.
The slag just pings off the welds when everything is set right. You know your on your way when your welds shed the slag on their own


I've made an extension chord for my welder with 2.5mm cable (electric cooker cable, rated 27amps) with a 15 amp fuse in either end (one in the extension plug, and one in the welder's plug. Not blown any fuses at all, and neither is the wires or plugs getting warm, so i'm guessing my welder draws 14 amps. The plugs are a heavy duty purpose made also.

My welder wussed out on those 4mm rods! 150 amps they stick and the welder makes some angry humming noises!

 

[Robotstar5]

I've made an extension chord for my welder with 2.5mm cable (electric cooker cable, rated 27amps) with a 15 amp fuse in either end (one in the extension plug, and one in the welder's plug. Not blown any fuses at all, and neither is the wires or plugs getting warm, so i'm guessing my welder draws 14 amps.

Does it comply to BS 1362?

 

[brightspark]

[
I've made an extension chord for my welder with 2.5mm cable (electric cooker cable, rated 27amps) with a 15 amp fuse in either end (one in the extension plug, and one in the welder's plug. Not blown any fuses at all, and neither is the wires or plugs getting warm, so i'm guessing my welder draws 14 amps. The plugs are a heavy duty purpose made also.

[/QUOTE]6mm min for a cooker supply so where does the 2.5mm cable fit in

 

[SiPMerlin150]

[
I've made an extension chord for my welder with 2.5mm cable (electric cooker cable, rated 27amps) with a 15 amp fuse in either end (one in the extension plug, and one in the welder's plug. Not blown any fuses at all, and neither is the wires or plugs getting warm, so i'm guessing my welder draws 14 amps. The plugs are a heavy duty purpose made also.

6mm min for a cooker supply so where does the 2.5mm cable fit in [/QUOTE]

Really? oh crud! I got the cable on a 5 meter roll and is rated at 27 amps, and has a single bare earth cable inside. I know for a fact that my buzzbox wont use up to the limits of this cable. 6mm? are you talking about the conductor copper wires or the diameter of the whole flex?

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/electric...2-5mm-Twin-and-Earth-Cable-Reel-100m-11348093 - Heres the stuff

 

[brightspark]

6mm min for a cooker supply so where does the 2.5mm cable fit in

Really? oh crud! I got the cable on a 5 meter roll and is rated at 27 amps, and has a single bare earth cable inside. I know for a fact that my buzzbox wont use up to the limits of this cable. 6mm? are you talking about the conductor copper wires or the diameter of the whole flex? [/QUOTE]conductor size