Power settings for 151EN

[regfixit]

Getting to grips with my new MIG and wondering if there is a mistake in the user manual. I was checking the power settings table and trying to work out the order of increasing power. However, it seems to be different depending on the material.

There are 3 switches: 1/A, 2/3, Min/Max. Looking at the chart for 0.6mm gas welding it shows following for Aluminium:
0.8 1 2/3 MIN (on setting 1 the middle switch has no effect so 2 or 3 are equal)
1.0-1.5 1 2/3 MAX
1.5-2.0 A 3 MAX, wire speed 8
2.0-3.0 A 3 MIN, wire speed 7/8
For the thickest Al setting it says to use a lower power setting than for the one before ?

For mild steel gas welding:
0.5-0.6 1 2/3 MIN
0.6-0.8 A 2 MIN
0.8-1.0 1 2/3 MAX
1.0-1.2 A 3 MIN
1.2-2.0 A 2 MAX
2.0-6.0 A 3 MAX

On the table for No-gas welding:
0.6-0.8 A 2 MIN
0.8-1.0 A 3 MIN
1.0-1.2 1 2/3 MAX
1.2-2.0 A 2 MAX
2.0-6.0 A 3 MAX
It has the settings in bold in the reverse order to the gas welding table

Does this make any sense - I would have thought the thicker the metal the higher the power and that the sequence of ascendency of the power settings should be the same whatever the wire/material ?

 

[shed or dead]

That's alot to take in so my apologies if i'm not answering the entire question.

Switch 1/A in th A position allows the 2/3 selector to be used.

Use the chart to guide you on the power settings, then have a go at setting the wire speed as shown here

When it makes the correct noises you can then do minute adjustments of wire speed to fine tune. The 151 is a lovely machine to learn on, I did as have many others on this site, but I found that tiny adjustments to wire speed can have a huge effect at certain points on the dial (perhaps mine is worn) especially on thin material.

When I find an optimum setting I often mark it on the dial.

Have a play on various thickness and you'll get there. Even the pro's will use off cuts to set up the machine before welding the workpiece.

Current increases with wire speed, and also with thicker wire as it allows more flow.

Are you using gas or gasless?

What are you trying to weld? I can probably guide you in the right direction if you had a certain material and thickness in mind.

Good luck, you'll pick it up soon enough.

 

[regfixit]

Hi thanks for that.
Last night I was just practising on a rusty old saw (0.8mm think) and it kept blowing through even on the lowest setting.
I was just trying to work out the order of the power settings from low to high and the chart confused me as to whether A 3 MIN is more or less than 1 2 MAX.

My first job is going to be to weld an M10 nut onto a stud to get it out as the bolt head has snapped off. I'm planning to put the nut half on the stud and just fill the hole on full power.
Then I need to weld a nut onto a steel bracket so it stays in place. Planning to do that on middle power setting I think.

Using the gasless wire that it came with at the moment.

I am then planning to get some scrap metal in to practise on more before fixing my garden roller - its got a steel tube frame that has rusted and snapped off where it joins on to the garden roller.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Agree with shed or dead, my Clarke is a great machine but the wire speed adjustment is super sensitive, once set even the slightest of rotation and I mean a minute movement can put you a mile out of the zone.

 

[shed or dead]

whether A 3 MIN is more or less than 1 2 MAX

Settings progress as follows...

1 min
1 max
2 min
2 max
3 min
3 max

When welding nuts and bolts be aware that the Zinc coating will produce harmful toxic gases as it burns off. For the bracket you can grind this off first, from the area you intend to weld.

If the bracket is significantly thinner than the nut, you may need to focus the weld more on the thick nut, then draw the weld pool onto the thinner material (as if you were painting back and forth). The tutorials on this site should cover that.

I've never used gasless so can't really advise on that.

 

[regfixit]

Thanks very much. I managed it in the end and have been able to get the bolt out and then reset the captive nut.