welding handrail

[mikew]

Hi and thanks for having me. This is my 1st post/thread so be patient please.
Trying to help out a neighbor repairing a wrought iron rail. The 1" square riser in concrete is rotted, so I made some sleeves out of 1/8" angle to box it in. The riser seems to be just mild steel box tubing. The problem is that the wire(flux core)just seems to melt and ball up. No penetration at all. Does tis need to be done with stick? I'm sure it's not the welder,as I have welded other things, up to a car frame with it, using same wire, .035. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated

 

[cumbriasteve]

You either don't have enough power, the area you are welding is not clean enough, your earth clamp is not on a clean area, or a combination of those factors.

 

[fixerupper]

It's tricky welding on to rusty stuff , can you replace the upright instead ? got any photos ? is the upright wrought iron or mild steel box ... jeff...

 

[Kent]

You either don't have enough power, the area you are welding is not clean enough, your earth clamp is not on a clean area, or a combination of those factors.

Like he says, Clean back to good metal on earth as well as weld area and look towards those extension leads for power loss if your using one, the settings don't always work out the same as if your 10 ft from the socket.

 

[mikew]

All good suggestions, ground down to fresh metal, work area and ground clamp spot. No extension leads used. This is a 120v gasless flux core welder. As I said, I have used this same setup to repair auto frames.Uprights appear to be mild steel, box tubing.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Well if you are sure you have enough power for the task then I have slight suspicions the item is true wrought iron, although your identification as 'box' section would tend to make that doubtful, it would normally be solid.

Are the railings very old, heavy and ornate...are they likely to be wrought iron and not decorative steel?

 

[norlander]

Bad wire????

 

[steviec_lj]

Appear to be or are mild steel uprights?

Have you taken a magnet to the clean area to check?

 

[steviec_lj]

Another thought..turn your wire speed up.

Had a similar problem months ago where the wire would melt and ball up. Took me ages to come to think of turning the wire speed up.

Heard it called spray transfer before but couldn't be certain, and on top of that, I didn't think it would be possible with 130a to get in to spray transfer...

 

[fixerupper]

Hi in your op you say"Trying to help out a neighbor repairing a wrought iron rail."
so something must have put a doubt in your mind about the material not being mild steel.
a while ago someone asked me to weld some hinges to a gate.. Turned up with the gate he had found somewhere and the hinges ... but I had to drill and bolt the hinges on no way would they weld .... jeff...

 

[Jan]

You say it's a 120 volt welder, but don't tell us the amperage range. Perhaps the top wattage isn't up to the task on the old metal. 1" isn't a lot of metal if it's square section tubing, but a hell of a heat sink if it's actually solid!

 

[mikew]

Bad wire????

That's getting to be my conclusion. Can flux core wire go "stale"? Last time I used it was at least 4 yrs ago.

 

[Jan]

I can easily imagine it picking up a layer of corrosion on the surface due to poor storage, but the flux should be well protected in the core of the wire.

 

[mikew]

Success! I know this a UK based forum, but I'm in the USA. One hint, don't plug your 120v welder directly into a gfi. You can use a standard outlet on a protected circuit. Last night I was trying to figure out what the common denominator was each time and'viola, gfi outlet. Tried a different one and welds fine. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

[aesmith]

... One hint, don't plug your 120v welder directly into a gfi. ...

What do you think is the reason for the problem? I'm assuming what you're calling GFI is pretty much the same as our RCDs (or RCBOs), and if that's the case if it's not actually tripping it shouldn't be doing anything to limit the power provided at the outlet. There must be plenty of DIY users running their welders through RCD protection. Mine runs from an outlet server from a 20A RCBO for example.

 

[mikew]

Sorry it took so long to get back. I think the problem is that most gfi(ground fault interuptor) are rated for 15Amp. My welder needs minimum 20Amp, so even if my welder is the only item on that circuit, it is still right on the edge. When I put a load on it, it is still limited to 15, thus the drop.

 

[Jan]

In the UK they are called either RCDs (residual Current Devices) or ELCBs (Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers). In each case they detect even the slightest trickle of current (a couple of tens of milliamps) that is leaking to earth and shut off the current in a few milliseconds. Most 'fuse' (circuit breaker/consumer unit) box devices are rated well over 15 amps, with 60-80 amps being the norm. Only single/double socket or extension lead mounted models are likely to go as low as that.