6010 on PU205?

[ralphhood3]

I posted the below on the Everlast forums, but thought I'd post here in case it gets more visibility....

================

Figured I'd post here since my question is stick specific even though I've got a multi-process PU205.

I see the special 6010 port advertised on the power arc 160 and 200. What exactly does that do? Does the fact that my PU205 doesn't have that port mean that I shouldn't be using 6010? Just curious since I just bought some 1/8" 6010 for my PU205 for a friend to stick weld some boxing plates on a truck frame (53 F-100) for me and it seems to sputter randomly and lose the arc. My buddy's a pretty proficient welder especially with stick and on his AC tombstone welder he was getting perfect welds on my truck frame but with the frame back at my house using 6010 on my PU205 he can't pull a consistent bead to save his life, it drops every couple inches. It's definitely not a ground problem (upgraded to the pro Tweco ground clamp on my PU205) or a operator skill problem.

Just curious if the lack of the special 6010 port means I should be using 6011 or some other rod?

Thanks in advance for any feedback on this.

Ralph

[lugweld]

Ralph,
The 6010 is not an ac rod, so I doubt the tomstone was handling it that well. It will burn a 6011 okay, but not 6010. I image that that he has adapted his technique to weld the rod on AC, but again, its not designed for it. When he comes to weld with an inverter he has to retrain himself. With a basic inverter, on 6010, the arc must be held short, unless it has a higher voltage output. Keep in mind the PU is our entry level machine in its class and not equipped with features like hot start and arc force control, which help in the burning of 6010.

The PU205 will burn the 6010, but its not got the voltage to burn it well without raising the amps higher to maybe around 125 amps with 1/8. You did not mention where you were running it on amps. Its a basic machine...It'll burn the 7018, 6013, 7014 fine,but 6010 and 6011 to a lesser extent requires more "heat"... The PU is not unlike the basic Maxstar from Miller in its welding performance. But the PowerArc is designed with a high voltage tap that manages the volt curve and adaptive arc force differently than for 7018. That's what gives its stable easy starting arc.

Additionally, I don't know if you have reversed your polarity, but if you have to swap your work clamp and torch positions when welding with stick.

[ralphhood3]

Thanks for the info lugweld, I appreciate it.

I should clarify first, my friend was using 6011 on his tombstone, I was just throwing the tombstone info in so that the first response was related to an unfamiliar user.

We were running the 6010 1/8" at 100amps on the PU205, sounds like a bit higher amperage might help (~125).

To your last comment, are you saying I should reverse the ground clamp and "torch" (electrode holder) or are you saying I might have it reversed and that could be contributing to the problem? I've currently got the ground clamp in the "workpiece" connection and the electrode holder in the "torch" connection, should they be swapped for Stick? We wondered that, but it's a bit confusing because there's no + or - to indicate DCEN or DCEP for stick, it's just got the "workpiece" and "torch" markings.

Hmm, I wonder if I should by some 6013 and find a home for all the 6010 I bought or if I should see how much of a deal I could get on a PowerArc :-) It is a bit of a hassle to have to swap the plasma torch and the stick holder :-)

Thanks again for the tips, if you could clarify on the polarity thing I'll make sure I've got that straight and then try upping the amperage to about 125 to see if that helps any. My friend did wonder if it was a voltage (power) issue rather than an amperage issue. Sounds like that might be the case and just a fact of life with the PU205.

Ralph

[lugweld]

I am saying that when welding stick, you should be welding DC +. You need to ignore the torch/clamp labeling. The unit is labeled that way because it is primarily a tig/plasma unit. The right side is negative and the left side (facing the unit) is positive. So, you do need to swap sides with the torch/clamp set up to weld stick.

The PowerArc will handle the 6010 much better, but you'll get better performance if you'll reverse your polarity and increase your amps.

[ralphhood3]

Thanks again Lugweld, that's very helpful. I read through the PU205 manual online last night and didn't find any mention of swapping polarity for stick or info on the polarity of the plugs on the unit.

I'll try the swap and increase the amperage and see how that does. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll have to snatch up a PowerArc200 from eBay before the Bing Cashback program ends at the end of this week.