Not new to welding but not good at it yet.

[Stop Gap]

Hello,

I'm new here. In college while training as a machinist we took welding. The ONLY thing I remember from those classes was that 7018?? was a general purpose rod and 6011 seemed to spatter a lot. That's it!

Over the last few years I have picked up a nice little Astromig Power Mig 110 with a large bottle of CO2 and a smaller one of Argon. Then I picked up a Century 230 amp model 110-110. I think I'm pretty much covered for whatever welding I need to do. Total investment $270.00.

I am a brutally bad stick welder but find I have a much easier time laying down a bead with the mig but it's only so capable.

I'll be posting a question about some issues I'm having with the Century so thanks for any help if you see the posting.

Stop Gap

[John Baptist]

Welcome to WW o7

[dusterdude]

Welcome

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[CAVEMANN]

Welcome to welding web! Pick up some 7014 to practice with, you should find it easy to run & learn, after your muscle memory develops you can move on to 7018 if you want. I'm a retired Machinist.

[52 Ford]

Hello,

I'm new here. In college while training as a machinist we took welding. The ONLY thing I remember from those classes was that 7018?? was a general purpose rod and 6011 seemed to spatter a lot. That's it!

Over the last few years I have picked up a nice little Astromig Power Mig 110 with a large bottle of CO2 and a smaller one of Argon. Then I picked up a Century 230 amp model 110-110. I think I'm pretty much covered for whatever welding I need to do. Total investment $270.00.

I am a brutally bad stick welder but find I have a much easier time laying down a bead with the mig but it's only so capable.

I'll be posting a question about some issues I'm having with the Century so thanks for any help if you see the posting.

Stop Gap

Welcome! Watch weldingtipsandtricks on YouTube. You can pick up some good stuff there. Also, make sure you keep your low hydrogen rods (7018, etc) dry - theyll suck up moisture from the air and that causes a lot of problems. I keep a lot of 6011 and 6010 on hand as my "general purpose" rods. Easy arc starts and fast freeze.

Also, I missed it if you wrote it, but do yourself a favor and buy a good quality auto darkening hood.

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[Stop Gap]

Thanks for the advice. I do have two A/D hoods. One Century and one Chinese RealGear. As far as the quality of them goes, I don't know. I suspect even the Millers and Lincolns are all likely made in Welding Hood Factory No. 256 in China. That's what we get now days.

I actually got the RealGear at the recommendation of the local welding store who said he was getting good feedback from customers. I bought it because the batteries had died in the module of the Century though I have found some new ones and that will get the second hood back on line.

[smithdoor]

The problem with the 120 volt w welder they flip breaker a lot.
Some will use 120 volt 30 amp breaker.

Dave

Hello,

I'm new here. In college while training as a machinist we took welding. The ONLY thing I remember from those classes was that 7018?? was a general purpose rod and 6011 seemed to spatter a lot. That's it!

Over the last few years I have picked up a nice little Astromig Power Mig 110 with a large bottle of CO2 and a smaller one of Argon. Then I picked up a Century 230 amp model 110-110. I think I'm pretty much covered for whatever welding I need to do. Total investment $270.00.

I am a brutally bad stick welder but find I have a much easier time laying down a bead with the mig but it's only so capable.

I'll be posting a question about some issues I'm having with the Century so thanks for any help if you see the posting.

Stop Gap

[52 Ford]

Yep, welding puts a whole lot of strain on a 15 amp breaker - even a 20 amp breaker will trip if you're doing a lot of welding. It's not terrible, though (as long as you don't have to run across the house or shop to get to the panel).

I'm sure you know this, but - DONT USE A BIGGER BREAKER unless you up the wire size on the circuit. You need 10 gauge copper for a 30A, 125V circuit.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[Stop Gap]

Sorry to take so long to get back to these guys. Apparently I'm not being notified that I have responses. I will have to check my settings.

Anyway, my arc welder is a 240v, not 120v. It was overworking the breaker too so I ran a new 8 gauge wire on a 40amp breaker so problem solved. Should be enough juice there. I also made an 8 gauge extension cord out of cab tire wire, multi strand stuff. That takes care of the stick welder. The mig pops off too, often because I use a rather long extension cord. I will beef up some wiring and a breaker for that too.

[danielplace]

Yep, welding puts a whole lot of strain on a 15 amp breaker - even a 20 amp breaker will trip if you're doing a lot of welding. It's not terrible, though (as long as you don't have to run across the house or shop to get to the panel).

I'm sure you know this, but - DONT USE A BIGGER BREAKER unless you up the wire size on the circuit. You need 10 gauge copper for a 30A, 125V circuit.

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Then you have the welder and code argument that allows larger current limiting device than normal on the wire. You have to consider duty cycle of welder.

Possible you can have a 30 amp on #12 safely.

I do not like the idea at all and never would never intentionally wire something like that. Standard ampacities and wire sizes please.