Vulcan 220 Hot Star Setting and Verification

[Flyer58]

Hello all, I've been using my Vulcan 220 for MIG welding for several years now and always pleased with the results.

So while looking for a change I'm trying my hand at stick welding and having a bit of a problem with the welding rod immediately sticking when it contacts the steel surface. Mostly my errors but not totally convinced.

My question is can someone verify what the LCD displays for the amp draw when striking an arc with the HOT Start option set to anything above 0. I made a video to show what I think may be a problem with the Hot Start function on my 220.

With HOT Start selected it should give an initial burst of amperage (Percentage 1%-100%) increase over the selected amperage for the first second or two. Mine seems to be holding the selected base amps and not showing the increase. In this video I've added 6 (60%) for the Hot Start and as you can see it starts and stays stable at 71 while welding a bead from beginning to end. Additionally I don't notice any surge with the arc itself.

Can anyone verify if this is normal or should the amps displayed jump up for a second or two during start? I've watched dozens of videos with other brand welders and they all show an initial Hot Start amp increase but mine doesn't.

Let me know if you're getting an initial increase. I'm guessing other Vulcan stick welders with the Hot Start function are the same by design but not sure.

Cheers.

[Flyer58]

Well another quick test to double check the possible problem by using a multi meter clamped to the ground (-) cable and it showed a steady amperage during the welding process. Slightly lower amps but still not showing any Hot Start function at the beginning. When set to 60% it should add an additional 42 amps and read approximately 112 amps but again only for a very brief time.

[Rondo]

Does that unit have Arc Force? That would be more effective to prevent sticking.

[Flyer58]

Does that unit have Arc Force? That would be more effective to prevent sticking.

Yes it does and I've had it set to zero during the testing. I'll give it a try

Yesterday I tried two tests with Hot Start at 0 and then Hot Start at 10. The amp readings remained the same from start to finish but from my untrained eye the initial arc with the 10 setting seemed to throw out a lot more sparks for the first second or two. Again, Arc Force was 0.

I have an old fixed shade helmet plate I'm going to try to attach to my camera to get some video of the arc and my errors.

Thanks for the help. I'll run the Arc Force through it's scale and see what happens.

[Rondo]

Yes it does and I've had it set to zero during the testing. I'll give it a try

Yesterday I tried two tests with Hot Start at 0 and then Hot Start at 10. The amp readings remained the same from start to finish but from my untrained eye the initial arc with the 10 setting seemed to throw out a lot more sparks for the first second or two. Again, Arc Force was 0.

I have an old fixed shade helmet plate I'm going to try to attach to my camera to get some video of the arc and my errors.

Thanks for the help. I'll run the Arc Force through it's scale and see what happens.

Yeah, If you set Arc Force at 2/3 capacity you shouldn't be having any sticking problems. You can back it off for some rods like 7014 or 6013. Which type of rod are you having trouble with? Some of those machines don't have enough open circuit voltage to run 6010 or 6011 so if that's the case you will have problems with sticking and arc-outs. Good Luck !

[Sberry]

Ya, what rod and size? 70A is not hot enough to melt warm butter unless you are using a tiny rod.