Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: chrisgixer on 28 September 2013, 21:17:59
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Will this welder...
(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/9D4ABD59-E18A-4A05-B1A0-DEFC8B8C636A-15143-000004EB4899B7B3_zps7a321133.jpg)
...fry these electrics?
(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/2D4D5A14-6B02-44DB-B958-767E7EEA3DF9-15143-000004EB41813B98_zps9ccc6c1e.jpg)
I don't fancy their chances, but then, what do I know about either subject. :(
There are 3 other similar 4 gangs and the shed electrics running off the same fused socket. (Wince)
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Oh, and 3 fluorescent lights, and the loft eaves light run off it as well.
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If your welder has a 13A plug on it then you should be OK to plug it into a normal 13A socket ...... providing you're not on an extension on an extension etc ::)
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If your welder has a 13A plug on it then you should be OK to plug it into a normal 13A socket ...... providing you're not on an extension on an extension etc ::)
How about just on one extension. :-[
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There is only one way to find out........ ;)
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There is only one way to find out........ ;)
Oi, this isn't the TB schools garaging (if that's even a word)
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If your welder has a 13A plug on it then you should be OK to plug it into a normal 13A socket ...... providing you're not on an extension on an extension etc ::)
How about just on one extension. :-[
Only if it's a decent sized cable & fully unwound from the drum ;)
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Whatever happens you are limited to 13A in the switch fuse, but that welder really needs it's own socket if you want it to be able to work at full efficiency.
What size is that incoming cable to the switch fuse, and is it a radial or spurred off a ring?
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Cable is big. No idea, guess its a spur, there's only one "in"cable, there's no return.
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Cable is big. No idea, guess its a spur, there's only one "in"cable, there's no return.
What size breaker is protecting that circuit?
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Cable is big. No idea, guess its a spur, there's only one "in"cable, there's no return.
What size breaker is protecting that circuit?
Can't tell without pulling each breaker, which I could do...? Which is the most likely? I don't want to reset every electrical device in the house if I can avoid it. ;D
Its an old consumer unit with fuses. (5 amp is replaced with a breaker)
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Buy a pack of 13A fuses.
Unplug anything else that you can.
Wait til daylight
have at it.
If you don't blow any fuses, check all the plugs/cables to see if any are dangerously hot.
Then you're good to go.
I run a 200A stick welder over a 50ft extension into a shed - really should be a 16A supply.
If I run at full power, and the rod sticks, I blow the fuse if I have the stereo running as well.
There's two fluorescents running on the same circuit.
If I use the bandsaw, angle grinder, or drill press, I switch the welder off - I work alone, so only use one tool at once any way.
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Can't tell without pulling each breaker, which I could do...? Which is the most likely? I don't want to reset every electrical device in the house if I can avoid it. ;D
Its an old consumer unit with fuses. (5 amp is replaced with a breaker)
If the incoming cable is 2.5mm² then I would expect to find it on a 20A breaker, and if it is 1.5mm² then that breaker cannot be any more than 10A.
If it is the case that the incoming feed is 2.5mm², then I would replace the switch fuse with a double (or triple) socket.
If it's 1.5mm², you'll pop the breaker (assuming the correct size breaker is fitted for the cable).
I've just recovered from this weeks chemo session, so I'm quite happy to pop over and see it in the flesh to ensure your garage doesn't go the same way as Jaime's ;D
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That's a very kind offer, thankyou, but you've got way more important things to worry about. Recovery etc. :y
So if I check that cable, and its 2.5mil(?) I could just fit a 3 gang socket?
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That's a very kind offer, thankyou, but you've got way more important things to worry about. Recovery etc. :y
So if I check that cable, and its 2.5mil(?) I could just fit a 3 gang socket?
Yes, but please make sure that the appropriate size breaker is fitted as well (20A for 2.5mm² radial).
Just out of curiosity, where does that bit of T&E (Twin & Earth) come from that is lashed in to that 4 gang trailer?
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That's a very kind offer, thankyou, but you've got way more important things to worry about. Recovery etc. :y
So if I check that cable, and its 2.5mil(?) I could just fit a 3 gang socket?
Getting out, helping mates and generally keeping the brain cells occupied is probably the best way of promoting recovery. :y
It looks as if two cables are wired into the end of the 4-way strip. I'd take KW up on his offer if I was you, your electrics look capable of frying themselves without the help of the welder...........
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Sorry, do you mean the cable with single nail clip heading up the wall, next to the feed for the original fused single socket?
That goes on to feed the other two 4gangs and the shed sockets.
So, main cable from consumer unit down the wall to the fused switch>plug socket next to it>4gang> then the cable I think you mean goes from the 4gang to the next 4gang>to 4gang> to shed.
:-[ in my defence, it was inherited from the previous owners.
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That's a very kind offer, thankyou, but you've got way more important things to worry about. Recovery etc. :y
So if I check that cable, and its 2.5mil(?) I could just fit a 3 gang socket?
Getting out, helping mates and generally keeping the brain cells occupied is probably the best way of promoting recovery. :y
It looks as if two cables are wired into the end of the 4-way strip. I'd take KW up on his offer if I was you, your electrics look capable of frying themselves without the help of the welder...........
It's been there's for 15 years and has taken some abuse. But it is concerning me tbh.
As a layman I don't see the difference between those 4 gangs and a pair of twins. Being honest. :-\
But then that's why I'm posting.
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So, main cable from consumer unit down the wall to the fused switch>plug socket next to it>4gang> then the cable I think you mean goes from the 4gang to the next 4gang>to 4gang> to shed.
Got the picture now :y
As a layman I don't see the difference between those 4 gangs and a pair of twins. Being honest. :-\
Because it's illegal (and also potentially quite dangerous) to spur off a spur, however your only saving grace in that setup as it is now is that you have the 13A switch fuse in place (although the break current of a 13A fuse is around 16A give or take).
Seriously Chris, I'm quite happy to pop over and take a look because how it is wired at the moment is something that I wouldn't consider even as a temporary.
I have plenty of T&E in my garage in various sizes, so cable replacement (if needed) will be free.
My labour will be a cuppa (white with 2), and if we have to run a new cable back to the DB (fusebox) then you'll have to be the cable ferret.
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Getting out, helping mates and generally keeping the brain cells occupied is probably the best way of promoting recovery. :y
You're not wrong there Andy :y
PS
I know where I screwed up on your S3, the ROM I installed was a European ROM. This doesn't affect handset functionality at all, but KIES (which is a POS anyway) objects as it can't see the correct CSC for the UK.
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There's always Monday? (curry night ;) )
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That's a 135 amp welder (allegedly). My 160 amp Murex Mig runs OK on 13amp but that is pushing it (official fuse rating is 16amp).
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That's a very kind offer, thankyou, but you've got way more important things to worry about. Recovery etc. :y
So if I check that cable, and its 2.5mil(?) I could just fit a 3 gang socket?
Getting out, helping mates and generally keeping the brain cells occupied is probably the best way of promoting recovery. :y
It looks as if two cables are wired into the end of the 4-way strip. I'd take KW up on his offer if I was you, your electrics look capable of frying themselves without the help of the welder...........
It's been there's for 15 years and has taken some abuse. But it is concerning me tbh.
As a layman I don't see the difference between those 4 gangs and a pair of twins. Being honest. :-\
But then that's why I'm posting.
a really bad thing to do is to mix solid copper conductors and flexible stranded conductors and stick them into the same screw terminal. Flexible stranded conductors shuffle out of way leaving all the conductors loose in the terminal which then overheat.
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135 A is about the limit of what you can run off a 13A supply (although, as dbdb has implied, you can get away with a significant overload of such a circuit for short periods).
Assuming that switched spur box is fed from a spur off a ring main or a dedicated circuit on the CU and not another bodge, it should be capable of powering the welder. I'm guessing this was the original garage socket and the rest have been "tacked on"?
The only thing that would concern me, as AndyH has eluded is that, since the extra sockets have been added in a haphazard and illegal way, I'd also wonder about the standard of wiring employed, and we can't see that from the photo. I think I'd be happier plugging the welder into the socket next to the spur box, eliminating all the added wiring. Either way, the world won't end if it doesn't work, so try it.
I would, however, take Andyroid up on his kind offer, since I doubt that garage supply has an earth leakage breaker, and they are advisable, really, if using hand held power tools in such an environment, as are proper MCBs rather than wired fuses.
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Having seen the electrical setup in there, I think you're right to be concerned chrisgixer, as its clear its been added to haphazardly. Who knows what dangers lurk in there.
Long term, I'd consider rewiring the garage with its own ring main from the CU, if you are going to be running high current devices like welders and plasma cutters.
Short term, I think I'd be running that welder via a good quality* extension lead from one of the house ring mains, eg a kitchen socket.
I may be being a touch over cautious currently, but I think there are too many unknowns there - I think I may have mentioned that a while ago?
* Not the shite you get from Supermarkets, or those wind up types. I'd probably get 15-20m of 240v 16A cable, shove a rubberised plug and socket on each end.
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Having seen the electrical setup in there, I think you're right to be concerned chrisgixer, as its clear its been added to haphazardly. Who knows what dangers lurk in there.
Long term, I'd consider rewiring the garage with its own ring main from the CU, if you are going to be running high current devices like welders and plasma cutters.
Short term, I think I'd be running that welder via a good quality* extension lead from one of the house ring mains, eg a kitchen socket.
I may be being a touch over cautious currently, but I think there are too many unknowns there - I think I may have mentioned that a while ago?
* Not the shite you get from Supermarkets, or those wind up types. I'd probably get 15-20m of 240v 16A cable, shove a rubberised plug and socket on each end.
No such thing where electricity is concerned IMHO, especially with the kind of loads we are talking about in this example :y :y
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Homebase/B&Q sell the cables off the roll :y
Have experience of the point Andy H made regarding the terminals... the chap who rewired our house (not me btw ::)) didn't tighten some of the earth terminals in some of the sockets :o
Nearly lost the garage to that... fortunately as the plug melted the pins touched and tripped the breaker. We were home at the time, and it didn't take long to locate the problem, but at the time of unpluging, the plug was just starting to smoulder :o
Checked all the other sockets and found similar with three of them...
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Having seen the electrical setup in there, I think you're right to be concerned chrisgixer, as its clear its been added to haphazardly. Who knows what dangers lurk in there.
Long term, I'd consider rewiring the garage with its own ring main from the CU, if you are going to be running high current devices like welders and plasma cutters.
Short term, I think I'd be running that welder via a good quality* extension lead from one of the house ring mains, eg a kitchen socket.
I may be being a touch over cautious currently, but I think there are too many unknowns there - I think I may have mentioned that a while ago?
* Not the shite you get from Supermarkets, or those wind up types. I'd probably get 15-20m of 240v 16A cable, shove a rubberised plug and socket on each end.
Why? Ive got one, its rated at 13amp fully unwound and something like 5amp wound and is 25m in length. Its a lot tidier and i never have to spend ages tring to get all the knots out of the cable.
I noticed the other week, Tesco do something similar to mine, a kinda metal tripod with a drum attached, same kind of ratings, about £30 iirc
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Being wound tight probably does the cable no good in the long run :-\
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I have a cable only extension, problem there. :y I can run that from the house.
Now I need to read up on basic welding. I have a mask. Get some gauntlets. Overalls, and did I see the master in a leather apron? Lordy :o
Sus the gas regulator and what pressure it should be, blah...
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Leaving the cable wound up on a real, I'm told, means its effectively a coil. In both senses of the word. Electrically, that means some sort of resistance or magnetic field or some weird voodoo magic that isn't good. As you can tell, I don't know exactly why.
Strictly speaking, an extension should be fully unwound then wound back in again each time it's used.
I've seen evidence of this on my 50metre macro special, where the outer insulation has melted very slightly, so the inner coils had juuuuust started to stick together.
...either that or it had been left out in the sun all day, which is equally likely. ;D
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http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php (http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php)
:y
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That garage wiring looks like an electrical nightmare.. Did they get Bodgeit & Scarper Electricals in to wire it up? ;D
As for welding clothing - t-shirt and some gardening gloves. You'll be fine. The burns heal quite quickly... ;) (At a minimum, long sleeve heavy cotton clothing, long gloves or welding gauntlets, welding mask and I know some folks who wear safety glasses under the mask as a final layer of protection for when a little ball of molten metal jumps behind the mask and bounces around like a possessed firefly)
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Getting out, helping mates and generally keeping the brain cells occupied is probably the best way of promoting recovery. :y
You're not wrong there Andy :y
PS
I know where I screwed up on your S3, the ROM I installed was a European ROM. This doesn't affect handset functionality at all, but KIES (which is a POS anyway) objects as it can't see the correct CSC for the UK.
Thanks Mark. The phone works fine so I don't see that you 'screwed up' (especially given the quantity of morphine you were dosed up on at the time)
I still haven't found any spare time to look into alternative ROMs but I would like to know what I need to do to when I di find time :y
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That garage wiring looks like an electrical nightmare.. Did they get Bodgeit & Scarper Electricals in to wire it up? ;D
As for welding clothing - t-shirt and some gardening gloves. You'll be fine. The burns heal quite quickly... ;) (At a minimum, long sleeve heavy cotton clothing, long gloves or welding gauntlets, welding mask and I know some folks who wear safety glasses under the mask as a final layer of protection for when a little ball of molten metal jumps behind the mask and bounces around like a possessed firefly)
Yes I've heard tell of these mental balls of molten metal. Guffer mentioned the ones that fall down the back your gloves/gauntlets and burn through your sleeve.
I presume once the setting are sorted these are less likely :-\ :(
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Why? Ive got one, its rated at 13amp fully unwound
1) The cable takes a battering when being fully unwound
2) They tend to be so cheap and nasty, that their specs leave little leeway
3) That was what the fire brigade thought caused my problem.
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Thanks Mark. The phone works fine so I don't see that you 'screwed up' (especially given the quantity of morphine you were dosed up on at the time)
I still haven't found any spare time to look into alternative ROMs but I would like to know what I need to do to when I di find time :y
You need a program called Odin, and an insecure kernel......and that's it.
I have a suitable kernel here that includes ClockWorkMod recovery and SuperUser so you can make a complete "ghost" image of the handset in case you kill it along the way, I'll put a quick "how to" together along with the required files in the next couple of days for you bud :y
As far as custom ROM's go, I tend to stick to Samsung based ROM's and I'd recommend OmegaROM as a good starting point as you dictate what the default system apps will be (eg, Facebook, etc) rather than your service provider (in other words, no useless bloatware taking up space).
You can also repartition the internal SD card to regain up to 3GB of internal storage dependant on system configuration, but we're probably better off saving that one for another day.
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Andyroid, thanks for the pointers. As we seem to be hijacking chrisgixers's garage thread I have started a new one http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=118279.msg1498985#new (http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=118279.msg1498985#new)
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Ooff don't worry about that Andy, this is gen dis after all. :y
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So do you keep any gas bottles in your garage Chris? ::)
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How long is the cable extention?, I personally think you should start again from scratch. May be able to get my hands on some 3 core (4mm SWA Amoured) for a price of a beer if its of use to you, as long as its not hundreds of meters. ;)
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So do you keep any gas bottles in your garage Chris? ::)
Aargon. :)
Oh, and a can of liter gas. Best I can offer you there Digger. :)
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....
Oh, and a can of liter gas. .....
??? ???
Is that, by any chance, something similar to lighter gas? ::) ::) ::)
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Oh, and a can of liter gas. .....
??? ???
Is that, by any chance, something similar to lighter gas? ::) ::) ::)
No, it's just a lighter gas than Argon, at least that's what I think he's on about... :-\ I doubt he knows what he's on about himself really!! ::) ;D ;D ;D
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It'll be hot air. TB lost all his. :)
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How long is the cable extention?, I personally think you should start again from scratch. May be able to get my hands on some 3 core (4mm SWA Amoured) for a price of a beer if its of use to you, as long as its not hundreds of meters. ;)
For the garage? Or as an extension? :-\ they're right you know, no idea. ;D
Think I've got a real in the garage of something. Looks like the stuff they use on a cooker. :-\
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Those welders are known to have a few issues (check out mig-wleding.co.uk).
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Why? Ive got one, its rated at 13amp fully unwound
1) The cable takes a battering when being fully unwound
2) They tend to be so cheap and nasty, that their specs leave little leeway
3) That was what the fire brigade thought caused my problem.
Point taken on 1 (if you hang it up out the way everytime after use and dont leave if on the floor where you can walk on it, dump other items on top of it) & 3. Agree with 2 on the cheapo ones, good quality ones (like mine....got it off an electrician years ago...and he never bought cheap always quality)
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Today, I are be mostly, welding!
(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/6B772E7B-969A-4953-92D1-DDB5F0BF378C-912-000000348B147FCB_zpsf1d3f1f5.jpg)
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And filled on one of the holes, and ground it flat. :)
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With help from Ex Taxi Al. ;)
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With help from Ex Taxi Al. ;)
...and all of those here of course. :-[ :y
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Keep practising, I would guess that is pretty thick steel and hence not good for practising on (as you need to learn to observe the weld pool and penetration and the welder you have wont penetrate a big thickness without prep work) so find some 1.6-2mm steel plate.
Remember, if you cant get good at welding then get good at grinding. ;D ;D ;D
And for grinding, dump the hard discs and get some 40 or 60 grit flap discs.
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Thick is not the word for what Chris was trying to weld together - it was two chunks of ~4mm plate with no chamfer or prep.. I think he probably did well considering how far outside the operating range of the welder he was..
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Yes it was 4mm plate x2, and was starting to struggle once going back over a weld, to fill in a slight gap and just to see, as the first weld had increased the thickness over all. You can see the first weld on the lower right is quite clean, compared to the second over the top on weld, on the left, which has small splatter surrounding it. Same settings.
After fiddling with only 3 adjustments, power dial set to max, two switches giving a combination of 4 settings for wire thickness of 0.8mm , and wire tension backed off to almost zero as it was pushing the torch away, it did give a decent results, but only if the torch was moved at the right speed (obviously, but a slight variation of torch speed was very marked)
So it did seem to be the limit of the machine. But with the wire set, I guess only tension and power need adjusting for thinner materials...?
It must have taken 7 or 8 attempts to get there, as the pic, the first leaving one of those dead worms you see on the patio after heavy rain that's then dried up in the sun ;D which just brushed off with a glove. ;D
Al said the colour of the residual light changed remarkably as we dialled in on the right settings, with purple/blue being evident on a decent weld, compared to yellow originally, and lots of sparks. I could see none of this behind the mask of course, as everything is dark green, just the intensity of a properly white hot weld being evident when all was well. :)
And talking of the mask, that took some fiddling as well, and trust that it will actually change when you strike on and not blind me. That took several attempts to properly stare at the weld pool with confidence. They are good those solar sell masks, it seems to me. Almost didn't notice it changing as it reacted to the changing light conditions. Impressive. :y
Good advice on here too. Btw. Thankyou. :y
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Did I mention that I'm slightly jealous you have a welder? :-[
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After fiddling with only 3 adjustments, power dial set to max, two switches giving a combination of 4 settings for wire thickness of 0.8mm , and wire tension backed off to almost zero as it was pushing the torch away, it did give a decent results, but only if the torch was moved at the right speed (obviously, but a slight variation of torch speed was very marked)
So it did seem to be the limit of the machine. But with the wire set, I guess only tension and power need adjusting for thinner materials...?
Ahh.. The two switches sound like current, and you want them set to max. for this metal. The rotary dial is actually the wire feed rate, I reckon, and the fact that you say the wire was pushing you away from the work suggests you had it too high. The wire shouldn't touch the work once an arc is established. The feed rate needs to be adjusted so that, at the current you have selected, an arc is continuously formed between the emerging wire and the work. i.e. the wire is basically being deposited as filler at the same rate as it's emerging from the torch.
Back this control off until you get the "fried eggs" sound and you should do better. :y
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If you had to back the wire tension off you have issues.
What you have done is effectively allow some slip (not good) in the drive wheels to overcome the feed rate being to high, wind the feed rate down to get it right.
If you set the tension pretty high and then weld whilst adjusting the feed rate you will get it setup quite quickly.
Most welders also partialy compensate the feed rate based on current for the metal type used, the feed rate stays pretty constant setting wise no matter what the power setting.
The yellow coloured arc indicates either a contamination on the work piece (e.g. the surface not being clean) or the shield gas was not flowing enough/at all
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Did I mention that I'm slightly jealous you have a welder? :-[
A man can never have to many power tools..........they are the equivalent of shoes with women
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The feed rate didn't seem to change with dial settings, but I guess a reasonable amount of tension would then give the machine some resitance, thereby controlling the feed rate more readily :-\
Funny you should mention shoes ::)
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The feed rate didn't seem to change with dial settings, but I guess a reasonable amount of tension would then give the machine some resitance, thereby controlling the feed rate more readily :-\
Funny you should mention shoes ::)
The tension just needs to be sufficient to move the wire with no slip. Using slip at the feed mechanism to slow the wire feed will just cause it to wear, and you'll have a horribly inconsistent feed rate.
The feed rate adjustment is fairly subtle when observing the wire, but makes a big difference to the weld when you learn to recognise the signs. As Mark said, feed rate is also modulated by the current drawn so until you're drawing amps you don't see the "true" feed rate.
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The feed rate didn't seem to change with dial settings, but I guess a reasonable amount of tension would then give the machine some resitance, thereby controlling the feed rate more readily :-\
Funny you should mention shoes ::)
Is it a new welder?
I know there known to have a naff wire feed setup (as per the SIP ones)
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The other thing slip does is take the thin copper coat off the steel wire and results in the tip burning and poorer arc due to higher resistance.
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Ok more fiddling required then :y
I did think of getting Al to watch the feed and see if it was slipping, but given the lack of room in that garage, didnt think he'd want sparks bouncing off him.
There's nothing to say what the dial does, and could not tell a differance between max and min feed while welding.
Might see if there's PDF for that welder. It's not new. It's Shakengs old one. Came to me via Guffer, bless them both. :y
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I suppose it's possible that the wire feed speed controller has died and that it's running on maximum speed all the time. It'd probably be a straightforward fix if it has. I would try running a few straight beads of weld, each with the feed rate at different positions. You should see and hear the difference.
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Thats a possible Kevin, as said there a machine thats rated at the same level as a Chinese made watch for a quid from a coloured man walking the beaches of Benidorm
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Thats a possible Kevin, as said there a machine thats rated at the same level as a Chinese made watch for a quid from a coloured man walking the beaches of Benidorm
.. and, following a quick Google, there are a few reports of faults whereby the feed goes flat-out regardless.
Chris, What I'd do is release the tension on the wire feed so the wire won't move, then power it up with the side panel open and pull the trigger while turning the speed control. See if it makes any obvious difference to the rate of rotation of the feed wheel.
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Just picked up on this thread. Is that the welder I gave Guffer Chris? If so it ran happily on a 13amp socket and didn't blow any fuses. I used it to do a lot of welding on a VW Beetle. :y
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Did I mention that I'm slightly jealous you have a welder? :-[
A man can never have to many power tools..........they are the equivalent of shoes with women
Indeed, you know what my next toy will be once I have everything else sorted (Mrs TB says I can't have any toys until garage is rebuilt - the kitchen/hall isn't big enough)
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Did I mention that I'm slightly jealous you have a welder? :-[
A man can never have to many power tools..........they are the equivalent of shoes with women
Indeed, you know what my next toy will be once I have everything else sorted (Mrs TB says I can't have any toys until garage is rebuilt - the kitchen/hall isn't big enough)
I don't think you are safe with power tools at present ::) ::)
You have to earn trust again :-X :-X :D
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that little welder will be fine on a 13 amp socket :y
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Just picked up on this thread. Is that the welder I gave Guffer Chris? If so it ran happily on a 13amp socket and didn't blow any fuses. I used it to do a lot of welding on a VW Beetle. :y
Yup it is, donted as I had no further use for it. Oh wait there is an XJR on the drive......... :-X
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that little welder will be fine on a 13 amp socket :y
Oh absolutely it will. On a "normal" 13amp socket. But as you can see from the pic at the start, the ones in my garage absolutely are NOT normal.
I ran a single plug extension from the normal house electrics to run it. ;)
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that little welder will be fine on a 13 amp socket :y
It's not about it blowing fuses, the problem is the electrical supply that is providing the power to the welder.
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Did I mention that I'm slightly jealous you have a welder? :-[
A man can never have to many power tools..........they are the equivalent of shoes with women
Indeed, you know what my next toy will be once I have everything else sorted (Mrs TB says I can't have any toys until garage is rebuilt - the kitchen/hall isn't big enough)
I don't think you are safe with power tools at present ::) ::)
You have to earn trust again :-X :-X :D
And I'm sure that Mrs TB quite likes the shape of the kitchen/hall as it is, without any unplanned modifications!! :o :)
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And with a decent supply behind it, you will occasionaly blow fuses as the inrush will age them pretty fast.
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(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/6B772E7B-969A-4953-92D1-DDB5F0BF378C-912-000000348B147FCB_zpsf1d3f1f5.jpg)
Watching Master weld my Pre cats I noticed the width of the weld laid. Probably 7 or 8mm wide.
The weld in the pic, although neat enough, is probably only 3mm wide. 4 at the most. Does that also point to too thick a material for the machine?
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As a guide the holes are about 6mm dia.
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Oh the metal thickness is way beyond the machines capability.
I was laying a fillet down so was slightly wider then I would normaly do on a butt joint.
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I only ever used it on VW floorpan thickness panels, and it was fine for that, but really not much use (
for anyone ::)) for anything much thicker. :y
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Oh the metal thickness is way beyond the machines capability.
In that case, clearly, I'm much better than I thought I was. 8)
;D
If only I knew/understood what I'd done. :-\ :D
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Your laying a bead down but as the machines power is to low for the metal thickness its not penetrating and hence the ridge.
Laying a bead is one thing, laying a well penetrated bead is another.
Do you not have anything thinner?
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Yes I have a tigra exhaust I can weld back together. It's actually in very good nic as the Lady has now retired and the car is always garaged. Even the clamps where rust free.
It failed through metal fatigue where the pipe enters the rear of the back box. The weld is attached to the pipe, but metal fatigue has torn the surrounding metal work. So access aside, I'll see if I could have re welded it with a best guess at the settings, rather than replacing with the Eternal one it has now.
Then generally cock about with it. That's the sort of practice I really do need. :y
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I should add, it's the original exhaust from a 98 car, so although visibly ok on the outside, it will be much thinner internally.
Only one way to find out. :)
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Of you go then... ;D
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I should add, it's the original exhaust from a 98 car, so although visibly ok on the outside, it will be much thinner internally.
Only one way to find out. :)
There is a fuel tank back there as well ::),just saying :P ;)
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I
hope think the exhaust has already been replaced and is off the car ::)
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Had to stop play, H says the lights in the house where flickering on and off. :o
(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/3CEC62BF-4447-4C0A-8010-A67AB97AE259-4784-00000159F5EFD7E9_zpsd746cc5a.jpg)
Similar story, not enough penetration. :(
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Had to stop play, H says the lights in the house where flickering on and off. :o
Similar story, not enough penetration. :(
:o :o :o :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Back on topic, what is the problem with welding? ;D
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Had to stop play, H says the lights in the house where flickering on and off. :o
Similar story, not enough penetration. :(
:o :o :o :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Back on topic, what is the problem with welding? ;D
Power. Need more POWEEEEEER ;D
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Similar story, not enough penetration. :(
Never mind, keep practicing your penetration skills and I'm sure you'll achieve full satisfaction in due course!! ;)
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Our lights have been flickering for a few days :(
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What you need to do junk all them plug sockets and wire in a junction box--thats what me and my dad did in my
workshop-its got trips in too :y then you run plug point/lights from there :y I got 4x fluorescent lights and a 185 mig(courtesy of work ;) and when using it my 3x 500watt heat lamps and welder all at same time-no problems at all-your welder should handle 3-4mm steel but wont welt tin foil with no power :(
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Have you tried adjusting the feed rate?
Just thinking, you have a series of blobs there. Is that because you can't sustain a longer arc or because you are welding in short bursts?
You'd be better off laying down a few more beads on a flatish section and getting the feed rate right. You should, when welding, be able to identify a "pool" of molten material into which the wire is dipping as it feeds from the torch. Look at that is happening to the wire relative to the pool.
If the wire is "stabbing" into this area giving a series of loud cracks and lots of sparks, the wire is feeding a little fast. If it hits the metal, an arc forms and then the wire end retreats quickly back into the torch and has a tendency to extinguish the arc or weld itself to the nozzle, the feed is too slow.
If you get a soft hum, no spattering or cracking sounds, a continuous arc and the wire is hovering above the pool, you are nearly there but a little slow still. The wire feed is keeping up with the arc and you are trying to do spray transfer. What you want is to feed a little quicker so the wire dips into the pool and retracts over and over again with the "fried egg" sound accompanying it.
Once you've got to that stage, having a decent, constant arc will give you more heat than you are currently getting, I recon.
The next thing you want to practice is to watch the pool and where the wire is dipping into it and move the pool along the course of your desired weld. Easier done on a single flat piece of scrap to start with, before moving on to something like that exhaust, IMHO.
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What you need to do junk all them plug sockets and wire in a junction box--thats what me and my dad did in my
workshop-its got trips in too :y then you run plug point/lights from there :y I got 4x fluorescent lights and a 185 mig(courtesy of work ;) and when using it my 3x 500watt heat lamps and welder all at same time-no problems at all-your welder should handle 3-4mm steel but wont welt tin foil with no power :(
Not quite that straightforward, as we don't know the cable size from CU to garage, or if its a ring or spur.
So it needs looking at properly :)
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Flickering house lights is probably something you'll have to get used to. You're going to get a little voltage drop when a 13A load suddenly kicks off, it's just a little more noticeable when the current is hammering up and down as the arc changes. SO, put the trousers back on and get out there for more practice. ::)
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What you need to do junk all them plug sockets and wire in a junction box--thats what me and my dad did in my
workshop-its got trips in too :y then you run plug point/lights from there :y I got 4x fluorescent lights and a 185 mig(courtesy of work ;) and when using it my 3x 500watt heat lamps and welder all at same time-no problems at all-your welder should handle 3-4mm steel but wont welt tin foil with no power :(
Not quite that straightforward, as we don't know the cable size from CU to garage, or if its a ring or spur.
So it needs looking at properly :)
we ran cable under ground in armoured cable--no flickering light in house :y
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What you need to do junk all them plug sockets and wire in a junction box--thats what me and my dad did in my
workshop-its got trips in too :y then you run plug point/lights from there :y I got 4x fluorescent lights and a 185 mig(courtesy of work ;) and when using it my 3x 500watt heat lamps and welder all at same time-no problems at all-your welder should handle 3-4mm steel but wont welt tin foil with no power :(
Not quite that straightforward, as we don't know the cable size from CU to garage, or if its a ring or spur.
So it needs looking at properly :)
What I want, is somebody else to look at that knows wtf their doing ;D
AndyRoid has kindly offered to pop over, when he's feeling well enough. Bless him :-[
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Flickering house lights is probably something you'll have to get used to. You're going to get a little voltage drop when a 13A load suddenly kicks off, it's just a little more noticeable when the current is hammering up and down as the arc changes. SO, put the trousers back on and get out there for more practice. ::)
She's hidden them ;D
I can't get that dial to make an ounce of difference tbh. Experimenting with holding the torch at various lengths away from the job seems to have more affect. :-\
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as for your welds-turn wire speed down --too fast for your heat setting--thats why lots of spatter ;) and practice and practice and---well you know the rest---good going so far though mate--keep torch at constant distance-or lose gas shield keep at it :y :y :y what helmet you using?
maybe you got too dark a lense---number 9 will be fine--number 10/11 too dark-more for mma
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What I want, is somebody else to look at that knows wtf their doing ;D
AndyRoid has kindly offered to pop over, when he's feeling well enough. Bless him :-[
I'd take him up on that, if I were you, but I'd be happy to take a look if you want your mind put at rest in the meantime, once I've finished my week of flying round Scotland trying to avoid the sticky-up bits of land.
She's hidden them ;D
Offs! ::)
I can't get that dial to make an ounce of difference tbh. Experimenting with holding the torch at various lengths away from the job seems to have more affect. :-\
Hmm. I suspect the speed controller is fubar. Should be an easy fix, though.
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Still using the socket in the kitchen :-\
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What I want, is somebody else to look at that knows wtf their doing ;D
AndyRoid has kindly offered to pop over, when he's feeling well enough. Bless him :-[
I'd take him up on that, if I were you, but I'd be happy to take a look if you want your mind put at rest in the meantime, once I've finished my week of flying round Scotland trying to avoid the sticky-up bits of land.
She's hidden them ;D
Offs! ::)
I can't get that dial to make an ounce of difference tbh. Experimenting with holding the torch at various lengths away from the job seems to have more affect. :-\
Hmm. I suspect the speed controller is fubar. Should be an easy fix, though.
RS should have one
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Still using the socket in the kitchen :-\
Yep.
A spark landed on my head, and I could smell me burning. ;D
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What I want, is somebody else to look at that knows wtf their doing ;D
AndyRoid has kindly offered to pop over, when he's feeling well enough. Bless him :-[
I'd take him up on that, if I were you, but I'd be happy to take a look if you want your mind put at rest in the meantime, once I've finished my week of flying round Scotland trying to avoid the sticky-up bits of land.
She's hidden them ;D
Offs! ::)
I can't get that dial to make an ounce of difference tbh. Experimenting with holding the torch at various lengths away from the job seems to have more affect. :-\
Hmm. I suspect the speed controller is fubar. Should be an easy fix, though.
He's pencilled me in for my next off shift, if suitable. :y
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What I want, is somebody else to look at that knows wtf their doing ;D
AndyRoid has kindly offered to pop over, when he's feeling well enough. Bless him :-[
I'd take him up on that, if I were you, but I'd be happy to take a look if you want your mind put at rest in the meantime, once I've finished my week of flying round Scotland trying to avoid the sticky-up bits of land.
She's hidden them ;D
Offs! ::)
I can't get that dial to make an ounce of difference tbh. Experimenting with holding the torch at various lengths away from the job seems to have more affect. :-\
Hmm. I suspect the speed controller is fubar. Should be an easy fix, though.
Agreed, as it did control speed when I had it. :y
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Is there any point me looking inside the case at the dial?
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Is there any point me looking inside the case at the dial?
It may be fairly simple to test with a multimeter Chris. :y
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Is there any point me looking inside the case at the dial?
It may be fairly simple to test with a multimeter Chris. :y
So no then, given my lack of experience with electwickth. ;D
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He's pencilled me in for my next off shift, if suitable. :y
You're still on Chris, probably from next Fri/Sat onwards based on how I react to Tuesday's upcoming chemo :y
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He's pencilled me in for my next off shift, if suitable. :y
You're still on Chris, probably from next Fri/Sat onwards based on how I react to Tuesday's upcoming chemo :y
Best of luck with treatment.
Look forward to seeing you when your feeling better. :y
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2woody was down today. He confirmed the speed dial for the wire feed inactive. Stuck on a fast setting.
Gas setting was too low I think. :-\ regulator adjusted. Quick blast and it did lay a nice thick heavy weld. He used a SSSSS (best I can do on a keyboard) sort of figure of 8 type pattern with the torch. Big chunky weld on that test piece I used, and LOADS more heat has gone through the metal. It's all gone blue. :y
Anyway, its all set up. All I have to do is hit the button for engine mounts. :)
He'll be back down again in a couple of months to sort out the mess then. ;D
Thanks 2woody. :y
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Busy day then and not even friday :o
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Busy day then and not even friday :o
Yep, Friday tomorrow.
Although do you mean 2 woody? I think he had a longer day than I did tbh. :-\
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Busy day then and not even friday :o
Yep, Friday tomorrow.
Although do you mean 2 woody? I think he had a longer day than I did tbh. :-\
That's the price he pays for living in the back of beyond.. ;D
Now all you need is to get that speed controller fixed.. and that engine in that car ;)
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2woody was down today. He confirmed the speed dial for the wire feed inactive. Stuck on a fast setting.
That would explain my issues while using it (and the burn marks from the hot metal balls which managed to find their way inside my gloves :-[)
I just thought it was me :-[
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Power. Need more POWEEEEEER ;D
A new CU and a dedicated feed to the garage will sort that.
Not quite that straightforward, as we don't know the cable size from CU to garage, or if its a ring or spur.
The feed is 1.5mm² T&E which has been spurred off of one of the ring circuits :o
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Power. Need more POWEEEEEER ;D
A new CU and a dedicated feed to the garage will sort that.
Not quite that straightforward, as we don't know the cable size from CU to garage, or if its a ring or spur.
The feed is 1.5mm² T&E which has been spurred off of one of the ring circuits :o
Does it glow when he arcs up? ;D
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Power. Need more POWEEEEEER ;D
A new CU and a dedicated feed to the garage will sort that.
Not quite that straightforward, as we don't know the cable size from CU to garage, or if its a ring or spur.
The feed is 1.5mm² T&E which has been spurred off of one of the ring circuits :o
Does it glow when he arcs up? ;D
No, because he uses an extension lead plugged into the kitchen. ::)
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Power. Need more POWEEEEEER ;D
A new CU and a dedicated feed to the garage will sort that.
Not quite that straightforward, as we don't know the cable size from CU to garage, or if its a ring or spur.
The feed is 1.5mm² T&E which has been spurred off of one of the ring circuits :o
Does it glow when he arcs up? ;D
No, because he uses an extension lead plugged into the kitchen. ::)
Probably for the best. We don't want a rerun of TuBys garage incident do we.
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2woody was down today. He confirmed the speed dial for the wire feed inactive. Stuck on a fast setting.
If you want me to have a look at the wire feed controller, drop it round and I'll happily add it to the back of my queue of unfinished projects see if I can fix it. :y
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Power. Need more POWEEEEEER ;D
A new CU and a dedicated feed to the garage will sort that.
Not quite that straightforward, as we don't know the cable size from CU to garage, or if its a ring or spur.
The feed is 1.5mm² T&E which has been spurred off of one of the ring circuits :o
Does it glow when he arcs up? ;D
No, because he uses an extension lead plugged into the kitchen. ::)
Probably for the best. We don't want a rerun of TuBys garage incident do we.
The extension lead is orange of that helps. Simulates any "glow" in the electrical dept. for those piro types. ;)
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2woody was down today. He confirmed the speed dial for the wire feed inactive. Stuck on a fast setting.
If you want me to have a look at the wire feed controller, drop it round and I'll happily add it to the back of my queue of unfinished projects see if I can fix it. :y
Well now there's a conundrum. Should I bring it over and get it fixed and working proper, or add in another variable that I can bollards up...? ;D
;) :y
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Now there is a dilema...
If 2woody could make it do useful things, then it might be prudent to use it as is on the same setting :-\
On the other hand... what could possibly go wrong ;D
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Now there is a dilema...
If 2woody could make it do useful things, then it might be prudent to use it as is on the same setting :-\
On the other hand... what could possibly go wrong ;D
.. when you go to welding thin bits of car instead of a great thick chunk of scrap...
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Now there is a dilema...
If 2woody could make it do useful things, then it might be prudent to use it as is on the same setting :-\
On the other hand... what could possibly go wrong ;D
.. when you go to welding thin bits of car instead of a great thick chunk of scrap...
Engine mounts will be similar thickness to those test pieces, slightly thinner hopefully, to bring it in range of the welder if nout else.
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Today i are be mostly.... Tidying up the garage, and found some useful things I could not find previously. :-[ ::) ;D
But I also did a bit of welding. Guess which bit was done since Kev fixed it. :y
Set on max power and just under half wire speed. :)
(http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p326/chrisgixer/4038bda1c99f4e55f9c233523bc7997c_zpsf96fdde0.jpg)
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It made a lovely crackle, and was glowing brightly white hot directly after. Far more heat into the weld than before.
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Oh, and ran it off the garage electrics, as she moans the house lights are flashing if I run it off the house ring main.
No fires or smoke escaped. :) (yet)
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Nice one :y was that the wishbone with the cracked weld from the last attempt?
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Yep.
A spark landed on my head, and I could smell me burning. ;D
You wait until a spark goes down the V of your shirt Chris. It's gets stuck when it reaches your belly and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your waist and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your pants level and burns you. ;) ;) ;D
When I did fabrication I used to go home from work with a shirt that resembled a tea bag. ;D ;D
Oh, and you wait until a spark drops through your laces. ;) ;) ;D
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Nice one :y was that the wishbone with the cracked weld from the last attempt?
Yep. All that buggering about trying to get it right, head scratching, fiddling about, try again.
This time it just worked. :)
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Yep.
A spark landed on my head, and I could smell me burning. ;D
You wait until a spark goes down the V of your shirt Chris. It's gets stuck when it reaches your belly and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your waist and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your pants level and burns you. ;) ;) ;D
When I did fabrication I used to go home from work with a shirt that resembled a tea bag. ;D ;D
Oh, and you wait until a spark drops through your laces. ;) ;) ;D
Looking forward to it. ;D
I got lucky today. Just finished tea, sat back rubbed me head.... What's that, a stone? Nope. 2mm perfectly formed globe of metal. Didn't feel it land this time.
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Yep.
A spark landed on my head, and I could smell me burning. ;D
You wait until a spark goes down the V of your shirt Chris. It's gets stuck when it reaches your belly and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your waist and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your pants level and burns you. ;) ;) ;D
When I did fabrication I used to go home from work with a shirt that resembled a tea bag. ;D ;D
Oh, and you wait until a spark drops through your laces. ;) ;) ;D
I remember watching a lad welding the sills of his car in the apprentice garage. Sat on the floor cross legged a spark flew & landed between his legs. I've never seen anyone move as fast! ;D ;D ;D
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Oh and got a sparky coming in a week tomorrow to sort the consumer unit and run a proper ring main to the garage.
Tried to raise AndyRoid , but he's gone quiet. :(
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Yep.
A spark landed on my head, and I could smell me burning. ;D
You wait until a spark goes down the V of your shirt Chris. It's gets stuck when it reaches your belly and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your waist and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your pants level and burns you. ;) ;) ;D
When I did fabrication I used to go home from work with a shirt that resembled a tea bag. ;D ;D
Oh, and you wait until a spark drops through your laces. ;) ;) ;D
I remember watching a lad welding the sills of his car in the apprentice garage. Sat on the floor cross legged a spark flew & landed between his legs. I've never seen anyone move as fast! ;D ;D ;D
I saw guy once, cutting a worn 3inch shaft out of a machine with an angle grinder. He hadn't noticed he'd put his leg near the spark stream which didn't take long to set light to his overalls. He was running around and flapping his leg all at the same time. ;D ;D :D
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Yep.
A spark landed on my head, and I could smell me burning. ;D
You wait until a spark goes down the V of your shirt Chris. It's gets stuck when it reaches your belly and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your waist and burns you, you take a sharp intake of breath, it drops to your pants level and burns you. ;) ;) ;D
When I did fabrication I used to go home from work with a shirt that resembled a tea bag. ;D ;D
Oh, and you wait until a spark drops through your laces. ;) ;) ;D
I remember watching a lad welding the sills of his car in the apprentice garage. Sat on the floor cross legged a spark flew & landed between his legs. I've never seen anyone move as fast! ;D ;D ;D
One of the guys I worked with screamed in agony and was dancing about all over the place. He said he had burnt his helmet.......and he didn't mean his head. :o :o ;D ;D
As a fabricator you use all types of welding equipment.....and occasionally horse-play kicks in. With Mig welders it was to let a length of wire out, very briefly touch it on earth until it glows and then burn something (TB would love that) or shove someone's tip right in to the anti-spatter pot and watch it fly out as they pulled the trigger. Very childish. ::)
With the Oxy/Acetylene bottles, we used to discharge neat acetylene in to the safety hand-rails and then plug the end with screwed up paper and light it. Ever heard a crow-scarer go off. :o :y
If you want to annoy an arc welder, put a piece of paper on either side of his earth clamp and watch him struggle. ::) ::)
Oh to be young again. ::)
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I remember watching a lad welding the sills of his car in the apprentice garage. Sat on the floor cross legged a spark flew & landed between his legs. I've never seen anyone move as fast! ;D ;D ;D
Done that and bought the T-shirt when welding up knackered steam heat pipes on an old coach because it was needed and the testing was left to the last minute.
Said molten metal lump made it to an area you never want to have such a thing and 'holed' me.....rather hurt like hell!
That was with wearing a leather apron etc to
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And Chris, you need to improve your 'penetration'.....
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And Chris, you need to improve your 'penetration'.....
Once he's stopped thinking about where that blob of weld went, I'm sure he'll be in a better frame of mind for that. ;)
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Those examples are painful, but nothing beats welding spatter sizzling in your ear. Hearing it doing the damage with excruciating clarity makes it much worse.
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And Chris, you need to improve your 'penetration'.....
Once he's stopped thinking about where that blob of weld went, I'm sure he'll be in a better frame of mind for that. ;)
The area between 3oclock and 6oclock ? Ignore the rest that was Fiddling with a faulty welder.
I presume move the torch slower accross the job?
I noticed that it was quite difficult to see the rest of the job through the mask. I want bit less dark to see a bit further afield so I can get the line of the circle lined up. If that makes sense.
The mask is on the lightest setting, although I don't want to go blind obviously.
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Shade 9 should be about right for the max power levels you can get (normaly the lowest setting on most helmets), you might want to try some illumination on the weld piece but avoid lighting behind you as it lights the inside of the mask.
Is the wire feed a bit quick?
Work with a little more distance from the piece (circa 10mm ish) to get the current up a bit and watch the weld pool, feed the wire into the front edge of this.
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Those examples are painful, but nothing beats welding spatter sizzling in your ear. Hearing it doing the damage with excruciating clarity makes it much worse.
+1,that is a total bastard after your ear appears to have exploded :-\
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Shade 9 should be about right for the max power levels you can get (normaly the lowest setting on most helmets), you might want to try some illumination on the weld piece but avoid lighting behind you as it lights the inside of the mask.
Is the wire feed a bit quick?
Work with a little more distance from the piece (circa 10mm ish) to get the current up a bit and watch the weld pool, feed the wire into the front edge of this.
Hmmm, I'm having trouble seeing to that level of detail tbh. The mask is set to 9. Nothing lighter available.
Maybe slow the wire speed as you suggest, then move the torch slower to match...? It feels a bit frantic, which might be a legacy of the previously faulty switch.
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Presume you've read all this and watched the videos, used the calculators etc, Chris? http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/learning-mig.htm
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Presume you've read all this and watched the videos, used the calculators etc, Chris? http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/learning-mig.htm
Woo, didn't know what to do with my other hand until I saw that. ::) ;D
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I noticed that it was quite difficult to see the rest of the job through the mask. I want bit less dark to see a bit further afield so I can get the line of the circle lined up. If that makes sense.
The mask is on the lightest setting, although I don't want to go blind obviously.
A few years ago I worked in Nairobi, Kenya and now and again used to get the odd welding jobs done in a roadside welding shop.
The welder was in his sixties and his eyes were opaque/cloudy. :o The reason became apparent when watching him at work, as he didn't use a mask or goggles and would start the weld and then look away!! :o ::)
His work was good though! :y
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Chris, our training school teaches the following method:
Sorry, it's a long one. :)
Get a sheet of 1-1.5mm CLEAN mild steel, cut it in to squares of about 4", make sure the clamp has a good connection to either a metal workbench or one of the bits of steel, overlap a couple of the squares, tack the overlap at both ends and then practice a short weld. You should be able to set the heat and wire speed so that you hear a constant crisp crackle and have a molten pool that you can move along with control. To start with, you may benefit from resting the side of your hand on the workbench so that you have control over the distance of the nozzle shroud from the workpiece. Check the penetration on the back of the square plate. When you get to the stage of decent penetration, you can practice butting the two pieces of steel together. Same principle, with a tack at both ends, but you won't have the overlap to protect you from any over-heat and you will soon learn about blow-holes and how to fill them.
DO NOT practice on irregular thickness steels or old rusty bits of steel. To get your confidence up and the best way to set the welder up is to use only clean thin mild steel. You mention not being able to see in detail when welding. I was old school and we used hand held shields until the reactor lens shields came in a few years back. Up to that point, you had to learn how to nod the helmet down once you'd got the shroud over the work-piece and were ready to weld if you wanted to use the helmet type mask, something us hand held users didn't immediately adapt to. ::)
Keep practicing, on thin clean mild steel, and you will get there. :y With clean material and a decent clean clamping position, you will see how easy the welder is to set up. :y
If you practice on any old scrap, especially rusty steel, even the best of us would end up with a lumpy mess. :y
A little warning which may be obvious. Beware of the glare as even short flashes within eye-sight will give you arc-eye. It is not nice, as anyone who's had it will tell you. Don't watch or look in the direction of anybody else welding without a mask on, as this is probably one of the surest ways to get it. We used to weld the bangers up using our hand as a shield while tacking, another sure way to get arc-eye. You only get one pair of eyes, so look after them. :y
Good luck. :y
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Yep, that's pretty much what we did on the evening course I attended. Well worth the £80 it cost. I think I went through that cost in materials and consumables each week. ;D
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Chris, our training school teaches the following method:
Sorry, it's a long one. :)
Get a sheet of 1-1.5mm CLEAN mild steel, cut it in to squares of about 4", make sure the clamp has a good connection to either a metal workbench or one of the bits of steel, overlap a couple of the squares, tack the overlap at both ends and then practice a short weld. You should be able to set the heat and wire speed so that you hear a constant crisp crackle and have a molten pool that you can move along with control. To start with, you may benefit from resting the side of your hand on the workbench so that you have control over the distance of the nozzle shroud from the workpiece. Check the penetration on the back of the square plate. When you get to the stage of decent penetration, you can practice butting the two pieces of steel together. Same principle, with a tack at both ends, but you won't have the overlap to protect you from any over-heat and you will soon learn about blow-holes and how to fill them.
DO NOT practice on irregular thickness steels or old rusty bits of steel. To get your confidence up and the best way to set the welder up is to use only clean thin mild steel. You mention not being able to see in detail when welding. I was old school and we used hand held shields until the reactor lens shields came in a few years back. Up to that point, you had to learn how to nod the helmet down once you'd got the shroud over the work-piece and were ready to weld if you wanted to use the helmet type mask, something us hand held users didn't immediately adapt to. ::)
Keep practicing, on thin clean mild steel, and you will get there. :y With clean material and a decent clean clamping position, you will see how easy the welder is to set up. :y
If you practice on any old scrap, especially rusty steel, even the best of us would end up with a lumpy mess. :y
A little warning which may be obvious. Beware of the glare as even short flashes within eye-sight will give you arc-eye. It is not nice, as anyone who's had it will tell you. Don't watch or look in the direction of anybody else welding without a mask on, as this is probably one of the surest ways to get it. We used to weld the bangers up using our hand as a shield while tacking, another sure way to get arc-eye. You only get one pair of eyes, so look after them. :y
Good luck. :y
Sound advice............ :y :y