I just accidentally acquired a cheap arc welder. Chicago Electric brand which screams, "Harbor Freight".
Model, "Arc 180". Claims to weld 1/4" steel.
It wants 240VAC @ 40 amps.
(Gonna have to re-wire that 30 amp outlet I use for the table saw and fixing clothes dryers.)
Labeled with open circuit voltage of 60 VDC and 68 VAC, Loaded voltage of 24.2 VDC and 25.2 VAC
(Not that I know what that means for practical purposes.)

It has an adjustment handle and a label ranging from 30-105 DC amps and 55-135 AC amps. 10% duty cycle.
Apparently some lights come on under the transparent amp label.
Either that or the display is broken. Haven't plugged it in yet.
It came with some welding sticks that seem to have flux on them, and a roll of wire, but no wire-feed mechanism. What kind of flux would I need with coat hanger for a welding rod?

I also have a welding helmet somebody left here 10 or 20 years ago. Quick darkening lens. Pretty cool. I hope nothing nested inside it.
The first problem is that, never having touched an arc welder before, I have no ideas about what I might want to weld together. I suppose my fertile imagination will kick in after I discover how this thing works.
Ooh! Tack something like a bigger handle on a screw that won't come out.
Weld the sway bar bracket on my car frame instead of (or in addition to) bolting it on.


Yes, I could Google this, but most of what I get is the whole book from aluminum to zinc. TMI!
I'm just fishing for amateur advice about what settings will weld sheet metal together, what if I have a 2 inch "black iron" angle iron or a 1 inch square tube of galvanized steel that looks like it came from a giant Erector Set? What are the usual amateur mistakes?

Got any amateur arc welders here?

Looking forward to toxic fumes and burn scars from welding splash.
I guess the next thing to get is some serious gloves. Visions of mad scientists with dragon hide gauntlets up to their shoulders.

 

Don't use that welding rod until you've dried it out in a 250 degree oven for a few hours.

Once you figure out how to strike an arc without the rod getting stuck, you'll have a blast burning holes in sheet metal.

 

Oh, they aren't kidding about 10% duty cycle.

Run it for 2 minutes and let it sit and cool off for 20.

 

Run it for 2 minutes and let it sit and cool off for 20.

The label says to run it for 1 minute and cool for 9 minutes for amp numbers around 100 and up.
If this thing doesn't have a fan, it will tomorrow.

I wouldn't think you can get much welding done in 1 minute.
Probably like soldering or painting: 90% preparation, 10% doing the "real" work.

Now to bake the humidity out of the welding rods.
I can certainly imagine the flux being blown off the welding rods by steam or flaking off because it's damp.

 

I wouldn't think you can get much welding done in 1 minute.

Probably several inches of weld.

 

Probably several inches of weld.

I'm starting from zero. I'll probably spend the first minute welding the rod to the steel.

 

This is strange: 40 amp rated, 50 amp plug, 14 gauge wire from the 50 amp plug to the insides of the welder.
No internal fuses or circuit breakers, so it must be depending on the circuit breakers for my 50 amp receptical to protect the 14 gauge wire.
I have 30 amp clothes dryer cords with wire 4 gauges larger in them!
This is so far beyond NEC that I am wondering what to do about that scrawny power cord.
I'll probably give it one of those 30 amp clothes dryer cords.
If 14 Ga. can survive a 40 amp load, 10 Ga. will surely be an improvement.

Chicago Electric from Harbor Freight...constantly stretching my imagination.

 

@#12
If you have any questions on welding please let me know..
Get your self some nice gloves and welding sleeves to avoid burn.. Unless you want to be like most metal workers where your skin doesn't blister and is tough like iron..

 

If you have any questions on welding please let me know..

Wait until I stink up the place. Then this will get interesting...unless I'm a, "natural".
Haven't tried it before. I might fall right in or struggle horribly.

 

This is totally unfair. We want to see steel....switches, control knobs, levers, cords, electrodes and sparks.

You always show us. What kind of post is this?

 

We want to see steel....switches, control knobs, levers, cords, electrodes and sparks.

I'm still discovering what's inside it. I promise to burn something up in a few days.

 

10-4

 

Wait until I stink up the place. Then this will get interesting...unless I'm a, "natural".
Haven't tried it before. I might fall right in or struggle horribly.

Check this guy
https://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks

 

Just get a lot of practice striking and holding an arc on a nice thick piece of plate(steel of course). Once you can run a nice bead on that plate you can start welding bits together. If you get a good bead the coat of flux on the bead should crack off in one piece hopefully and leave a nice shiny weld metal underneath.
Let your inner artist come out and who knows you may weld up a great sculpture. Bon Chance.

 

Sheet steel is very hard to weld with stick. You probably can't get a low enough setting to not burn through the steel. Also, a lot of heat means lots of distortion.

Remove (file off) any zinc plating prior to trying to weld. The fumes are toxic.

The fan is a good idea. I put a full wave rectifier and a 6" high airflow muffin fan in my 180 Lincoln AC sputterer.

Can you tell what the windings are (copper or aluminum)?

Also, a good beginner rod is 6013.

 

We want to see steel....switches, control knobs,

I got a shot of the new 10 Ga. power cord and some kind of magnetic shunt current adjuster.
Beats trying to regulate this much power with transistors and voltage regulators!!

 

Check this guy
https://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks

Vertical, uphill, with MIG, on aluminum???
I think I'll start with horizontal, with a welding rod, on a piece of scrap steel.

 

Is it a variable relunctance control of heat (the coils are moveable)?

 

get a lot of practice striking and holding an arc on a nice thick piece of plate(steel of course).

I have some 12" squares of 1/2" steel. That will make something to practice on.

Can you tell what the windings are (copper or aluminum)?

Aluminum. Yes, has 6" propeller fan inside it.

Is it a variable relunctance control of heat (the coils are moveable)?

No. Some kind of laminated metal plate slides inside the transformer core with a knob and screw adjuster.