welding tricks

[IvelDesigns]

so i'm not sure how to put this without sounding like a complete welding noob, but here goes.

I have a Clarke 110v welder. It has treated me well so far, other than popping the fuse for my garage when i get it cranked up to 3 or 4 (I need to get a 20amp breaker instead of the 10amp it's on).

But anyways, when i weld new steel, it does great. Even on stuff thicker than i should be welding (.25 mild steel), i get great penetration. But the other day i tried to weld a temporary crossmember to my frame and i could not get penetration into the frame to save my life. So much, or little i should say, that the weld didn't stick to the frame at all. But it penetrated the new steel i was using just fine (.125 mild steel). It was also popping my breaker every 15 seconds or so. much more often than normal.

so my question is, what can i do to get the best penetration into my frame? I ground off all paint/rust/dirt, made sure the ground was on a good surface, etc.

[Bus Ted Knuckle]

you need to run a dedicated electric circuit for your welder with the correct conductor and breaker size. Continuing to run your welder while constantly flipping the breaker is extremely dangerous and can burn down the building that you are welding in.

You said that you ground down the metal, so it should be clean enough.

Is your welder a flux core machine? If so, you may want to use a little thicker wire. Penetration is always a problem with flux core. Mig will beat it hands down, but you can still weld effectively with flux core, just takes a little more work.


I suspect that position has something to do with it too, are you welding overhead? Get your puddle going good in the thicker metal and draw it to the thinner metal in an overlapping circle pattern.

[IvelDesigns]

i plan to have a new breaker, and/or a dedicated plug installed this weekend.

the welder i'm using is a MIG and i'm using .30 solid wire and running CO2/Argon mix gas. I keep it around 9-10psi. Is that sufficient?

the frame is approx .125 and so is the new steel i was trying to weld to it. It just seems odd that I'm able to weld .25 just fine, but when it comes to the frame i'm not getting any penetration.

I do plan to change my position the next time i try so that i'm building a puddle before making contact with the new metal.

[Driveway Dreams]

I know you said that the metal is clean and ground down and you said that you have a good ground to your welder. But re check them.

Also, do you have a good connection between the metals you are welding? Is it possible that they are not contacting well so your electricity is not making the 'jump' well?

Is your ground spot far from where you are welding?

[raggedjim]

Is the frame inside? If you are outside and you have any wind you will blow the gas away. It's actually better to use the flux core if you are outside and it is windy.

Also, was the ground on the frame or the new steel?

Rg

[IvelDesigns]

i was in my garage, and the door was closed. i did ground to the frame about 12" from where i was welding. The new steel got great penetration.

I'm leaning toward my issue being the angle that i was welding at. Other than the amperage of my breaker, i'm doing everything else right by the sounds of it.

[Mr. M]

As you said it sounds like you are doing everything right. But make sure you insert the wire equally into to "V" which is where the to pieces of steel meet.

[shortbed70]

I have the same welder,130en and when I weld frame material I always try to bevel the edge to help with penetration if you can,t it helps to preheat the area being welded then start. Another thing is your not gettin full power to your welder being on a small breaker and another question,are you running with an extension cord? If so Like I have to sometimes heres what to do.
I have a 20 amp breaker and the cord on the welder is 14awg now my extension cord is 10ft long and made of 10awg and I only use it when I have to. Start your weld on the old metal or thicker metal then roll up into your other metal and continue on going slower on the old and rolling into new.