PyRo9862

I bought this, because I got it used cheap?
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/pro_d...re&dir=catalog

I was playing with it for about 30 seconts (using wire that needs gas without it). Half the time it won't penetrate at all, and the other half it puts a hole in the sheet and doesn't look like much if any wire came out. Is that probably just because i'm not using gas, or could it be a problem with the welder?

And its really hard to keep looking at what your doing with that bright light is there any way to turn the light down? j/k
And yes i'm going to stop screwing with it untill I get gas.

Xceleratemaro

for sheet metal maby.. kinda low amps.. dont bet on getting any penitration on plate thicker than 1/8 inch..good for SMALL projects.

as far as "no gas" when you hook up gas you need to chang your flux wire to mig wire.. right now you probroly just have flux core wire.. it will look like **** no matter what you do.. try to drag flux dont push it .. this lets the flux do it job of keeping oxgen out of the weld puddle.

hope this helps..

PyRo9862

I said I was using non-flux wire without any gas. Thats probably why it was screwing up right? Hmm, how many amps does a good machine have?

cam-

What you go there sure looks like a Century welder and they are not bad. Made in USA at least. Flux core carries a lot of heat ESPECIALLY with that garbage sample reel they come with. Don't judge the flux performance solely on that spool or what others who may have had bad experiences will tell you. There have been strong advances in flux core technology over the last few years and some if it is pretty darn good. There is a proprietary vendor out there now that makes this stuff called "twenty gauge" and it actually has a shotgun on the box and its great for thin stuff. There are some advantages too with all position capability and outdoor welding is doable even in windy conditions plus you don't have to lug the gas bottle all over. Best suited for metal over 20 gauge thick though and gun positioning is critical to a good weld or it will look like crap. Have to have a knurled drive roll though or it will slip and act all weird which could be part of your problem there.

Don't get me wrong Gas is the best for thin materials and appearance welds and is by far the easiest to use which is why so many people love it but it also has its limitations with the 110volt machines with regards to material thickness. No smoke or spatter like the flux either. I just think its a shame that everyone says "flux core sucks etc." when they haven't really tried any good electrode or maybe they had the polarity wrong because there is a time and place where it is great especially outdoors.

Important note is to make sure you have the polarity correct for whatever process you are using.

TwinTurboROC

dont buy a snap on welder... get a lincoln mig... look in the summit catalogue... its just way to expesnive cause of the name... and trust me the lincoln will do the job just as well... with snap on your litteraly paying for the name.. some of their products are well worth it, ie their flank drive plus wrench line, acr bits for screwdriver etc, but not a mig

Xceleratemaro

well the welders we used at school were about 0-150 amps now on a mig set up most of the time there will not be a amp setting there will be numbers from like o-50 and you would set according to thickness of metal and wire speed,-compleate penitration or a non compleate penitration weld.

as far as the "snap-on" my father is a dealer and im with twin on this one.. snap-on has some grate stuff ,, but some times you just paying for the name.. i get stuff at cost and its still not cheap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cam-

Looks like he already bought it guys. Agreed though that Snap is great for some things and just a name for others. Like their torque wrenches. Pricey as all get out but compared to a Proto like the airplane mechs use for the same coin there is no comparison.

This welder looks to be a Century though and they are owned by Lincoln so its not bad if that is indeed what it is.

PyRo9862

$75 wasn't to bad a price for that was it?
And whats this polarity stuff, thats a new one to me, what should it be at for gas/nongas, and how can you change it?

Xceleratemaro

hack hum.. where do i start?

currents, the three different types of current used for welding are alternation current (ac) , direct-current electrode negative (dcen), and direct-current electrode positive(dcep) . the terms dcen and dcep have replaced the old terms direct-current straight polarity (dcsp) and direct-current reverse polarity (dcrp). dcen and dcsp are the same currents , and dcep and dcrp art the same currents . some electrodes and be used with only one type of current. others can be used with two or more types of current. each welding current has different effect on the weld.

now DCEN the electrode is negative , and the work is positive welding current produces a high electrode melting rate.

DCEP the elctrode is positive and the work is negative this current produces the best welding arc characteristics

AC the elctrons change direction every 1/120 of a second so that the electrode and work aternate from anode to cathode. the rapid reversal of the current flow causes the welding heat to be evenly distributed on both the work and the electrode that is, half on the work and half on the electrode. the even heating gives the weld bead a balance between penetration and buildup.

now this is refuring to "stick" welding.. gmaw. you cannot switch polarity in mig or flux core. as you can in tig and stick.

hope this helps
chris

that was alot to type

cam-

Huh?

I am impressed with your thorough breakdown and all but just about every gas mig welder ( any Lincoln mig, Miller or Century or? )has the option to switch polarity from positive to negative. Open the door and iinside there wil be two poles to facilitate this. This is in no way an Arc or power source option only.

I particularly enjoyed your AC current description its been a long time since grade nine electrical class for me LOL sorry dude couldn't resist

Xceleratemaro

yes you are right .. it was 12:00am when i wrote this, sorry most of the bigger one's you can.

cam-

TomP

My buddy bought that same welder new from snap-on last year, he's pretty happy with it. And yes, it came with GMAW wire, not flux-core. He welded up a welding cart right away with it- without using gas (he doesn't have a gas bottle yet either), and it came out alright- but the metal was about 1/8th inch thick.

You probably just need to play with the amp/wire feed settings, that's all.

Recently I realized what I was doing wrong all this time with my Lincoln Electric... on the door, they have a sheetmetal/amperage/wire feed guide. Well, I just noticed that I've been following the chart for straight CO2 gas! The setting was just a hair off for the C25 gas recommended settings- but when I actually followed the right line on the chart, the welds are coming out much better. Only took me 2 years to notice that... haha! So yeah, you'll probably do a bit better once you get the gas going.

oil pan 4

iTrader: (1)

Just make sure you have the right polarity for gas and gasless welding.
Use - eletrode for self shealding wireing and
use + for gas shealded.
A lot of new school tought welders here in the air force that weld our equment for us don't hardly penetrate there welds and they keep breaking. some times to the point where if you hit the weld with a hammer it breaks off and you can see where it barley stuck to the metal, it loooks real good but bearly holds.
Me personaly, I tend to over penetrate the metal some times.