Cheap welder

Well, it wouldn't, would it? It would rather annoyingly switch itself
off before reaching critical mass - just in the middle of the day's
best bead - and then refuse, adamantly, to restart until you'd got
cold, the steel had got cold - and your rod had got damp.

Cheapshit welders are shit pretty much because they're cheap, Eddie.
They have crap power supplies and won't sustain a decent arc at a
decent amperage because the power supply just won't take it. Splash
out a few more quid and get the dilithium crystal model and you'll
have no problems.

 

ITYF TIG needs a bit more skill than either.
You can weld razor blades to thin air, thobut.

 

I'd generally agree about cheapshit anything, but Aldi's stuff is almost
always much better quality than you'd expect for the price.

It's got a 3-year warranty; how bad could it be?

It is a bit odd about the plug, mind...

 

The fact that they don't mention the duty cycle at all should tell you
something...

 

Just a guess but it may be because the felt-tip fairy that did the
web page knows **** all about how to sell welding equipment?

 

I would expect so, and I would also expect that it'll say on the box,
which I'll be able to inspect before I purchased said item.

Besides which, neither Screwfix nor Machine Mart specify duty cycles on
their websites; does that mean their stuff's shit, too?

Anyway, what sort of duty cycle should I be looking for, assuming it
does say on the box?

 

Heh, I find myself quoting this (or something like it) on an almost
weekly basis to various people in my team. Sometimes I have to say it
to myself.

Work really fucks you up, it turns the reasonable into the unreasonable,
the healthy into the unhealthy and the power crazed into the satisfied.

 

See if you can wangle a go on a pro machine and you'll find it much
easier to learn. Same goes for arc.
Learn on a good machine and you can easily cope with the shite that
passes for DIY stuff.

 

Perhaps it's a 16A supply needed. Unusual for a diy welder, but depends
on the characteristics.

 

100% would be marvellous, but for a cheapy diy type 33% might be all you
get. 50% you could work with and if it's fan-cooled anyway the cycle
might be higher than that. I fitted a fan to a cheapy arc welder and
upped the duty cycle to something useable.

 

I just looked there too - and you're right, dammit!

!0% is bad (one minute working in ten), 90% is good (nine minutes
working in every ten).

Having compared specs as far as possible between the Aldi nad MM
offerings, this Aldi job appears to be on a par with the bottom of the
'pro' range at MM, as it has a cooling fan. The fan would of course
extend the duty cycle noticeably, prolly to 60 or 70%, which is more
than adequate for an amateur interested in modelling chickenshit on
steel.

 

It's an unfortunate habit of mine.

Right. As I haven't welded anything for, oh, about 20 years, I can't
imagine I'll be able to do 9 minutes constant welding anyway, so I guess
even 50-60% would be bearable.

Chickenshit on steel? Sounds like a piece of modern art; I wonder if I
could flog it to the Baltic?

 

The printed brochure is much the same as the web-page so no more
info there. Note the little label saying "Turbo Fan-Cooled for extended
duty cycle", they must have paid some attention to it (even if it was,
"Hey Klaus, stick a fan on the Speisegerate and we can claim extended
duty-cycle!").

The bit about the plug's puzzling -- usually Aldi stuff comes with
UK _and_ European power leads.

--
Ivan Reid, Electronic & Computer Engineering, ___ CMS Collaboration,
Brunel University. Ivan.Reid@[brunel.ac.uk|cern.ch] Room 40-1-B12, CERN
GSX600F, RG250WD "You Porsche. Me pass!" DoD #484 JKLO#003, 005
WP7# 3000 LC Unit #2368 (tinlc) UKMC#00009 BOTAFOT#16 UKRMMA#7 (Hon)
KotPT -- "for stupidity above and beyond the call of duty".

 

To the NHS, surely?

 

Eh? You've lost me there... are you trying to be subtle?

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4222282.stm

 

70 grand? For a shiny lump of rock? FFS!

 

Don't play with one, GET one. If you play with one, you'll give up before
you get to the point where you can do a reasonable/good job and it's a shame
when that happens.

TIGing takes a bit of practice but if you can stick weld, it's not a huge
leap.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

Bruce Dickinson landed the Shuttle simulator first time, so I reckon he must
be a fucking ace welder. I bet he carries his mask around all the time too.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19