Ground clamp very hot Dynasty 350 DX

[DKSTA46]

Quick question for a friend. He said the ground clamp on the Dynasty 350 DX was getting extremly hot. Material being welded is Aluminum 3/16 6061
Amps 280 I'm not sure of the tungston size. Ground clamp attached to aluminum being welded. I'm not sure if the welder is hooked to single phase or three phase power source. I'm thinking the copper wire is corroded and there is a lot of resistance. Any thoughts on this problem. Thanks

[J hall]

Bad connection, dirty ground, frayed cable, ground clamp bad or too small.

[fun4now]

or a lose conection.

[Laiky]

How close is it to the weld area? Alluminum does conduct heat really well!

[DKSTA46]

Thank you for your assistance. I was thinking the same thing it's a bad cable. As to how close to the weld area I'm not sure. Do you think that the amps are to high for the 3/16 aluminum ?

[Stickman]

I think 280 amps is too high.
What kind of joint is being welded?
Try starting out around 220 amps, and like the others have said, check your connections are good.

[c wagner]

or a lose conection.

That's my first thought, lots of the guys at our shop have the same problem because they never check if the nut is still tight.

[FusionKing]

Thank you for your assistance. I was thinking the same thing it's a bad cable. As to how close to the weld area I'm not sure. Do you think that the amps are to high for the 3/16 aluminum ?

That twice you've mentioned that....are you saying replace the cable and keep the parts on the ends
If so I would love to go thru YOUR scrap pile!!
I've shortened them up a bit to get to new metal again. And I have had a few batery cables be corroded up in the insulation far enuff I said the heck with them, but never welding leads. I have some that I have cut/shortened and made into everything under the sun that I have owned forever. I even have some I picked up that old welders had way before my time and put new ends on them and go again.
Maybe in your climate things are different, but here in MO the copper lasts longer than the insulation.

[DKSTA46]

Stickman I am not sure of the joint being welded but I think he said butt and corner joints inside and outside.

[walker]

I replaced the sheet metal ground clamps with the cast brass ones and the problem disappeared. Otherwise it seemed I was always fiddling with the nut, or cleaning the connection.

[metalmater]

Something I started doing awhile back is to take the stripped end of cable, (approx.1") that goes into the clamp or stinger and solder coat it. The solder penetrates into the strands and makes it kind of like a solid wire but yet soft enough to conform to the connector when you tighten the clamp screw. No more worries after doing this. I was re-stripping and re-clamping every couple of months. Haven't had to do it since...Hope this helps. Mike

[nfinch86]

nfinch86- Canadian Weldor :

Something I started doing awhile back is to take the stripped end of cable, (approx.1") that goes into the clamp or stinger and solder coat it. The solder penetrates into the strands and makes it kind of like a solid wire but yet soft enough to conform to the connector when you tighten the clamp screw. No more worries after doing this. I was re-stripping and re-clamping every couple of months. Haven't had to do it since...Hope this helps. Mike

metalmater; Ya, I solder all my cable connections as well !! ... Norm :

[fun4now]

i picked up a set of battery cable ends. cut the bolt on end off and used just the crimp end. locked the hole copper cable inside the copper crimp fitting so i got a good crimp on the wire.

i added a few pic's. it worked great.

[Burnt hands]

Hi all,

Good idea as I also solder the end of my weld leads before making any connections.

I would suggest checking the set screws after a while and making sure they are still tight as solder tends to creep under pressure over time.

Found this out when I used my stick leads after they had been sittng around for a year. The electrode holder was a little loose. Now I keep an allen wrench attached to the leads to remind me as well as checking all my various welding connectors every month. Where possible, I use crimp lugs to make connections to welding studs. I do not solder the copper wire when I use copper crimp lugs as this may make a higher resistance point. Have a big crimper I got cheap but it would be simple to modify a $20 bolt cutter from Harbor Freight to do the same.

[nfinch86]

nfinch86- Canadian Weldor :

Fun4now & Burnt hands, Hi; I use the same lugs, but I put the copper cable into it , with the lug in my bench vise. Then i solder the cable right into the lug, just fill it up with solder till it comes out of the top. It will never come loose again or corrode !!...... Norm :