High Amps???

[JOHN1]

I have a Traiblazer 280NT.

When does one ever have the need to use 250-300 amps when stick welding?

Maybe I am missing something here, for all the rods I buy and the largest seems to only suggest 225 amps max.

Thanks

[thehat]

Hi John,I do alot of air-acr in that range.The other thing you want to consider is the big machines have alot higher duty cycle.

[paulrbrown]

thehat, I wondered the same thing, then I saw a guy buying 1/4" 7018 Foe for a major big fillet, these run at 320 to 400 amps!!!! He just didn't want to be there all week. As far as CAC, I asked my dealer why my Bobcat coundn't do it, the duty cycle is 100% at 225 amps, they didn't know, finally after reading about 20 books, I found CAC likes 30 or more volts, the Bobcat is only 25, so the arc is hard to control, as for duty cycle, I think all Miller motorgenerator units have 100% duty cycle, it is nice not having to worry about Duty Cycle when so many other things are happening and the customer is asking why you are just sitting there when you could be welding. Did you hear about the Weldor who was so old, when God said 'Let there be Light', he responded 'Watch your Eyes fellas'.....PR

[thehat]

. Did you hear about the Weldor who was so old, when God said 'Let there be Light', he responded 'Watch your Eyes fellas'.....PR

Good one Paul,have to remember that one.I don't usually worry to much
about power and duty cycle as I own a 300 Shopmaster and when I need something more I have an OLD Hobart G250 that I stuffed an Izuzu reefer diesel into a few years back.It doesn't even breath hard with 1/4CAC and burns less than a 1/4 gal. an hour.And at work I have a Dimension 302.

[klsm54]

Up here in Coal Country, back in the day when Coal was King, we sold an awful lot of 3/16 7018, and a pretty good amount of 7/32 and 1/4" 7018. We aslo sold a bunch of hardfacing stick electrodes all the way up to 5/16" diameter. We sold a bunch of Big Engine Drives, that were used for nothing but stick, Big 40's, WD5's Big Blue 400D's, and Lincoln SAM400's. Times have changed in my market area, but I am certain there are areas where "Bigger is Better" is still the norm.

The Trailblazer is also a CV machine, and when running wire, you can want for more juice pretty easily.

[HAWK]

John1,

I run an ALT304 capable of 400 amps and it gets used in the 300-400 amps range a lot: carbon arc cutting/gouging. 5/64" MIG wire welding, 1/4 7024 jet rods for in position and horizontal fillets. I would have to shut down without it.

[Sberry]

I agree with those guys, arc gouging and running fluxcore. I had been running flux working for American Bridge, all 600A machines. Went to the apprentice school and they wanted to have some guys on the roll with certs in it and they had 300A machines,, it was like,, "where's the power" ?????