Bought a new to me Airco Dip/Stick 160 multiprocess welder

[ryanjones2150]

If the tip of the wire is blowing off the end before it reaches the puddle your voltage is probably too high. Also, keep your stick out manageable. Doesn't sound like your machine can do spray arc, so stick with short circuit parameters. Increasing your wire feed speed is how you increase the amperage. You have to have some force in the arc to punch that wire in there. Once you find your basic sweet spot, mark the dial with a soap stone so you have a starting point next time you come back.

[Hondacivic247]

My machine is different your wire feed speed doesn't adjust your amperage. It adjusts your voltage, I have a crank I turn to set my amperage where ever I want then I adjust the wire speed which in turns pulls from the welding circuit and lowers voltage when using high wire speed and increases voltage at lower wire speed cause it doesn't pull as much voltage off the welding circuit.

From looking at the voltage chart in the manual it should spray arc 0.030 wire.

How long of a stick out should I be using I've read 3/16-1/2" for short circuit mig so that's what I've been doing . How long of a stick out for vertical welding ? I've been trying and having no luck just a molten blob, I can run downhill no problem along with lap joints and fillets. I haven't got around trying out overhead welding yet till I get some seat time.

I did pull out some thin metal maybe 20g and was practicing on that and I just set the machine to 20g on the wire speed and amps and it worked really well and it still worked well when I lowered the amps some more

[Hondacivic247]

I think I'm going to pick up a spool of 0.030 wire and see if that works any better. This machine seems like it runs hot like most machines from the early 80's.

I found a spool adapter on amazon I may order so I don't have to spend 60 bucks on a 33lb spool.

[ryanjones2150]

um. ok.

[Hondacivic247]

How long of a stick out should I keep for vertical weave. I finally got a decent weld but I'm still guessing at the stick out that's needed for it. I basically trace the top of the puddle side to side and work my way up.

I did one fillet joint overhead pushing and pulling and that was a **** of lot easier then vertical and it came out good like a normal fillet weld.

[Hondacivic247]

[Hondacivic247]

Pulling and pushing the puddle overhead in the above picture

[Hondacivic247]

Here's my best vertical weave

[Hondacivic247]

[Hondacivic247]

I don't think that's to shabby for only mugging welding for the past 3 days for maybe 1 or 2 hours each day just doing different types of welds. I had the machine set at 12g which I assume wire speed is somewhere around 200ipm or more and 75-85amps. Voltage I'm unsure of. This machine has a 345 or 365 Ipm when set at 3/16 on the dial. But I believe it goes past that when I crank it higher maybe to 400 on max with I think I seen Ithese say 175 amps

[Hondacivic247]

I'm still having trouble dialing out the spatter when trying to do 3/16 steel. I turned the machine down to see if I would get spatter when set at 20g which they have at 40 amps when I set it at 3/16 it's close to 140amps I've tried turning it up to 160 and the weld just looks cooked and the wire burns like crazy, I've tried dialing back the wire speed and turning it up and even adjusted the gas mix up a tad bit.

I'm only getting terrible spatter in the flat position, I hold the gun with a slight drag angle and try to stay in front of the puddle.

Any help would be great for settings

[Hondacivic247]

Looked at there break down chart airco has for this machine it listed 3/16 at 340ws 22 volts and 180 amps but where its confusing is the machine can crank above 160 amps it doesn't list what it goes to the highest listed is 160 amps. So I wonder if at 3/16 on the scale is truly 180 amps or 140 like I see or if I would need to crank the machine all the way up.

I'll take some pictures tonight of the info airco listed and the front of my welder with the amp/ metal gauge settings

[Hondacivic247]

I cranked my wire speed all the way down when I left it at one voltage/amp range and I get less spatter, I also turned up the gas mix to 20 on the regulator maybe it's to much gas cause I get this brown stuff around the weld whenew before at 15 I didnthink really get any.

I got my new multimeter out and checked the voltage going into the machine as Ivery got 30ft of total length from the the breaker to the welder. I got 244v going in and I double checked and the machine is set up for 230v the 208v wire isn't connected.

I thought maybe the higher voltage going in was a problem but when I turn the machine down I get a nice clean weld. I did read when the selector switch is changed from low to high one of the plates is changed which then changes the wire feed speed so the same knob is used for both high and low settings

[Hondacivic247]

I'm going to try tossing in a old spool of esab spool arc 86 and see if it's just the wire, I know the gun and tip are good as it's brand new. I'm also going to clean the drive roll again and adjust the wire tension. Im also going to test the wire feed speed on max and see if it's in spec with there spec sheet for Ipm.

If all else fails to solve this weird arc then I'm going to pull capacitors and test each one to make sure there in spec. And pull the diodes on the rectifier board and check them for open closed . I just get nervous with the capacitors as there some big ones that can hold a good charge even tho there until pluged. There also isn't the normal tabs on the top but 2 screws that go in with a bar plate that connects them in parallel

[Hondacivic247]