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Have a very old Airco EasyARC AC/DC 250 stick welder and was welding some 4" to ~3" pipe to make an anchor to cement in the ground to secure my trailer. Had to turn up the machine to like 225 just to run 1/8" 6010 and left the settings for 3/32" 7018". By no means was burning too hot since 6010 would stick every now and then when starting the arc. Even practiced a little up hill and down hill with the 6010 and filled the massive gaps on either side where the 4" pipe over hangs the ~3" (did no saddles). Then practiced some up hill 7018 cover passes and was getting some pretty nice beads for not picking up a stick welder, but once every few years.
The welder is so old that it was the first on only electric shop welding machine my dad used when he started his own welding business. I'm thinking he must have got it used back in late 70s early 80s. I first learned to stick weld 5P with this machine when I was 7. So it's sort of important to me to keep it running. He told me they stored it away in the mid 90s since we moved and the new shop had 2 3phase machines. So he wasn't sure if it worked still.
I used it in 2014 to make a door frame out of angle iron and cattle panels for my hunting ground blind, but noticed it wasn't wanting to run 6010 for some reason, so I had to use either 6011 or 6013 I can't remember which I used. It seemed to weld normal then at around 120amps.
Saturday I couldn't even get it to make an arc flash with the amps at 140 with the 1/8" 6010, so I just kept walking back and turning it up and then repeating the process until it would hold a decent arc. That put me at about 225 amps on the dial to run the 6010 1/8" and 3/32" 7018.
Anyone ever seen a welder need to be turned up like this?
Hoping someone could lead me to solution to this problem...?
I haven't had the time Mon-Fri, but I have Fluke meters and a DC clamp meter that I'll probably check the output voltage and current with.
The welder is so old that it was the first on only electric shop welding machine my dad used when he started his own welding business. I'm thinking he must have got it used back in late 70s early 80s. I first learned to stick weld 5P with this machine when I was 7. So it's sort of important to me to keep it running. He told me they stored it away in the mid 90s since we moved and the new shop had 2 3phase machines. So he wasn't sure if it worked still.
I used it in 2014 to make a door frame out of angle iron and cattle panels for my hunting ground blind, but noticed it wasn't wanting to run 6010 for some reason, so I had to use either 6011 or 6013 I can't remember which I used. It seemed to weld normal then at around 120amps.
Saturday I couldn't even get it to make an arc flash with the amps at 140 with the 1/8" 6010, so I just kept walking back and turning it up and then repeating the process until it would hold a decent arc. That put me at about 225 amps on the dial to run the 6010 1/8" and 3/32" 7018.
Anyone ever seen a welder need to be turned up like this?
Hoping someone could lead me to solution to this problem...?
I haven't had the time Mon-Fri, but I have Fluke meters and a DC clamp meter that I'll probably check the output voltage and current with.
Its amazing how they did things so long ago where things mechanically engage to make contact. Polarity:
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