Picked Up My First Stick Welder

Just put a plug on it. Small rod will not pop a 30 amp breaker. You guys over think this stuff way too much.

 

And overloading the wiring in your house is a little more high-risk than in a detatched shop.

"If you have time to re-do it correctly, you had time to do it correctly the first time."

 

10-2 was the right choice for the compressor. There is an opportunity cost to building more than you need.

 

here is the NEMA chart for plugs
NEMA Straight Blade Reference Chart

I used NEMA 6-50R for the plugs on my welders and the wall and the extension cords I made out of SOOW 8 gauge wire that I bought at second hand stores for the price of the scrap wire.

I used NEMA 14-30 for the 3 phase machines in my shop with 8 gauge wire. The machines are run through a 7.5 3 phase motor wired to a static phase converter to generate the 3rd leg of power required for full use of the 3 phase motors.

I ran a sub panel for the 3 phase stuff and the single phase.

 

Very cool. I've only wire fed, never done stick welding.

 

Stick is a nice process to learn. 6013 will make you feel like a pro welder because no matter what you do the bead looks beautiful - but penetration is weak for the most part. But when you start it will give you confidence. A couple rods in you will want to move to the 7014 or 7018 depending on what you are doing. These are harder to make attractive beads but penetration is deeper.

Only downside to stick, which ultimately led to me selling my stick welder, was that the smoke it produces forced me to weld everything outside the garage.

 

I'm a shade tree welder, but regarding 7018(AC), I've found just the opposite. Easy to lay real nice bead but not as much penetration as 6011.

Am I doing it wrong?

 

Congratulations on your new welder. It will be the most handy and used project in your shop. Be sure to give yourself plenty of ventilation. Welding smoke is hazardous, and can be a health problem. I have copd now after using one for over 40 years. Know this may raise some concern but beware of 7018 smoke. It has a higher nickel content . First time i went to lung doctor he asked me how many packs of cigs i smoked a day. After convincing him that i did not smoke, he concluded thru testing that copd was from welding smoke. USE PLENTY OF FANS, to keep as much smoke as you can out of your helmet. stay away from welding galvanized metal. The smoke off it is nasty.

 

Just go out and buy a big generator. Then if power goes out, you can keep the lights on in the house.

It's only money.

 

My personal favorite rod is 6011. It has a lot of splatter, but penetrates very well. I used the 6011 to build many trailers, have lots of faith in it. It was also my choice to build floating boat docks. The 7018 is a choice where heavy duty applications apply.
Stick welders are very handy, but tig welders are useful in sheet metal work.

 

This machine will pull 50 amps input at 230 amps output.
1/8" 6011 rod only needs 80 to 110 amps to weld satisfactorily, so theoretically anything lower than 115 amps output will pull 25 amps ( or less) input.
Unless your planning to weld some 5/8" plate with 5/32 7024 you'll likely never exceed the 30 amp breaker that your a/c is wired for.
My suggestion: get a pre made cord( dryer,range etc) configured for your compressor receptacle, 1 pound of 6011 welding rod, a pile of scrap steel and start burning rod!
I would start the welding amperage at about 70 and then work up until you get a consistent weld bead.
Once you get it figured out start increasing the amperage to around 120 or so, I'm betting you'll find that's more than adequate and you likely won't kick the breaker.

 

I used a 30 amp dryer receptacle for my Lincoln AC/DC machine, never had a problem, but I never really pushed the limits of the welder. The AC only Lincoln buzz boxes are cheap in the marketplace, dead simple, bomb proof and early ones had copper wound transformer(heavy) and can be easily converted to AC and DC for under $50, Google "converting an AC welder to DC" Good luck!

 

Has welding commenced yet?

I was so fascinated with this video showing stick welding as the ideal way to get into welding. By my favorite U-Tubber, AvE :

LANGUAGE WARNING: S-WORDS, F-BOMBS, ETC.

 

Have you done this yourself? Can you share exact details?
I have previously looked into for my Lincoln, and it didn't seem quite so simple, or quite so cheap.

 

Another area of consideration---An auto-darkening helmet, especially for fit-up tacking and short runs, almost makes me pass for a weldor! Sure makes it easier for me.

 

Petel, what were the issues that you are/were having doing this modification? Bridge rectifiers are reasonably priced and I felt the video was self explanatory.

I haven't done this modification yet but I do plan to do it.

 

I did not pursue it, since when I started researching, it sounded more complex and expensive than what I had in mind. I thought a big rectifier would be simple enough, but guys in other forums were citing all kinds of complex electrical considerations.