Simclardy, I have been thinking in terms of energy too, so what you said makes sense. Total and average energy should matter most, though I guess you also have to think about how fast the heat dissipates into the weldment and the energy used to melt the filler. Maybe too much too fast blows a hole? ...

For 18# staino, to achieve peno and good colour you need pulse. What power source are you using? Yes that makes sense. I have the dynasty 210dx and the pulse works great. Can you guys elaborate on how you're using pulse in this case? Most stainless I'm welding is just a little thicker than what's b...

I have been happy with the Harbor Freight Vulcan Arcsafe helmet. $119 on sale, more typically $129 on sale and about $149 regular price. I'd read generally good reviews and HF is local so I can take it back if dissatisfied. It's light, has good headgar, big viewing area, and good optical quality. 4 ...

If your gas coverage is marginal, the different contour of the weldment(s) in the 2nd pass might make the difference by changing how the argon shield drains away. Just for fun one time, after I messed up and had porosity on a small weld, I tried to heal it. Going over it with the same filler rod and...

Aren't you doing yourself out of money by not using everything up? Yes, if your supplier sets no minimum return pressure, you're not using a little of the gas you paid for and could have used. My bottle came with 2200 PSI and I returned it with 100 PSI, so I "wasted" less than 1/20 of the...

The inverters (I guess all the DV machines are inverters) are a kind of switched-mode power supply, and I agree that the differences due to 120 vs. 240 line voltage *should* only be max amps (and therefore amp knob scaling) and duty cycle. I have a DV machine and have used it on both mains voltages ...

Different gas suppliers have different policies, and it might even have to do with the local environment. Maybe if it's humid where you live, there's a greater risk of moisture contamination in bottles that are drawn all the way down to 0 PSI. When my bottle got down to 200 PSI I called them and ask...

Oscar's links will take you into some of the theory and explanations of pulsing effects. Jody discusses pulsing in quite a few videos, and here's one that covers a number of examples. He shows the effect on travel speed, penetration, edge build-up, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5OhIc7R6r8

Oscar's links will take you into some of the theory and explanations of pulsing effects. Jody discusses pulsing in quite a few videos, and here's one that covers a number of examples. He shows the effect on travel speed, penetration, edge build-up, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5OhIc7R6r8

I'm a pretty new welder, but since I have done some experimenting with pulsing on carbon and stainless steel and aluminum, and because more experienced welders haven't chimed in, I'll put in my two cents. I've worked mostly with thin material, 1/8" (11 ga) to a little less than 1/16" (18 g...

Lots of good information and perspective here. Maybe I can contribute a little with some voltage drop and resistance numbers for extension cords. The Everlast 256SI draws a max inrush of 40 amps and a max effective of 32 amps, so I'll use those figures to calculate voltage drop. Impedance numbers ar...

I'll defer to others far more expert than me, and I think there may be multiple problems including the shielding gas, but you might also check your polarity. EP on steel and too much cleaning action (wrong AC balance) on aluminum can be ugly.

I just joined the forum and saw this, so this reply is perhaps too late to be useful. Maybe it will help someone else with a similar issue. If you've solved the problem in the meantime, you might post what you found/learned, to help the rest of us. I recently saw a YouTube video where a guy had a si...