On my first foray into welding I bought a china machine and ran it at the rated 100% duty cycle load (140A), but it died after about 30 feet of beads (splashes). Then I thought I'd buy a real welder and not have any problems, but alas, problem.
It's outputting 37.5 volts when it says it should be outputting 72 volts. The buzzing is really loud. 87 dB or so. And the first time I flipped the power switch, there was a bright light on the inside of the unit. That light never occurred again.
I used the unit before I bought it, so I thought it would work just fine...
I actually paid twice in materials to set up a 50 amp outlet than I did for the welder, and it's been quite a hassle hooking it all up and transporting the unit from 60 miles north.
Since I installed the outlet and I understand it'll be met with skepticism, then I should talk about my wiring: It's a 3 prong. I hooked up the vertical prongs to red and black, and the center rounded prong to neutral, not ground. it reads 245 volts between the vertical prongs, and 122.5 volts between neutral and the other prongs.
Instructions for the welder wiring for "low voltage" are to have H1 and H2 attached to the power switch, and insulate H3. I've done that.
Are there any parts I should test to see if they've malfunctioned? is that spark which occurred the first time I flicked the switch indicative of a serious problem, or could it be a fluke that occurred maybe because of blown dust since its last starting?
Could a partially shattered electrically insulating washer on the ground lead terminal connection while set in DC+ mode?
Update: I'd decided to try to run a bead and see what happened.
I turned on the unit, and the buzzing noise got gradually less harsh. The noise smoothed out a bit.
When I went to run a bead with a 3/32 rod at 110 amps, it proved tough to strike anything. I got a few little sparks and the it popped my 50 amp circuit breaker. My electrical run is only 30 feet long and it's 6 gauge, so doubt that my wiring is the culprit.
