Welding Tips and Tricks

Any advice on welding open roots out of position using 6010 and aTIG/SMAW INVERTER would be much appreciated.

Background is that I have an R-Tech 210TIG P, very similar to the Everlast TIG 210Ext.

No problem at all with E7018s or E6013s, but using Bohler Fox Cell E6010, vertical up is causing me difficulties. These rods are recommended for vertical down but the tin also says for open root vertical up. (DC+ as recommended)

I can't whip and pause: the arc will not tolerate anything other than extremely short; vertical down with a slope angle of 60-70 degrees and with moderate pressure forcing the rod in is a dream - you just let the rod do its stuff. But vertical up is a problem. Even at the top end of the amps range, the rod has a tendency to suddenly stick even when keeping a tight arc. I've tried the arc force setting to no avail, but as my arc force only kicks in at haround 20V I'm not surprised: the welding volts is about 30V with these 6010s , whereas it's around 22V with a 6013.

Now, my open circuit voltage is 57V. And I see that some inverters struggle with 6010s (R-Tech assure me my inverter can weld 6010s). I also know that some 6010 rods work better than others on inverters. Also, given the constant-current characteristic, a different technique may be needed over that with a transformer-rectifier with its drooping characteristic curve.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Martin

Inverter welders have a known problem handling 6010 as you pointed out. Everlast even makes a special port for 6010 on their PowerArc series.

"Can weld" doesn't mean "can weld well" in some cases. As mentioned, try another brand or two.

If you can use 6011 it will likely work much better. If it works then at least you'll know that it isn't the cellulose coating.

Many thanks. Quite reassuring - my morale's gone up a couple of notches.

Much appreciated

Martin

GWD wrote:Inverter welders have a known problem handling 6010 as you pointed out. Everlast even makes a special port for 6010 on their PowerArc series.

"Can weld" doesn't mean "can weld well" in some cases. As mentioned, try another brand or two.

If you can use 6011 it will likely work much better. If it works then at least you'll know that it isn't the cellulose coating.

I'm hoping to get some 6011s tomorrow and look forwards to trying them out on AC.

Do you have amy idea what it is about inverters that seems to cause the problem with 6010s? Is it the open-circuit voltage, the voltage-current characteristic, the inductance or some arcane mix of all of them?

Martin

Go ahead and use the 6011 on DC+. They work just fine on AC or DC.

Jody (the guru) discussed the 6010 issue a bit here:

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/sma ... -well.html

Here is a little more detailed thread:

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=57255

Doing a Google search will bring up more discussions.

GWD wrote:Go ahead and use the 6011 on DC+. They work just fine on AC or DC.

Jody (the guru) discussed the 6010 issue a bit here:

http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/sma ... -well.html

Here is a little more detailed thread:

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=57255

Doing a Google search will bring up more discussions.

Many thanks for going to the trouble to get those links. I'd seen them a while back, but now, with the benefit of having tried the 6010s, they'd make a whole lot more sense to me.

I managed to get some 6011s. I'm in the UK where many welding suppliers don't know there's life beyond 6013s. The rods are 1/8" "NU5" E6011 electrodes. Not a clue who makes them: there's no manufacturer's name on them, and they gave me them loose for a cheap price. I still think that my low OCV of ~58V is a bit of a hindrance, but it might just be that the rods are too dry: the air is very cold and the relative humidity is very low at present, but I can soon test that theory. Meanwhile, I can now manipulate the rod in a way that was impossible with the 6010, which is real good news.

I'm getting to grips with these rods and practicing the whip technique by building up a pad in the flat position which I'll then section and acid etch to ensure my technique isn't creating porosity or other problems. I'll then move on to the open root. I've come to see the open root as being similar to the 6G position in that if you can master the open root it's reasonable to assume you can weld any other type of joint.

Many thanks for generously giving me the benefit of your experience.

Martin