Welding Tips and Tricks

I am a sculptor, not a professional welder, but as I've started using heavier gauges of steel in some of my pieces it became obvious that my little Lincoln 180 was fighting way over its weight class.

I recently purchased an ESAB 235 EM (MIG only) welder. I've been using the sMIG feature to start off, but the auto setting features always seems to pick a much higher wire speed than I'm used to, so I tried the manual setting. To my surprise the chart on the inside of the hatch lists most voltage/wire speeds for 120 volt use, not 230. The only settings using 230 volt operation are for 1/4 inch and 5/16 inch, but I'll be welding 3/8 and 1/2 inch plate and there are no settings for those thicknesses. I've emailed my seller and ESAB, but gotten no response, and searched online for a voltage/speed chart for the 235 using 230 volts but nothing there. Had I gone through a regular welding training program I'd probably have learned this by now but I'm self taught (I know, one of the pitfalls of DIY).

Is there any particular reason for this? I'd always thought a welder like the 235 would normally be run on 230 volts and have a voltage/speed charts for that. Am I stuck with figuring out voltage and wire speeds for the 235 by trial and error, or just letting the sMIG setting do my thinking for me? I really like the ESAB but not being able to play with the wire speeds is a bit frustrating.

rbwhale wrote: but I'll be welding 3/8 and 1/2 inch plate and there are no settings for those thicknesses..

Paralleled scenario: I just bought a Ford Focus and the speedometer only goes to 120mph, but I'll be racing Ferrari's and Lamborghini's at 200mph. How to I make it go that fast so I can race them?

That's because your machine is likely not rated for 3/8 and 1/2 in plate using solid steel wire. 235A would be meh decent for 3/8" IMO, but for 1/2" nah; unless your manual says otherwise, 5/16" is the limit as per your own findings. To weld 1/2" plate in a single pass you need a machine that can output 300A+ and feed 045 diameter solid wire (assuming we're talking MIG with C25 here). You're talking a completely different ballgame (machine) than the one you bought, IMO. You could potentially weld 3/8" single-pass if you use either gas-less flux-core wire, as it typically burns hotter for the same amperage. Just my take on it.

As for finding out, try around 035 diameter wire at around 520 IPM WFS and check the amperage readout, it should be pretty close to 230A, give or take. Voltage about 24ish is what I seem to recall. If you see the tip of the wire start to ball up before it gets to the puddle dial it down so it doesn't go into globular transfer (it makes a mess).

Thanks for the reply.
I know I'll need multiple passes for 3/8 and 1/2 inch; that's how I did my last piece which was 3/8 with some 1/2 inch. It just took forever and a lot of grinding to smooth things out. Most of my pieces are not subject to heavy stresses so I hope multi passes will work. I will try your suggestions on manual. I guess I should not rely on sMIG. Time to take off the training wheels.

I never used an esab so I cannot attest to how they have setup the sMIG parameters. If you could post a pic of the chart, I'd love to see it.

Here it is. I'm using .035 wire btw. Thanks for your patience.

Richard

If you look at the black bar where it shows 230 volts, it'll weld 22 gauge to 3/8. The 120 volts goes from 22 gauge to 3/16. Also depends on wire size.

INXS2 wrote:If you look at the black bar where it shows 230 volts, it'll weld 22 gauge to 3/8. The 120 volts goes from 22 gauge to 3/16. Also depends on wire size.

Rbwhale, so it does indeed show the recommended settings for 3/8 (I don't see 5/16" in that pic). Like inxs2 says, it depends on wire size. 030 wire can only carry so much current (in short circuit mode), so more than 500 ipm (~150A) you need to go to 035 or 045 wire. The only issue I see with that that chart is it is not using the maximum capacity of the machine. For 035 wire, 435 ipm will only get you about ~185A (using a normal stick out of about 3/8". You should be able to use a lot more wfs to get up near 235A that it is supposed to be capable of.

Thanks for the prompt replies and information. I think I will have to get some 1/2 plate and just weld a bunch of it, experimenting and noting the voltages and wire speeds that work best. Unlike most of what professional welders point toward I'm always interested more in appearance of the finished piece than absolute strength of the weld, assuming the piece can support itself with adequate safety margins: even a 150 pound column can do serious damage if it falls over. I will bevel edges, carefully clean the steel, and preheat.
It's really helpful to have a forum like this one available.
Richard