Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

Next rod is the 7024, 1/8" rod at 145 amps.

This is the other side of the I-Beam joint.

No rod weaving on this application, simply just slowly drag the welding rod from left to right and only used up one rod. AHHH shacks, still with worm hole defects. 🙁 Oh I forgot to mention, the weld application with the slags still in tack looked so good and solid that it was in itself peeling off but then when it was finally removed and cleaned, there were still some worm holes along the welds.

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

And the next rods used were the 7018, 1/8" rods at 135 amps.

This is another inside area of the I-Beam, with the lousy weld application by some welder before.

The two DC 7018 rods I will be using.

Well not yet a perfect fillet weld application using this 7018 rods but still very much better than the first original weld applications by another welder. LOL

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

And lastly another 6013, 3/32" rods at three different ampere settings. 90,85 & 70 amps.

This is the last inside edge/joint of the I-Beam to be filled up with weld.

The final weld bead applications wherein I consumed 3 NGP welding electrodes, these are the shorter type of rods.

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

90 AMPS, fair enough,

85 AMPS, fair enough,

75 AMPS, very bad !!! :busted:

Well whatever the results of the weld applications, good or bad on this rusted metal I-Beam, I still cannot complain against the HiTronic 300 ARC Inverter, the unit as far as I am concern was performing greatly well beyond expectation. But still there are more materials to be welded, so I guess will still be using more of this unit in the coming days and be observing its performance.

Thanks for viewing this partial review of this weld machine.

TO BE CONTINUED !!!

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

This concerns about the use of "Arc Force" during welding using a stick welder. Though I have not used or applied it yet for I am still doing some net searching and readings from other welders who have more knowledge and I suppose applied them during their welding careers.

This response is from a certain lugweld, a weldingweb artisan member:
[COLOR="DarkGreen"] Re: Arc force?
Actually,
Arc force or Dig in an inverter is the response the welder makes when a close arc or near short circuit is encountered. As the arc is held closer, in a CC machine, your voltage begins to drop and your puddle begins to get "cold"...but at the same time the arc destabilizes, and you may drop below sustainable heat needed to keep the puddle going and prevent the rod from sticking. Arc force responds to this by automatically increasing the amperage to help offset the drop in voltage, and stabilizing the arc, and even increasing the fluidity of the puddle, and the penetration.

Another info coming from Lincoln Electric :
A paragraph that I have again borrowed,copied and pasted here.

TAKEN FROM THIS LINK : http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/global/Products/K12033-1-P/STICK-WELDING-Eng.pdf

[COLOR="DarkGreen"]Arc Force
This prevents the electrode from sticking during welding.
Arc force is a temporary increase of the output current
during welding when the arc is too short. This feature
supports production with consistently excellent arc
performance. It also enhances simple position welding
making the job easier. In order to produce an outstanding
weld performance on a variety of electrodes (Rutile, Basic
or Cellulose) the Arc Force can be finely adjusted with a
simple knob. To have a smooth arc with less spatter, set
the knob to minimum (Rutile, Basic). For a more crisp arc,
with more penetration, set it to maximum.

In some readings, Arc Force is mainly applied when using 6010 or 6011 and 7018 welding electrodes specially when performing root passes.
I guess this could be the basic information I could share regarding "Arc Force" and would encourage you somehow to do your own research regarding this main subject. ;):attack:

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

wow ganda pala ng arc force, it is some sort of dynamic voltage increase, since amperage is constant as per knob setting.

but why Asea brands claim their products are good that they have 28V on their sticks.

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

Well with regards to the ASEA brands, I cannot say anything since I do not have any unit of their welders. But may I ask on their stick welders, what specific amperage setting do their stick welders carry an arc force knob ?? If you have an idea, just curious here. 😉

THANKS ! :banana1:

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

Bro Rosy .. can you please show the back side so we can see the penetration. How thick is test plate?

Thanks

As requested by bro JayL, I measured the thickness of the plate for posterity and to be sure, then tried to wire brush again the back side of the plate to see the penetrations but sorry its totally rusted.

Sanded the metal edge for a clean measurement, and there it is, its 3/16" thick.

These are the back portion of the metal plate where I applied several full welds, as you can see its totally rusted but I tried wire brushing and cleaning the surface as shown in the last pic, I just don't know if the camera can do justice to some evidence of weld penetration as I see then in actual after exposing the metal surface. So sorry bro, its not so evident in the pics.

But then just for the sake of satisfaction, I decided to do another round of full weld application on another plate that I have cut and prepared.

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

Luckily I have an extra long metal plate and with the same thickness, also 3/16", cut a portion for the sort of exercise of full weld applications so I can clearly show the reverse side of the metal plate afterwards, of course using the HiTronic welder.

Here is the 3/16" metal plate with the different welding electrodes I will be burning. For sure this new welder of mine is in for another heavy test. 😉

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

The different welding electrodes I'll be burning on the metal plate using likewise different ampere settings.

And this is how the full weld applications will be done, I divided the plate, top and bottom. On top, the first portion of the plate I'll be using E7018, E7024, E6013, these are all 1/8" rods and the last is another E6013 rod but the 3/32" rod, using the usual ampere settings I usually use.

On the bottom part, the same rod selections but using a higher ampere settings.

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

AND THE BATTLE BEGINS !!!

Here are the continuous weld applications using different welding electrodes. I used 135 amps for the E7018 and E7024 rods, 120 amp for the E6013 rod and then 90 amp for the E6013, 3/32" rod.

And the cleaned full welds on the top portion of the metal plate.

Using the same welding electrodes but with higher amperage settings.
For the E7018 and E7024 rods, I cranked up the amperage to 150 amps. The E6013 rod 1/8" was raised to 140 amp and lastly the E6013 rod, 3/32" was raised to 100 amp.

And the cleaned full welds on the bottom portion.

The metal plate was really turning red hot on each half after the full weld passes and it took a long time before it can be held by bare hands. Though no "arc force" was added to any of the weld passes.

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

And this is how the full welds looks like. :jump:

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

And I guess this is what bro JayL would like to see !!

The same plate but two different shots, the last one was enhanced to show clearly the weld penetration at the back of this metal plate. 😎 :superhero:

OK, after this its gonna be heading for the next test applications,
TO BE CONTINUED !!!

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

Ok, this will be my next test material, 16 mm corrugated steel bars welded at the ends, on this stock, I'll be using E6011 rods for a root pass followed by E7018 for a hot pass and then will cap it with E6013 passes. Have not done this before, just learned the process from a friend and through some net research. I don't think I will be doing this really for future projects since I am not really a pro welder aiming to go abroad or being recruited to large companies engaged in structural fabrications and buildings.

My main purpose of the exercise or test on the said material is to find out if this 300 amp HiTronic welder will have any negative effects like having a hard time performing its function or would immediately lit up its OC warning bulb using the E6011 and the E7018 rods continuously.I may also be using and applying the "arc force" knob to finally know its usage and difference between having it used vis a vis not using it.
In other words, will this welder deliver ! :whistle:

My old stock E7018 DC rods and the newly purchased, a kg of E6011 DC rods.

Re: HiTronic Arc 300 Inverter

The first application of E6011 rod at 140 amps. Boy, this rod seems to be shouting, sparks, spatters were everywhere and smoke/fumes were really so much, and at the end of the weld application, the rods were really red red hot. AND so far the welding unit was just doing fine and no warning light .

A closeup of the material after the welding pass. As usual its hard to achieve a nice regular looking weld bead even though I did it with some side to side motion in an up hill direction. Regardless, not really concern of the outlook of the welds but more on the machine, but just noticed on the sides how the metals are being burned by the rod.

And then made a pass of E7018 rod. With a little "arc force" applied, the molten puddle has become more fluid that I was having difficulty controlling it, probably should have made the weld pass in a flat position. May be next time.

Here's a closeup of the metal stock.