Hi everybody.
I made a small break on my building as I am still waiting for my chassis plates and suspension brackets
. But good occasion to practice my welding
!
But I have a problem, and some questions. Sorry for the long post, but I need to be very specific
My welder is a MIG Easycraft 145A with external shield gaz source :
http://www.awelco.com/fra/prodotto.php?IDprodotto=62
I have 2 switches with 2 position on each, which means I have 4 different power set ups : 1-3 (min), 1-4, 2-3, 2-4(max). Then, I have the wire speed I can adjust with a button from 0 to 10. I'm aware increasing the wire speed also increases the amp.
The shield gas I use is Ar(18%)/CO2, and after many tries, I set up my gas flow on 13l/min.
This 145A welder should be OK to weld 2mm plates with good penetration, no ? OK, I'm aware 145A in the name does not mean it can weld with 145A, as the maximum welding power is only 120A. But still, it should be OK, no ?
But when I'm welding, before I reach the limit where I blow holes, I have to set up the welder on maximum power (2-4), and the wire speed at 9.5 ! Then, I have to stay quite while on the starting point to make the weld start to penetrate the joint. Of course, during this time, there is an accumulation of melted electrode on this point, and when the weld starts to penetrate, this big blob falls down in the joint. If I don't wait until this instant, the weld does not penetrate the joint, and manly stays on the surface (or 1 to 1,5mm deep max.). And this is with a 90° v-cut, 1 to 1,5mm deep ! Without v-cut, I can't get any penetration at all.
When I weld 3mm plates together (T-joint), even with a 45° v-cut on one of the plates, I have to set up the welder on maximum power and maximum wire speed to get a start of penetration. Of course, in this conditions, the bead is very high, very big, and a there is a lot of melted electrode on the surface of the joint. It does not look right, and I think it is not supposed to be like that, isn't it ?
Last detail : pulling or pushing the welds does not make any difference in my penetration problem.
I used to have a 115A with flux core, and on 2mm plates, non v-cut prepared, and set up on the 3rd power level, the welds were much more penetrating than with this 145A.
My question is : could it be something wrong with the welder ? It looks to work normally, but... Is there a way to make it check by a professional to be sure it can weld with the maximum power it is supposed to ? Or is it a way to test it myself ? Or do you think it is just not powerful enough for what I want to do ?
Thank you very much for having read this post until the end
and any help will be very appreciated.
Regards.
Sylvain