Re: FS 200 AMP AC/DC WELDER CONVERTER.

In answer to your question since the electons flow only one way depending on how
you hock up the DC you can cause aprox 70 % of the heat to go into the base
plate for increased penitration or reverse it and cause 70% to go into the
welding rod which will allow you to weld thinner metal. In addition you can now
use a wider selection of welding rods since you welder would now be full wave
rectified you would get full output. Therefore if you put 200 amps in AC you get
200 amps DC out, unlike manufactures where you only get 1/2 the power out on DC
as compared to AC. The advantage of the DC converter that is on ebay is as
stated above and as we all know most welders today are made lighter and cheeper
then they where years ago and therefore to replace your AC welder with a new
AC/DC welder of todays standards would get you a welder that has aprox 1/2 the
DC output of the AC capacity of the machine and you would have a lower quality
welder then you already have. Lets face it the welder that has been around for
the last 30 years will most likley outlast any current welder, you would be hard
pressed to buy a welder now days and expect to see it 30-40 years later. This is
primarly due to the aluminum windings and lower quality parts. Dont get me wrong
some welders are built good but these are commercial welders not ones found in
most home shops. Further did you ever look at the rating on a now day welder
usualy 20% as aposed to the 60% + shown on most old welders. If you buy a new
centery welder your looking at aprox 850 usa funds and it is rated 20% with your
current welder your limited by it's duty cycle which is 60% or higher.

Just my input take it for what it's worth.
Regards
Stan


Jerry wrote:

> Fitch
>
> I should have made my question about DC Stick Welding more specific. I am
> curious about the benefit from using a given AC stick welder that is diode
> rectified to make it a DC welder.
>
> Over the years, I have experimented with alot of diode rectification of
> AC stick welders and have found ways to aid low current (<50 amp) stick
> welding (for me).
>
> It seems that 1/2 wave rectification provides an improvement in arc
> starting. And, a large inductor in series with a DC welder seems to keep the
> arc alot easier to kep 'lit'.
>
> But, at welding currents above ~100amps, these benefits dont seem to be
> significant.
>
> I suspect the DC welder makes it appreciably easier to stick weld at
> angles that are difficult with AC stick.
>
> Jerry
>
> "Fitch R. Williams" <frwillia@...> wrote in message
> news:8qev6u8l233118v8p6q7h5f4kmvk1lqs74@......
> > "Jerry" <j.jmartes@...> wrote:
> >
> > > I assume this DC converter is intended to be used with a stick welder.
> I'd
> > >like to know why DC is ~$230.00 more valuable than AC for stick welding.
> >
> > I do nearly all DC welding. I like the DC arc better. Laying in a bead
> > with a good smooth as butter DC welder like an SA200 is about as
> > addictive as an activity can get. I've not used an inverter welder so I
> > don't know how the arcs from those compare with something like an SA200.
> >
> > I think part of the SA200 experience is the gutteral boogie beat from
> > that stubby little straight pipe exhaust.
> >
> > Fitch
> > In So. Cal.
> >
> > The FAQ for RCM is: http://w3.uwyo.edu/~metal
> > Metal Web News at http://www.metalwebnews.com
> > The "Drop Box" is at http://www.metalworking.com/