does anyone know about duty cycles. what they mean and how much duty cycle do you need, for a decent welder? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
Duty cycle is only related to electric welders. If you have a ARC welder that specifies 20% duty cycle it means that for every 2 minutes continuous welding you have to give it 8 minutes cool off (not welding) or the welder will overheat.
Instead of just answering the question, I'd suggest you visit the Websites of either Lincoln or Miller welders. Both have great sections on education and training. They can answer your question and many more!
Whats the problem with just answering the question?Sounds like a salesman talking.The other guy was right about your question.Its imporant.For instance, you get a m.i.g. welder with a 30% duty cycle at say 100 amps.That means you can only weld 3 out of 10 mins.at those 100 amps.[if you are lucky]now a m.i.g., because you don't have to chip slag,change rods,etc.,will enable you to weld way more than 3 out of 10 min.,so its important with all machines but something that is semiauto its more imporant,its like anything else,it all depends on what will work for you,and what you can afford. RICHARD GAUTHIER
One thing to consider too is if thesuty cycle us rated at max output. I have a lincoln ac235 (commonly known as a tombstone cause that's what it looks like). I think the duty cycle is 20% which seems low but I usually use 1/8 inch or 5/32 rod at 120 amps. I can run that stuff all day without a problem. You also have to remember you always have some down time when changing rod, chipping slag, setting up the next weld etc so, unless you weld for a living, plan on making a LOT of continuous welds, I wouldn't be OVERLY concerned with what looks like a low duty cycle.
Like I said it depends on what you are planning on doing.If you need it and its not there you would worry about duty cycle,I thought he wanted to know what duty cycle was,not to debate its need. RICHARD GAUTHIER
[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] It's pretty rare for a hobbyist-class welder operator to bump up against the duty cycle of these home garage/light industrial machines. Either the amps are fairly low on the project, or he doesn't have enough rod burning time to crowd the duty cycle. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] I've seen the INPUT POWER SUPPLY fail a lot more than I've seen the machine itself trip off from too much heat buildup. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] If you are plugged into a marginal circuit, going rod-after-rod will sometimes smoke the input power supply, either it will trip, or burn away a bad connection somewhere. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
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It's pretty rare for a hobbyist-class welder operator to bump up against the duty cycle of these home garage/light industrial machines
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Probably true most of the time. For several years I had a little 110 volt, "Miller de Mexico" stick welder that worked great with small rods, but it also had a 10% duty cycle so I bumped it lots of times.
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