First Paid Job for My Power Arc 200

I've lost some of my pictures from this job, and it was dark when I finished up. This is a car hauler trailer that a guy purchased from his boss. He hauls his drift car and has some type of scca road car. Surely they original builder would not do this, but someone cut holes in the frame rails of the trailer to run the trailer wires. Both holes in front of the fenders had cracked the frame. I welded some 1/2"flat bar on both sides to get him going, and I am going back to repair all the holes that were cut in the frame rail.
I learned a couple of things on my second job. I purchased some Hobart rods at Tractor Supply 7018 and 6013 (3/32). I could not get them to run without stopping. They were constantly sticking, it took forever to weld the first side. I played with the settings, I did everything I could, but they would not weld correctly. I had a new box of 7018AC 1/8 rods I used when I went to the second side, and it welded perfectly. I welded the second side in about 15 minutes, and the spent another 15 minutes on the first side cleaning things up. From now on I will bring all my rods I keep just in case this happens again. Power Arc 200 ran like a champ off my generator!
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...5-28173842.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...5-28173908.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...5-28174322.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...5-28181235.jpg

That's my rig!
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d2...5-28174315.jpg

To weld those cracks up, you need to V it out with the grinder, and don't weld it on the surface only.

I did grind a V but not as good as I would have liked. I could not get a good position with my grinder.

Sean a word about rods, if the rod is a 60 series ie 6010 6011 6013, the arc gap is 1/8 to 1/4 inch, if the rod is a 70 series ie 7014 7018 7024, the arc length is 1/8 or less in some cases almost a light drag.

Nice to see you making use of the Power Arc 200, I still think it is Everlast's best buy and biggest bang for the buck.

Tough location to prepare metal. I wonder if maybe a fish plate would have worked better in this application. Not my area of expertise, for structural over build is my motto!

I see you got your beefed up trailer working! Looks good.

i know the feeling of doing a job and getting paid. happened a few days after i got my power arc 160 i woulda had a 200 but it was outta stock the guys fixed me up with the 160. i can turn it all the way up and use it to melt though thicker metal or cut off when i can't get anything else to work.

I think the power arc 200 has more power than I will need, and is a great buy. If I needed a welder around the house, and was only going to use it once or twice a month, but wanted something I could do major projects; I would buy a power arc before I purchased another machine. I know a lot of people purchase 110v mig welders and they are limited by power. The Power Arc series your limited by your ability to stick weld.

The trailer was a temporary fix it was to get the guy back on the road. There were 5 holes cut on each frame rail to run wires, which made the frame rails weak. He's going to have the trailer sand blasted and we are going to add metal on both sides of the frame rails. whoever cut those holes to run wires weakened the trailer.