Help dialing in your IMIG-205 welder (by Geezer).

Geezer put this together in a rush, but it was well worth sharing here for IMIG-205 owners. It's in the MIG thread as well but things can get lost in that thread, so he OK's a copy here as well.

If you have an IMIG 205 you will notice that the max wire speed on the readout is somewhere between say 304 to 307 depending on your input voltage at the welding plug.

This reading of 304/307 will run wire at over 410 IPM, plenty fast for the wire used.

No matter, what we are interested in is: what are the amps put out by the welder at the reading on the dial.

For 0.035 wire the reading is approx. 65 higher than the amp output. That's to say a reading of 165 on the dial = 100 amps and visa versa.

For 0.030 wire the reading is approx. 95 higher than the output. That's to say if you want 100 amps, dial in 195 on the dial and visa versa.

65 and 95 are good numbers to remember. .035 = add about 65 and .030 = add about 95.

The rule of thumb for welding is 1 amp for every .001 of metal thickness, not exact but a good starting point; so for example: welding 1/8 material (0.125) using 0.035 wire needs 125 amps + 65 = 190 on the dial readout and so forth.

Tweaking and final adjustment are subject to material type and conditions etc. are always needed but at least you have a starting point to work from.

Voltage settings are a little harder to remember:

I start at 1/16 and increase voltage, one volt for every 1/16 in metal thickness, for example:
1/16 = 18 v, 1/8 = 19 v, 3/16 = 20v, 1/4 = 21v etc.

These are ballpark numbers, but we all have to start somewhere.

If you are an IMIG 205 owner and you find this helpful, leave some feedback.

I (Geezer) own 2 of them and they are a great machine in my view. I find myself using them more and more each day for both Stick and Mig.