Tried my PA200 first time today.

I tried my new PA200 today for the first time. I've had it for about a month now but had to wait until I got a 220v line hooked up. I ran the line from the electrical panel to a weather proof plug that I installed on the outside of the house. I bought two 25ft welding extension cables to use from the wall mount.

Having zero experience in stick welding I thought I would try welding two pieces of angle iron together. I cleaned up the angle iron and beveled the edges that I intended to weld. For the first bead I used a E6011 1/8" rod at 100 amps. My first bead was not great but the PA200 worked great.

I think part of the problem with the bead, aside from inexperience, was that I was using an auto-darkening helmet and I think I had the setting to high and I could not see the puddle. The helmet had been set at 13 so I cranked it down to about 10 and I was then able to see the puddle better. I then tried another couple of pieces of angle iron using a E7018 rod at 65 amps and the bead was much better although far from perfect.

One of my biggest problems is trying to get used to the idea that, as the rod burns off and gets shorter, I have to move the rod forward to maintain the arc gap. I kept losing the arc and had to stike it again to restart, but I hope with a lot more practice I'll get the hang of it.

One thing that I noticed in the various videos that I have watched was that when the welder finished his bead he took his hammer and tapped the weld and a fairly large piece of slag fell off revealing the bead underneath. On my welds, they looked black but the slag was extremely thin and when tapping with the hammer very little slag came off. The black almost looked like it was spray painted on. Is this due to something that I am doing wrong when I'm trying to weld? The weld look solid and the penetration looked ok.

The slag falling off thing is a product of having the correct rod and correct amps. Actually if the amps are correct the slag will peel up behind the weld. However, on 6011 or 6010 the slag is cellulose (thing wood chips...lol) based and it clings tightly to the metal and is very thin. Only the highest quality brands in these two rods will peel up or flake any at all. The 7018 will generally if it is at the right amps. But for that cool flake off experience, the 6013 and 7014 are the best. For the 6011, a wire brush is the only way to remove slag, or a file/chisel. If you have 1/8" 7018, try 125-140 amps to get the peel up. The 6011 could stand up to 120 amps or so with the 1/8" diameter, and the slag may come off a bit easier, though it will get things hot. With the 7018/7014 or even 6013, drag the outside edge of the rod on the metal so the flux touches, but not the metal itself. On the 6011, keep an arc 1/8" or less.

Different rods require different amp settings. Use this Miller calculator as a general guide:

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...calculator.php

Photos of your welds would help tremendously in diagnosing and suggesting. Be sure to label the picture or weld plate with the rod type, plate thickness, and amps used.

Offhand, 1/8" 6011 is good at 100A but I run it a little colder to keep it from blowing through...it can really penetrate. The slag on 6011 is thin and more powdery. While a chipping hammer works a wire brush is usually necessary. Getting it to peel right off is very rare.

65 amps is low for 7018 (3/32") and almost impossible to run with 1/8" with that setting. The slag that peels off (in videos) is usually on 7018 when all of the settings and parameters are perfect. While it is desirable it is not as common for the non-professional (hobbyist) as you might think.

You will get used to keeping feeding the rod into the puddle - it just takes practice. (I'm the opposite. After 30 years of stick welding I try to stuff the flux core wire feed gun into the puddle. :D)

EDIT: Oops, double posted with Mark.

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Originally Posted by Columbo

I tried my new PA200 today for the first time. I've had it for about a month now but had to wait until I got a 220v line hooked up. I ran the line from the electrical panel to a weather proof plug that I installed on the outside of the house. I bought two 25ft welding extension cables to use from the wall mount.

Having zero experience in stick welding I thought I would try welding two pieces of angle iron together. I cleaned up the angle iron and beveled the edges that I intended to weld. For the first bead I used a E6011 1/8" rod at 100 amps. My first bead was not great but the PA200 worked great.

I think part of the problem with the bead, aside from inexperience, was that I was using an auto-darkening helmet and I think I had the setting to high and I could not see the puddle. The helmet had been set at 13 so I cranked it down to about 10 and I was then able to see the puddle better. I then tried another couple of pieces of angle iron using a E7018 rod at 65 amps and the bead was much better although far from perfect.

One of my biggest problems is trying to get used to the idea that, as the rod burns off and gets shorter, I have to move the rod forward to maintain the arc gap. I kept losing the arc and had to stike it again to restart, but I hope with a lot more practice I'll get the hang of it.

One thing that I noticed in the various videos that I have watched was that when the welder finished his bead he took his hammer and tapped the weld and a fairly large piece of slag fell off revealing the bead underneath. On my welds, they looked black but the slag was extremely thin and when tapping with the hammer very little slag came off. The black almost looked like it was spray painted on. Is this due to something that I am doing wrong when I'm trying to weld? The weld look solid and the penetration looked ok.

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You didn't mention how thick the angle iron was, that will determine the best rod size, and factor into the best amp setting.

Thanks to all for your responses and suggestions. It is not that I necessarily want to have slag that I can chip off,... its just that I thought it was something that was normal for all welding. The angle iron was 1/8" in thickness with each side being about 1 1/2" wide. Each piece was about 8" in length. I noticed that in my original post I had stated that the second weld was done with the 7018 rod. That was in error. I was going to try that rod but decided to try the 6011 3/32 instead.

I looked at the chart for the amperage for these rods and it stated that for the 6011 1/8" it is 75 – 125 so I selected the half way point of 100 amps and for the 6011 3/32" it says 40 - 85 so for that one I selected 65 amps. I may try some thicker material to practice on next.

So far I am quite pleased with the PA200 and its really surprisingly quiet running.

For 1/8" material you would probably find it easier to use 3/32" rod. That will let you crank up the heat a little and things will go smoother. Most rods run easiest near the top of their range. If you go to 1/4" material or thicker, then 1/8" rods work great. How the slag comes off can also tell you if your current is correct. Probably the most important thing is to keep a tight arc. Everything else goes to making that possible. If the rod sticks you are too cold, pulling a longer arc is not the way to fix that. 6011 is a good rod but might not be the best to learn with. I would say for 1/8" angle try some 7014 3/32", 6013, 3/32", or 7018 3/32", since you mentioned that you might have some. 7018 isn't a good rod for the hobbyist because it really should be kept in a rod oven. 7014 is almost the same but can be stored on the shelf, because it has a different flux. 6013 is a common rod to learn with and while it does nothing great, you can use it for almost anything. Some people call it the farmer's rod for that reason.
Dealing with the rod getting shorter just takes practice. When learning to weld in high school, I still remember almost falling into the workpiece, once, because I was leaning my whole body in as the rod got shorter, instead of just my hand.

Things I learned when I got my PA-200, it really loves ESAB rod! 7018 = Atom Arc, 6010 = 10-P, and 10P-Plus. When it comes to 6011 it really likes Hobart's 335A.
Here some pictures of some pipe welds I did when I first got the PA-200.

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Dealing with the rod getting shorter just takes practice. When learning to weld in high school, I still remember almost falling into the workpiece, once, because I was leaning my whole body in as the rod got shorter, instead of just my hand.

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Thank you. Your comments are very interesting and helpful. I'm sure that eventually I'll get used to the idea of dealing with the shortening of the rod. Practice,... practice,... practice!

Currently I have 6011 1/8, 6011 3/32, 7018 1/8 and 7018 3/32. I keep them in the house in plastice welding rod containers with rubber seals to ensure they keep dry. I'll pick up some 7014 and maybe some 6013.

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Things I learned when I got my PA-200, it really loves ESAB rod! 7018 = Atom Arc, 6010 = 10-P, and 10P-Plus. When it comes to 6011 it really likes Hobart's 335A.

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I have not seen those rods here in Ontario. The most common welding stuff here in Canada is Lincoln.
There may be some others but I have not really searched for others. Maybe I should do a Goole search for Ontario. :)

Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.

that's what columbo would do.

A couple good habits to get into right now while you are just starting out.
When you get ready to start welding, strike the arc 3/4-inch ahead of where you want to start your weld, drag the rod back to the start location. Make sure you stay with in the weld zone! This will allow the rod to be hot and ready to go by the time you get to the start location. I know the PA-200 has hot start, but it could be hotter! This is a very good technique to learn, and make a habit of.
Another thing, when getting ready to terminate your weld, change the rod angle more to 90-degrees, or maybe even 5-degrees the opposite direction, and back track 1/2-inch. This will help fill the crater, which is the weakest spot of the weld.;)

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A couple good habits to get into right now while you are just starting out.
When you get ready to start welding, strike the arc 3/4-inch ahead of where you want to start your weld, drag the rod back to the start location. Make sure you stay with in the weld zone! This will allow the rod to be hot and ready to go by the time you get to the start location. I know the PA-200 has hot start, but it could be hotter! This is a very good technique to learn, and make a habit of.
Another thing, when getting ready to terminate your weld, change the rod angle more to 90-degrees, or maybe even 5-degrees the opposite direction, and back track 1/2-inch. This will help fill the crater, which is the weakest spot of the weld.

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Great advice I'm sure. Thank you. I appreciate all the advice, hints & tips that I can get. I won't be going into any commercial ventures or anything like that but I certainly hope to get to the point where I can lay down a good bead and a solid weld that I won't have to worry about whether its strong enough.
Fell free to pass on any other tips you feel would be helpful to a beginner.

Thanks again.

Your welcome! I'm not a beginner, but I' am a hobbyist.