Quote Originally Posted by DVA View Post
Technically you can weld 10" thick material but it will need multiple passes and preheat as required on most welds on thicker materials.

I work around a lot of pipe welders and they do not need 200A to weld a 10"+ Schedule 160 pipe because the the weld will take multiple passes. Much of this is done with a GTAW root pass and hot passes with 1/8 inch 7018 stick requiring about 120A.

How thick of material do you need to weld?
DVA,
Yes you are correct! I should have stated single pass thickness. Mostly my use would be hot rod/automotive fabrication plus some other items. 1/4 mild steel is pretty common for suspension brackets, etc. Aluminum about the same. I may be doing some SS in about the same max thickness.
Thanks-