Good job with the video. I had a similar Craftsman transformer welder I was given by a cousin after I sold my Lincoln Ranger 8. When it died and I bought my Titanium 225t, I cut the welding cables off the Craftsman, put DINSE25 connectors (male on one end, female on the other) to make extension welding cables. That doubled the length of my welding leads which is very handy. Note that the duty cycle for the 225 is 100% @ 100 amp on 240V and 100% @ 45A for 120V. Graphing the points for each voltage on the duty cycle data in the manual results in a useful picture of the duty cycle envelope. I've only had my 225 for a few days, but my experience with it has been good. It''s a lot of welder for a reasonable price, especially when it's on a 25% off sale which mine was. I much prefer DC for stick welding. Over the years I've used mostly 7014 and 6013. I built an arena fence using drill tube and sucker rod which was all welded with 7018 using the Ranger 8 I had back then.
@@fitch8363 awesome! Thank you for watching and sharing your experience! Yes, this welder is now my go to for stick welding. I am just a hobbyist welder but love learning the process, for me the Harbor Freight welders make that possible. Have a great day and be safe!
I like you am a novice welder and bought a Lincolin 140mp just to see what kind of processes of welding I could learn and enjoy. (P.S. great machine to learn on and for most tasks around a house) I found stick welding to be very enjoyable and its hard to beat for serious tasks that need deep penetration! I only have 110 in my house as of now but once i put in 240 I think ill pickup one of these Titanium stock welders for the bigger capability it has and for the price cannot be beat. Thank for the video!
@@joatmon1857 thank you for watching and your comment. I like stick welding but can get nicer looking welds with mig. Stick is definitely my choice when it has to hold even if it’s a little ugly. This stick welder on 220v is all I will ever need as far as power. Have a great day and be safe!
@@mikeingeorgia1 thanks for watching and commenting. Yes it does. It welds surprisingly well on 120v and welds great on 220v. Have a great day and be safe!
@@calebwalters7708 I think you could probably make it happen. The duty cycle would be the problem. Might have to do it in smaller increments. On 220 absolutely no problem.
Only in extremely limited situations- some rods, like 6013, will run either polarity, but there's really no reason in stick welding to run anything other than regular "stinger in the positive side" polarity- it's just how most of the welding rods are designed. The thing about straight polarity (that is, when the stinger is in the negative side) is that the penetration of the weld is much less- so maybe use it on comparatively thin metal that you do not want to burn through. But in those situations, MIG is preferable.
@@antonymorales5282 thanks for watching and your comment. I have never tried to stick weld aluminum. I have seen it is possible but I think nearly everyone will tell you there are better ways to weld aluminum. This is a great stick welder for a beginner or hobbyist welder which is where I am. My understanding is that a Mig welder with a spool gun is a better way and a Tig welder is the best way to weld aluminum. Appreciate you, have a great day and be safe!
They are all too hot for 3/32 7018- no reason to be over 100 amps, maybe 110 depending on your machine. 7018 should go down nicely with a "pleasant" arc that's smooth and consistent. When you get to the end of your bead and snap out of it, ALWAYS remove the electrode from the stinger before placing the stinger down on the table or in that magnetic holder you have (that's for MIG and TIG torches torches, by the way, not stick stingers). When restarting a half-burnt 7018, tap the electrode on you the surface gently BEFORE inserting into the stinger- this will chip away the "cupped" flux and expose the shiny bare metal of the electrode making for an easier restart. And slow down your travel speed- just take your time and allow the weld to fill in- your beads look like caulk on a plate, when they should be slightly sunken into the plate with a nice dome-shape across the top. I don't mean to be critical, and I get it- you're a hobby welder, but you're building some bad habits that you do not want to carry over into a project. Keep practicing on those plates like you're doing, play with the amperage a bit to get that "pleasant" feeling of running a weld bead, then start running those same beads right up against one another- one weld into the toe of the previous weld. You want an amperage setting that's just enough to strike and maintain the arc. You'll figure it out- with amperage settings, there's too cold, just right and then too hot. Right now, you too hot.
When I made my original comment I paused your video a little over halfway through, so I didn't see it until the end. And you know what? You figured it out! You found the sweet spot for the 7018 rod- it's going to be around 85 amps- see how nice and pretty your bead was? Now you can make small tweaks up and down to see how your weld behaves- you may find that 85 is spot on, or it may be closer to 90 or maybe closer to 80, but you've got the idea. When you get it just right and your travel speed is correct, you'll barely have to tap the slag for it just fall off in 1 piece- that's when you know you have that rod dialed in. For that 6011 rod, notice that the flux on the outside is much thinner than the 7018 rod- that's because 6011 has a cellulose type flux that's essentially paper, which means it burns more aggressively, therefore requires less amperage- play with that rod too to figure out the sweet spot (it's going to be less than 85 I can assure you). Because the flux is different on 6011, the slag will not peal off like the 7018- it's more of a flaky, crusty slag that almost always requires a wire wheel to completely clean. Also, the bead will not be as "pretty" as the 7018. Use that rod (6011) to repair stuff that crusty with old paint and maybe some rust- that's what it's designed for- to break through old paint and crud to do a quick fix on something. It's also good for tacking stuff together to hold in place, then come back with the 7018 and do the weld out.
@@BobWolford-q2b thank you for watching and for both of your comments! I very much appreciate you taking the time to help me out and critique my welds. You have given some great points and it absolutely helps me learn and grow as a hobby welder! One of the things I enjoy most about welding is the help and support I have gotten from welders who have so much information to share! I have been welcomed into the welding community and weld better now because of that! Appreciate you, have a great day and be safe!
Good job with the video. I had a similar Craftsman transformer welder I was given by a cousin after I sold my Lincoln Ranger 8. When it died and I bought my Titanium 225t, I cut the welding cables off the Craftsman, put DINSE25 connectors (male on one end, female on the other) to make extension welding cables. That doubled the length of my welding leads which is very handy. Note that the duty cycle for the 225 is 100% @ 100 amp on 240V and 100% @ 45A for 120V. Graphing the points for each voltage on the duty cycle data in the manual results in a useful picture of the duty cycle envelope. I've only had my 225 for a few days, but my experience with it has been good. It''s a lot of welder for a reasonable price, especially when it's on a 25% off sale which mine was. I much prefer DC for stick welding. Over the years I've used mostly 7014 and 6013. I built an arena fence using drill tube and sucker rod which was all welded with 7018 using the Ranger 8 I had back then.
@@fitch8363 awesome! Thank you for watching and sharing your experience! Yes, this welder is now my go to for stick welding. I am just a hobbyist welder but love learning the process, for me the Harbor Freight welders make that possible. Have a great day and be safe!
I like you am a novice welder and bought a Lincolin 140mp just to see what kind of processes of welding I could learn and enjoy. (P.S. great machine to learn on and for most tasks around a house) I found stick welding to be very enjoyable and its hard to beat for serious tasks that need deep penetration! I only have 110 in my house as of now but once i put in 240 I think ill pickup one of these Titanium stock welders for the bigger capability it has and for the price cannot be beat. Thank for the video!
@@joatmon1857 thank you for watching and your comment. I like stick welding but can get nicer looking welds with mig. Stick is definitely my choice when it has to hold even if it’s a little ugly. This stick welder on 220v is all I will ever need as far as power. Have a great day and be safe!
Great video man!
@@Anthony_Williams1216 thank you so much for watching and commenting! Have a great day and be safe!
The dual voltage capability makes it very versatile
@@mikeingeorgia1 thanks for watching and commenting. Yes it does. It welds surprisingly well on 120v and welds great on 220v. Have a great day and be safe!
@@CopperBarnHomesteadthink you could weld a a 3/16 thick frame on the 120v ?
@@calebwalters7708 I think you could probably make it happen. The duty cycle would be the problem. Might have to do it in smaller increments. On 220 absolutely no problem.
When would you want to reverse the polarity?
Only in extremely limited situations- some rods, like 6013, will run either polarity, but there's really no reason in stick welding to run anything other than regular "stinger in the positive side" polarity- it's just how most of the welding rods are designed. The thing about straight polarity (that is, when the stinger is in the negative side) is that the penetration of the weld is much less- so maybe use it on comparatively thin metal that you do not want to burn through. But in those situations, MIG is preferable.
@@BobWolford-q2b Ok thanks. People always say that you can reverse them, but never why you might want to do so.
Do you know if this welder do at stick aluminum??
@@antonymorales5282 thanks for watching and your comment. I have never tried to stick weld aluminum. I have seen it is possible but I think nearly everyone will tell you there are better ways to weld aluminum. This is a great stick welder for a beginner or hobbyist welder which is where I am. My understanding is that a Mig welder with a spool gun is a better way and a Tig welder is the best way to weld aluminum.
Appreciate you, have a great day and be safe!
Nice video
Thanks for watching and your comment. Appreciate it, have a great day and be safe!
They are all too hot for 3/32 7018- no reason to be over 100 amps, maybe 110 depending on your machine. 7018 should go down nicely with a "pleasant" arc that's smooth and consistent. When you get to the end of your bead and snap out of it, ALWAYS remove the electrode from the stinger before placing the stinger down on the table or in that magnetic holder you have (that's for MIG and TIG torches torches, by the way, not stick stingers). When restarting a half-burnt 7018, tap the electrode on you the surface gently BEFORE inserting into the stinger- this will chip away the "cupped" flux and expose the shiny bare metal of the electrode making for an easier restart. And slow down your travel speed- just take your time and allow the weld to fill in- your beads look like caulk on a plate, when they should be slightly sunken into the plate with a nice dome-shape across the top. I don't mean to be critical, and I get it- you're a hobby welder, but you're building some bad habits that you do not want to carry over into a project. Keep practicing on those plates like you're doing, play with the amperage a bit to get that "pleasant" feeling of running a weld bead, then start running those same beads right up against one another- one weld into the toe of the previous weld. You want an amperage setting that's just enough to strike and maintain the arc. You'll figure it out- with amperage settings, there's too cold, just right and then too hot. Right now, you too hot.
When I made my original comment I paused your video a little over halfway through, so I didn't see it until the end. And you know what? You figured it out! You found the sweet spot for the 7018 rod- it's going to be around 85 amps- see how nice and pretty your bead was? Now you can make small tweaks up and down to see how your weld behaves- you may find that 85 is spot on, or it may be closer to 90 or maybe closer to 80, but you've got the idea. When you get it just right and your travel speed is correct, you'll barely have to tap the slag for it just fall off in 1 piece- that's when you know you have that rod dialed in. For that 6011 rod, notice that the flux on the outside is much thinner than the 7018 rod- that's because 6011 has a cellulose type flux that's essentially paper, which means it burns more aggressively, therefore requires less amperage- play with that rod too to figure out the sweet spot (it's going to be less than 85 I can assure you). Because the flux is different on 6011, the slag will not peal off like the 7018- it's more of a flaky, crusty slag that almost always requires a wire wheel to completely clean. Also, the bead will not be as "pretty" as the 7018. Use that rod (6011) to repair stuff that crusty with old paint and maybe some rust- that's what it's designed for- to break through old paint and crud to do a quick fix on something. It's also good for tacking stuff together to hold in place, then come back with the 7018 and do the weld out.
@@BobWolford-q2b thank you for watching and for both of your comments! I very much appreciate you taking the time to help me out and critique my welds. You have given some great points and it absolutely helps me learn and grow as a hobby welder! One of the things I enjoy most about welding is the help and support I have gotten from welders who have so much information to share! I have been welcomed into the welding community and weld better now because of that! Appreciate you, have a great day and be safe!