Amperage and Volts

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I need help understanding how amps and volts work and how they specifically apply to the welding process.  If I need to sell a customer a welder, what questions do I need to ask them pertaining to their power source?  How do amps and volts play into all this?
Reply:You don't know what part voltage and amperage play in welding?  You don't know about voltage and amperage for power sources? I think you need to narrow your questions down after reading about the different electric arc welding processes.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:I'll bite.In general, a welding machine takes input voltage and decreases it which allows for more amperage. Volts × Amps = WattsGravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:Should we do ohms law for the fun of it ?Backed my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:Hello and welcome. From your questions I'm guessing you are working some place that sells welders, most likely a box store as opposed to a welding supply.Squirmy's comment was a bit blunt, but somewhat to the point. 1st you have to have a basic understanding of the processes and what they are good for. That usually tells you what type of machine to point them at. For example stick would be a poor choice to do sheet metal body work with, but a small mig is the wrong machine to repair heavy equipment with as well... Knowing stick is better suited for outdoors work on heavy steel and small migs are best suited for sheet metal, gives you are starting point...Next you have to understand the difference between input power and weld output. Bot use the terms amps and volts. Input power is either 110-120v or 220-240v ( 110v being the kind of socket you plug normal appliances and lights into, 220v being used for heavy tools and major appliances like electric ranges and dryers) The range in each area is the typical readings you see on a volt meter and 110v, 115v, and 120v are all used pretty much interchangeably to discus the same voltage. Same goes with 220v, 230v and 240v... Note there are other voltages used in industrial settings like 208v for 3 phase power, or higher voltages, but those usually are only encountered in heavy industrial settings.Now we come to weld output. Each process uses it's own terms. Stick and tig are constant current processes and are set in amps. Voltage varies with the amps stay constant. Mig is a constant voltage process, you set voltage and amps change... The one wrinkle in this description is many manufacturers rate there migs in "amps" even though they are constant voltage machines. These "amps" are not something on a dial you set, they are just arbitrary terms used by manufacturers to compare machines, probably still held over from when migs were 1st being introduced to the home market to compare them with stick machines most were familiar with. You only see small migs rated in "amps" bigger industrial machines they simply list the voltage range and they know the people who use them know what they are doing... This is where many times guys get confused trying to compare amps in mig to amps in stick... they are not the same apples, but really are apples and oranges. this is somewhat a complicated area to try to understand. Best bet is to read thru dozens of "what machine do I need" questions or suggestions on what machine is the best for a person. The answer will vary based on the users plans, the preferences of the person making the suggestion as well as things like budget and other requirements. It's not as simple as person A needs X and person B needs Y. Both X and Y may work for either of them, or neither might..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by killdozerd11Should we do ohms law for the fun of it ?
Reply:Welcome, KrisK.Your question(s) may be confusing the electrical requirements a welding machine needs to run, versus the settings on the machine that weld different thicknesses of metal.The two most basic parameters in welding are the amount of current in the circuit, and the amount of voltage pushing it. Current and voltage are further defined as follows:Current—The number of electrons flowing past a given point in one second. Measured in amperes (amps).Voltage—The amount of pressure induced in the circuit to produce current flow. Measured in voltage (volts).Different welding machines have different input requirements, just as diesel trucks and gasoline trucks have different fuel requirements. Some machines run on 220 volts, some on 110 volts, others on 480 volts. This is just to turn the machine on and get it running properly.The weld settings on the machine give the ability to melt various thicknesses of metal: generally speaking, more amps are required to melt thicker metal.
Reply:Hi The voldage is regulate the width and depth of the bit. With low voltage we have deep and narrow bit. With high Voltage we have open width and less depth. The Amperage is regulate the size of the bit. I hope that I help!
Reply:Sounds like a Homework assignment question Ed Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:Wow you are absolutely right, I work as a welding machine salesman.  I came into the job with just the basic knowledge and very little practice in the field.  Thanks for understanding and helping me out.
Reply:Think about a water hose, the hose is the wire, the water pressure is the volts and the flow of water out of the end of the hose is the amps.
Reply:When selling a welding. you need to ask a few question first. Start with line voltage. what does the customer have. 115v 208v 230v 460v 575v the single or 3 phase. You don't want to sell a 208/230 machine and find out later they only have 460 volts. You will need to know type MIG, stick or TIGOr even multi process welders. A welder that can to both mig and stick and possibly TIG.This will get to the right chapter in the master catalog. Now you will need to know what he is going to be welding now and what he might be welding on in the future. This will figure out how big of welder he needs. Look through the Lincoln and Miller machine catalogs and you will see how they have them grouped. See what brands you store sells. Most major brands have salesman training classes. See if you can get sent to one.
Reply:Maybe this will help ya....Ranger 250 thick stuffHobart Handler 140 not thick stuffthe pane and oxy setup
Reply:I'll sum this up as simpliy as I can Volts give you the thrill and amps do the work.
Reply:Just tell the customers to buy a clothes dryer or range to welding plug adaptor off ebay and they will be go to go.old Miller spectrum 625 Lincoln SP-135 T, CO2+0.025 wireMiller model 250 and WP-18V torchCraftsman 100amp AC/DC and WP-17V torchCentury 115-004 HF arc stabilizerHome made 4 transformer spot welderHome made alternator welder
Reply:Originally Posted by KineticWeldingServicMaybe this will help ya....
Reply:Here's a basic lesson in electricity, courtest of Dave Barry:Here is a simple experiment that will teach you an important electrical lesson: On a cool dry day, scuff your feet along a carpet, then reach your hand into a friend's mouth and touch one of his dental fillings. Did you notice how your friend twitched violently and cried out in pain? This teaches one that electricity can be a very powerful force, but we must never use it to hurt others unless we need to learn an important lesson about electricity.It also illustrates how an electrical circuit works. When you scuffed your feet, you picked up batches of "electrons", which are very small objects that carpet manufacturers weave into carpet so that they will attract dirt. The electrons travel through your bloodstream and collect in your finger, where they form a spark that leaps to your friend's filling, then travel down to his feet and back into the carpet, thus completing the circuit.AMAZING ELECTRONIC FACT:If you scuffed your feet long enough without touching anything, you would build up so many electrons that your finger would explode! But this is nothing to worry about unless you have carpeting.Although we modern persons tend to take our electric lights, radios, mixers, etc. for granted, hundreds of years ago people did not have any of these things, which is just as well because there was no place to plug them in. Then along came the first Electrical Pioneer, Benjamin Franklin, who flew a kite in a lightning storm and received a serious electrical shock. This proved that lightning was powered by the same force as carpets, but it also damaged Franklin's brain so severely that he started speaking only in incomprehensible maxims, such as, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Eventually he had to be given a job running the post office.After Franklin came a herd of Electrical Pioneers whose names have become part of our electrical terminology: Myron Volt, Mary Louise Amp, James Watt, Bob Transformer, etc. These pioneers conducted many important electrical experiments. Among them, Galvani discovered (this is the truth) that when he attached two different kinds of metal to the leg of a frog, an electrical current developed and the frog's leg kicked, even though it was no longer attached to the frog, which was dead anyway. Galvani's discovery led to enormous advances in the field of amphibian medicine. Today, skilled veterinary surgeons can take a frog that has been seriously injured or killed, implant pieces of metal in its muscles, and watch it hop back into the pond -- almost.But the greatest Electrical Pioneer of them all was Thomas Edison, who was a brilliant inventor despite the fact that he had little formal education and lived in New Jersey. Edison's first major invention in 1877 was the phonograph, which could soon be found in thousands of American homes, where it basically sat until 1923, when the record was invented. But Edison's greatest achievement came in 1879 when he invented the electric company. Edison's design was a brilliant adaptation of the simple electrical circuit: the electric company sends electricity through a wire to a customer, then immediately gets the electricity back through another wire, then (this is the brilliant part) sends it right back to the customer again.This means that an electric company can sell a customer the same batch of electricity thousands of times a day and never get caught, since very few customers take the time to examine their electricity closely. In fact, the last year any new electricity was generated was 1937.Today, thanks to men like Edison and Franklin, and frogs like Galvani's, we receive almost unlimited benefits from electricity. For example, in the past decade scientists have developed the laser, an electronic appliance so powerful that it can vaporize a bulldozer 2000 yards away, yet so precise that doctors can use it to perform delicate operations to the human eyeball, provided they remember to change the power setting from "Bulldozer" to "Eyeball.""USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:Wow! You are a year of crash course away from being qualified to sell a welder. You can learn, but masquerading as a knowledgeable welder salesman isn't fair.  A few customers will know what they need, others depend on you! If you work at Tractor Supply, or Home Depot, OK no harm done, pure retail. If you work at a welding supply, you need a sign stating you don't answer questions.
Reply:I started as a salesman for some electronic/electrical stuff about 40 years ago.  Though handy, I had no clue nor training.  Did a brief stint as a (hack) bench tech, took a community college course or two in basic DC circuits and logic, then rolled into the sales of remote control monitoring equipment.  After a year or two, went to a company selling a very expensive test machine for electric meters (appx. $40,000. a pop) Did OK at that, just because I liked the equipment and could deal with specs and details.  Had to learn a lot about 3 phase and AC electricity and etc.  Ended up as product manager for that line which was a lot more than selling.  But I did have to commit to building and selling so many units.  Best month was nearly $700,000. and one year was around $3 million.  But I never bullsh1tted anyone and always went back to the engineers or programmers if anything was in doubt. Learn your product and develop a passion and a knowledge for it. If it's not right, move on and find a better one. Or help your current company do better. Our company went from #3 to totally dominating the industry in a few years.  Simple hard work and enthusiasm."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:"totally dominating"I didn't know you were into sado/masochism.  30+ yrs Army Infantry & Field Artillery, 25 yrs agoMiller 350LX Tig Runner TA 210, spool gunLincoln 250/250 IdealArcESAB PCM 500i PlasmaKazoo 30"  vert BSKazoo 9x16 horiz BSClausing 12x24 lathe20T Air Press