Chinese welder ! Me or the machine ?

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Hey all.Im almost finished welding school.  Only a few weeks left now. On to my question.When I weld at school I find it rather easy to keep the arc going, but when I come home to weld with a chinese made ct 416 I have (stick/tig/plasma),  it doesnt want to hold an arc,  its hell to try to do a vertical with. If I do not have the machine running high in the amperage range its brutal to use, way different from the millers at school.  Now what would cause this ?  My understanding is the open circuit voltage on the schools machines is set at 60.  Could the issue with the chinese machine be that it is made to have a lower voltage ?  Or would it matter ?  Should I be able to run this thing as good as the millers at school ?
Reply:I have a CT416D. When I 1st received it, the ground was poorly connected to the cable and it would get a little hot. Cellulose electrodes do not seem to run as well if I whip them with too much arc length but 7018 seem fine. I have access to Miller XMT350's at night in welding class and my CT416D during the day. With 7018 I notice no difference. With 6010 's weld better on the XMT as far as not cutting out but still nowhere near the arc quality of a Transformer/Rectifier or especially a generator.I am pretty sure the OCV on my 416 is close to 60 or more. The OCV would affect the ability to strike an arc.Check you ground for heating.What electrodes are you using ?Have a nice dayhttp://www.weldingdata.com/
Reply:Check the OCV with a voltmeter.  Welcome to the real world!David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Thanks guys.  Will check the voltage tomorrow and check the the clamp for heating.  We have various types of miller machines at school which have different arc characteristics but I can get a good weld with them all.Should I expect to have to relearn completely how to weld for each new machine I use..   ex going from Miller to a Lincoln?
Reply:I think gaustin may be on to something with the ground,  thinking about it I remember my friend saying it was getting kind of warm (sign of poor connection).   Will let you know how it goes tomorrow   Im running 7018'sMachines specshttp://www.chiry.com.cn/productInfor...p?id=1228#showLast edited by Newfie_1986; 01-23-2009 at 08:01 PM.
Reply:When I weld at school I find it rather easy to keep the arc going, but when I come home to weld with a chinese made ct 416 I have (stick/tig/plasma), it doesnt want to hold an arc, its hell to try to do a vertical with.Lets see.  You can do it with the Miller machine. You cant do it with the Chinees machine.  How many beers did you have on the way home from school?If you don"t drink, it's a no brainer.A butterfly without wings, is just an ugly bug
Reply:hahaha funny  No one had any beers !!!!   I asked if it could be due to low open circuit voltage.  I know the chinese machines are junk and dont run the greatest.  Just spent 9 months welding with Miller machines theres a huge difference.   Im just curious as to what the flaw is in the machines design.Last edited by Newfie_1986; 01-23-2009 at 08:11 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by Newfie_1986hahaha funny  No one had any beers !!!!   I asked if it could be due to low open circuit voltage.  I know the chinese machines are junk and dont run the greatest.  Just spent 9 months welding with Miller machines theres a huge difference.   Im just curious as to what the flaw is in the machines design.
Reply:I had that problem with one of the Chinese made machines turns out it was bad grounding connection on the grounding clamp fixed that it worked fine. However I noticed the grounding cable got warm to hot !! Turns ouut they used an underguage grounding wire! Changed out the grounding wire and the unit then has a stronger arc and the cable was cool to the touch.Co-Own CNC shop:Miller :1251 plasma cutter, MaxStar 700 TIG/Stick, & XMT 456 Multiprocess Welder.&  2 Hypertherm HPR260's Plasma CutterSorry I had a bad stroke but now I am back.
Reply:[QUOTE=Newfie_1986;245718]Hey all.When I weld at school I find it rather easy to keep the arc going, but when I come home to weld with a chinese made ct 416 I have (stick/tig/plasma),  it doesnt want to hold an arc,  its hell to try to do a vertical with. You might try looking on the Miller site.  "Understanding a welder's personality"  My guess if that machine is designed to run TIG it has a very flat slope on its volt amp curve.  The result is the difficulty you describe when doing out of position work.  You might look at the machine's manual and see if you can figure out if there is a slope adjustment on that machine.    There is a skill in understanding translated material from those instructions.  I cut my teeth on Honda motorcycle manuals in the Sixites.
Reply:Specter  That could be part of the problem.   I will check the clamp later today or tomorrow.  I dont think I will get a chance to today.LotechmanLast nite I went and found my text book for school (Modern Welding),  I remembered that it had a bunch of info in there about volt amp curves and did some reading.  This could very well be a part of the problem too ( a lot of people claim 6010s run terrible on these machines maybe due to a flat volt amp curve? )Oh and there is no adjustment on the machine that I know of.Last edited by Newfie_1986; 01-24-2009 at 12:00 PM.
Reply:So we even have a beginner weldor telling us the Chinese machine doesn't perform as good as a "real" machine. Howdoyagoferthat?David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Your darn right it doesnt weld as good.  In my opinion anyways.   Im getting a Miller or Lincoln when I can get some money together.  Probably a Miller thunderbolt ac/dc...  If I had a good machine now I could be welding together a trailer and making some money...  Yes im more than capable of welding a trailer together,  as long as the machine can hold an arc.  But im not welding anything structural with this POS.The Millers at school you can hold as tight an arc as you want and the fire doesnt go out..  A way different welding experience....   I think most of the beginers problems with welding is they're using JUNK !