Stick welding aluminum

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Hello,I know this topic has been covered numerous times, but I can't find a definitive answer in any of the threads.I am new to welding (I know, "don't start with aluminum, too hard"), and I have a brand new, albeit, economical (read: cheap) stick welder.  I'm interested in welding as a hobby, so I didn't want to spend big right off the bat.  I'm sure I'll upgrade at some point in the future.  As for now, I'm going to use a stick welder and I'm determined to weld aluminum with it.  The problem I seem to be running into is that all of the electrodes that I find are for DC only, and my welder is only AC (110 or 220).Has anyone had success with AC aluminum stick welding?Thanks,Joe
Reply:its not really worth the time imo , u could possibly find a hi freq unit and convert your ac welder into a tig machine but its usually easier and more practical to just buy one cause eventually u will want the real deal anyway , now oxygen acetylene welding aluminum is a good way to go for beginners. but ive found stick weldin aluminum just isnt practical for my applications lol .I forgot how to change this.
Reply:Tried it on DC+.It will do the job on heavy material, but on thinner material forget it.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:Someone recently went through with welding Al with a stick machine. Yes you need a DC machine for this. The end result of welding Al with stick is that there is an optimal thickness that seemed to weld ok, I think it was 3/16".  Anything thicker or thinner and results were not good.