Trouble Running 70+

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Been welding on a compressor station an all the pipping is 6010 root 8010 filler and cap I'm running a vantage 300 and I'm having trouble with the filler and cap I just can't seem to figure out how to run this rod especially at the bottom i remember slowhand saying he's used his vantage on the mainline so if your reading this please help It's frustating the hell out of me
Reply:You do not say what problems you are having so I can be of little help right now.  If you can explain one particular problem maybe I could help a little. I will say something I know about me and the way I look at the weld when on the bottom (fill and cap) and that it does effect how well I do and how easy it seems to be on me.If I lay down and scoot way up under the pipe where I can look directly up at the puddle I find I cannot do as well or as easy as I can if I hold myself back away from the pipe farther and not get my head as low and so far under there.  A good example is when trying to rubber-neck.  My head is not as low and I'm looking more from behind the puddle and it do change the way I do it and how it looks, and its easier for me (all but the physical part that is )  Laying down looking up at the puddle is harder for me to weld, but it's a lot easier on my body.Try doing a little rubber-necking and see if it helps our cap weld easier.  If it does then start noticing how you're looking at the weld when laying down.good luck man
Reply:Well on the from about three oclock to five o'clock it won't fill in as much as the top then on the bottom I can't get it to spread out it rat tails on me then no matter how hard I step it I blow out the bottom when I start out on top I'm running 175 amps on the side I go down to 170--165 then on the bottom 160--155 I need advice on how to control the puddle and how I'm supposed to run this rod
Reply:I'm not sure what size and wall thickness pipe you're on so I'll tell you what I'm doing.20" x60 .375 wall pipe 1104 code.5/32 5P+ bead,  3/16 8010 out.I'm welding every weld we make all the way out and right now I'm using Miller XMT350, but the heat is very similar to my Vantage 300 so close enough to compare IMO.Root in good space (penny-penny) 55 with 280 on the big knob, 80 on the dig. Hot pass (which is more or less a hot filler because I'm welding out) 65Filler 52-55Cap 50On all 4 passes my helper hands me 3 rods and very rarely do I need any more.  And on every pass except for the root I'm coming down quite a bit on the bottom.  At least 5 points if not more.  And in decent going we get 22 welds a day with our little 9 man crew. (2 welders, 4 helpers, 1 laborer, boom hand, and a journeyman).   Fastest crew on this job by at least 7 welds a day.  Me and my old pardner (yes, the same one as last year  ) has noticed these new rods we're getting these last couple of months makes us use quite a bit less heat than we used to and are also much harder to weld with.  We can't run as much heat with these new batches as we could run earlier this year with whatever batches those rods were.  Running less heat has helped us control these rods better.  How much less heat?  Thats hard to explain.We try to put all the metal on the pipe and keep whats blowing off into our faces to a minimum.  We have found if we simply watch how much metal is blowing off into our face we can find where these rods are going to run the best,  but even then we find we are still way to hot for the bottom.  So they are different because what I just told you is a combination of more than 75 years of experience welding pipelines (him and me together). With your Vantage I'd try this.  I'd turn the heat down as low as I could control the rod then I'd only turn it up enough to make it weld a tad more comfortable, but not all that much.  I tend to have a problem starting my 2nd capping rod in that 2:30 position because I'm running so close to not being able to get it started.  Once going and the pipe gets hot again my heats right, but starting that rod the pipe has cooled and my heat isn't enough to make it start easily.  And I'm reaching up quite a bit too because that rod is going to go all the way down to as far as I can reach (about 5:00) and that also makes it hard on me in that spot.  Then when I get down to my 3rd rod and laying down I sometimes find it sorta hard to start but once its going I'm starting my usual "down 5" or "down 1/2" as I go for the bottom.These rods, at least for me and my pardner, requires us to puddle the bottom.  We don't have much luck doing anything else.  Yea on the hot pass I can step faster and gain some control because it's keeping the pipe from getting so hot.  And on the filler I can step faster (baby steps) and help it, but at times nothing seems to help.  Once the pipe gets hot enough - nothing is going to stick no matter what.  It's going to run to the middle,  blow off the sides, and concentrate all the metal and all the heat on the pass underneath it.  None of that is good, at least in my opinion, because all that makes it harder on me.You must watch and learn how to control how hot the pipe is getting, and it seems more important this year than any year I can remember.  I know that is hard to do because I've never had to be so vigilant in my life as I am now, but you can learn it.  If the welds stops sticking to sides - the pipe is just too hot.My welds on the bottom this summer all are ripples that are very close together and I blame it on the rods.  I can't step out and leave much of any room between the ripples because it just won't do it, even with this companies burned up 200D's and 300D's.  I must stay right in the puddle making thousands of baby steps across the bottom watching as hard as I can for any indication that the pipe is getting over heated because once it does nothing I do then is going to work all that well.------------------A couple things you might try.If the slag is coming down on you in the side then the dig is too low.If the bottom is too hard to weld then the dig is too high.If it wants to break arc in the side for not reason then the dig is too low.If turning the dig doesn't seem to make any difference then you probably have a cabling issue (unbalanced or bad)We usually don't change our big knobs as long as we're on the same pipe.  I'm been on 280 amps for almost 2 months.  But we do try different dig settings (usually daily) to help correct for local conditions of the rods we're using (moisture, etc).  Sometimes it helps, sometimes it don't.  I like 80 and my pardner likes 76 on this rig we're using (probably a cabling issue).  On my 200D conversion machine I'm on 265 and 60 on the dig.  That puts me on the remote control numbers I said above.  Why I can't say, but again probably a cabling issue.Try coming down on the heat and try watching for over heating of the pipe.  I think that will help you.  Your numbers are a lot higher than I'm using.  Today your 175 amps is what I would of uses as a pretty hot - hot pass, not a filler by any means, because the rods I'm getting I just can't run that much heat with them.  They'll belly-out, won't fill,  and burn me up in the process.Also.  We've learned that we cannot weld over any slag from the previous pass.  We must always stay on our helpers to clean each pass as good as they can - because if we weld over slag that slag will cover over top of us and we can't get it off of us unless we stop and buff it off.  Explain that!!!    Neither of us have ever seen that condition before.  So make sure your helper buffs each pass good and clean.  That alone will help, especially how well the bottom is going to weld.  A dirty bottom is very difficult, if not impossible, to weld this year with these rods.  Go figure........ ?Good luck manLaterLast edited by slowhand; 08-08-2011 at 09:36 PM.
Reply:I'm fabricating compressor lines mostly 10 inch and 6 inch schld 40 and some 12 in schld 80 my root and hot pass are good just when I get to my fill and cap with the 8010 thats when I struggle I did turn it down today and it helped out big time I have the arc control on the soft side so I'll adjust that tomorrow I had the same problem with 6010 filler and cap when I worked for dcp untill my buddy slim83 gave me so advice so I'm sure I'll be able to figure this out thanks for the advice I'll let you how it all goes tomorrow
Reply:Sch40 10" pipe then my numbers are going too high for you.If 1/8 5P+ bead and 5/32 8010 out (which is what I would be doing in your spot I think) with my Vantage 300 (2010 model) I'd have the big knob set on about 200.  That should put me on 50 on the root, 65 HP, 52 fill, and 48 to 50 cap.  (if I remember right).  If you have an older Vantage that when you plug in the remote and it goes to 300 (big knob doesn't work anymore) then turn the big knob down to 0 and you should feel a difference in the arc.  You should feel it get a little softer.  But I can't recommend 1/8 root 5/32 out with the older machines because the remote is going to be very sensitive and you will probably some other issues.  The upgrade board fixes all that IMO. Just remember this.  I'm using the lowest heat I can weld with and manage to suit me, not the hottest I can use.  Sure I can run a lot of heat but it don't help me with these rods this year.  Learning how to run low heat is the answer this year because thats what I'm doing and I'm doing it because I haft to. lolGood luck manLater