ac vs ac/dc stick welding

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What is the benefit or advantage in stick welders with dc capability vs those that are ac only?I'm still looking for a welder and can find any number of ac only fairly reasonable. Ones with dc are harder to find and a bit pricier.. I'm not talking about those that will tig or mig just stick welders. Like Lincoln's tombstone or the Miller Thunderbolt.
Reply:for stick many prefer dc but lots of good welds out there came from ac machines..tig , most prefeer ac for aluminum..some can weld aluminum on dc but not many..
Reply:For one there is a good many more electrodes that you can use on DC, that you can't on AC.  It's also a good bit smoother.  Most people who have an AC/DC machine rarely use the ac.  AC will weld fine, but If I was to reccomend a starter AC/DC stick machine it would be the little Hobart stickmate.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Every one of my welding friends, has the Lincoln AC buzzbox.  So do I.  And I'm a Miller guy.  It works great for just about everything we need to do.  Most of us have TIG and MIG if other applications come up.  BUT...if you can get AC/DC, why not have the added versatility?  Like you said, they are pricier than the AC units, because there's not one in every garage.....Regards, KbnitI r 2 a perfessional
Reply:The Lincoln AC/DC is really limited on the DC side.  The DC only puts out around 125amps max, with a really limited duty cycle.  Barely enough to run a 1/8 rod.  AC is still 225amps.My old crackerbox finally gave up about 2 years ago, and I bought the AC/DC to replace it.  The new ones are aluminum wound, and seem to run a little colder than my old machine.  It's a good machine though, once you get used to using different heat settings than you were used to.I use the DC in a pinch when my wire welder is on the fritz, or when I don't want to take the time to drag it out.  Small electrodes on thin material work fine with the DC.  The ability to work on thin stuff is a real plus.The straight AC 225 Lincoln seems to be hard to find.  I guess the LWS wants to sell the more expensive one.All in all I would reccomend the machine.  I like Lincoln stuff.  Very reliable."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:The DC machine will run a LOT more types of rods than an AC machine plus it will run all the AC rods and it has a much smoother arc. The AC machine will cancel any magnetic problems you encounter but there are ways around that with the DC rig. I've had an AC cracker box for over forty years and added a DC converter after I had it for about a year. It's never been used on AC since. The DC rigs are so much more versatile than the AC that there is no comparison. I ran SA-200s for many, many years and never needed an AC machine at any time. Only 125 amps DC limits you a great deal on what you can do with the machine. Shoot for a rig with 200- 225 amps and you have a lot more capabilities.
Reply:It is night and day difference to me, I am pretty much DC only after pawning my old Lincoln ac-225 off on my older brother when I got my Thunderbolt AC/DC.             I have wondered why lowes and The depot only sell that AC only lincoln tombstone buzz box. With it's amp jumps so far apart it is not really ideal  for much of anything when you have used an AC/DC machine with finer tuning of amperage on a regular basis. Really you wonder how many people have bought one, fussed with it and stuffed it in the garage corner after burning half a box of rods. I think this leads to the large amounts of them for sale cheap and even more people saying stick welding is hard to learn. Several of my friends carrying Common Arc Plate papers have cursed my old AC Lincoln as a miserable welder that for the most part requires you to be able change your technique constantly to make up for to cold or to hot. My at home welding began to look like my shop (schoolhouse)  welding when I acquired the Miller Thunderbolt.  Like you I also looked for along time and surfed many classifieds before I found the Miller on Craigslist.                I have been teaching my neighbor what I know of welding here lately. Once he got some decent beads down I explained Polarity, then had him lay stringers on all three possible polarity settings. Of course he loved the DC setting and asked me why they even bothered to make an AC setting when it gave him so much trouble after he thought he had the hang of striking an arc and getting busy.             I didn't see where you where but a coworker of mine has a brand new Thunderbolt AC/DC that he would take around 500 bucks for. He wants to buy a mig set up instead.
Reply:I spent $110.00 on an AC machine in '94 and struggled with 6013 rods until I started work at my present job four years ago. Just before dinner, I burned 2 6013 rods with DC and it only took a couple of rods to get me dialed into the sweet spot. They are night and day in comparison when going from AC to DC. City of L.A. Structural; Manual & Semi-Automatic;"Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore."Job 28:1,2Lincoln, Miller, Victor & ISV BibleDanny
Reply:Once you've tried DC you'll never go back to AC, except for the rare case of arc blow due to magnetic interference.  With DC its easier to maintain an arc and the deposition of metal is smoother. ScottMiller XMT 350 CC/CV w/gas solenoid opt.Miller S-22A wirefeederBernard 400A "Q" gunMiller Spoolmatic 30A / WC-24C-K 200A torch/gas lensWeldcraft WC-18 watercooled torchHypertherm Powermax 30Victor O/A
Reply:Advantages of AC v's DCACBetter for iron powder electrodes, eg: 7014 / 7024 etcBroadens GTAW applicationReduces arc blow if problematicAC can kill easier - not for confined spacesDCBetter for GP / LH typesstraight and reverse polarity flexibilityarc stabilityBoth have advantages - go for a AC / DC machine to get the best of both worlds.