Understanding Lincoln SA 200 settings.

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I am considering pursuing a career in pipeline welding for the company I currently work for. I am taking welding classes at a local community collage (which by the way aren't all they are cracked up to be). I recently completed the mig classes and haven't started the stick part yet. Although I have done some stick welding on a 250 idealarc I haven't messed with an SA200 much. The welder at work left his rig out for me to weld with while I am on night work so I thought I'd run a few beads with it last night. How do I determine what the amperage is set on. He had it set in the 120-190 range and I messed with the remote and settled in around 45 but what amperage is this. He told me don't worry about the amperage just learn to feel it out and I agree but id like to know how to determine the amperage. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Reply:When welding with an SA, who caress about amperage.Set it by feel, and watching the puddle.Just a couple welders, big hammers, grinders, and torches.Work will free you.Men in dirty jeans built this country, while men in clean suits have destroyed it. Trump/Carson 2016-2024
Reply:Don't over think it. Do what ever the puddle requires. When you find the spots you like, mark the face plate. This may help you for out of position work. Attached ImagesDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Amperage is useless pipelining. Learn what going up a range and down on the fine does to the puddle as well as down a range and up on the fine.I read lots of post on here about amps or what settings for this rod. They are all starting points. Hood time and feel.  Ask the guy who owns the machine for some starting points for root, hot pass ,fill and cap and go from there. When it comes to stick reading the puddle is the only way to go. I run a vantage and couldn't tell you what my amperage is.... But I could look at what I was going to do and tell you where to set the remote and go from there.
Reply:I'm running a Red D Arc 300 diesel (dumbed down lincoln) right now at work. Like the others have said, i just learned to tweak the machine until I found my sweet spot for the rod I was running. I really don't pay attention to what numbers or scales I see on the dials. But for reference, my sweet spot for 3/32 7018 converts out to about 115 amps on the dials. I know this isn't correct but I don't really care. I set the machine to where I like how the rod runs. If your inexperienced, this is near impossible to do. Your rig welder you were using at work is not hard to determine the approximate amperage you had it set at. With your coarse setting at 120-190, the fine dial set at minimum is 120 amps and with the fine dial set at max is 190 amps. So the fine dial gives you 70 amps of adjustability between 120 and 190 amps. With the fine dial at 45, your machine was somewhere around 150 amps. 70 amps of adjustability x .45 = 31.5 amps so, 120amps + 31.5amps = 151.5 ampsAgain, these numbers are really meaningless to me, it's all about how the puddle runs and you learn that with experience.Where you had your machine set, is very close to where I run a 1/8 7018 on a lincoln diesel.Last edited by snoeproe; 12-18-2014 at 10:25 PM.JasonLincoln Idealarc 250 stick/tigThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 52Miller Bobcat 250Torchmate CNC tableThermal Arc Hefty 2Ironworkers Local 720
Reply:Originally Posted by Ronzo I am taking welding classes at a local community collage (which by the way aren't all they are cracked up to be).
Reply:Here ya go, enjoy!Nothing Ever Got Done By Quitting, Never Give Up.
Reply:DSW. I didn't say I wasn't learning anything because I am. It's just that everything we do in class are perfect conditions. They don't really  cover how to deal with less than perfect fit up, how to repair flaws and other things. I have picked up a lot in the class but it's more about technique than anything. I have learned so much actually working in the field that's all.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:Ok, that's fairly typical with schools. 1st thing to do is get down the basics. If you learn to read and understand the puddle well, things like poor fit up and so on aren't all that hard.I can deal with a changing root and poor fit up on an open root joint simply because I can see and understand what the puddle is telling me as I weld. I watch how the root keyholes and the puddle fills. It tells me when it's not burning in well enough, or it's about to drop out. Most students can't. They are lucky if they can make nice welds when the fit up is nice. Once they start to understand the puddle and can start to read it, their "skills" improve rapidly. It's not that they actually get "better" it's that now they know where and when to do what is needed to accomplish what needs to get done.My guess is you probably may not have made that connection quite yet.I wish I knew an easy way to convey that information to students, but I haven't found one yet. Each person absorbs and processes information differently. I've had students make the connection fairly rapidly, and I have had some who may never manage to do so. It all comes down to repetition and practice until you have that "Ah Ha!" moment. Also a lot of stuff in awkward positions comes down to "instinct" and muscle memory. Do something enough times and it becomes 2nd nature. I never really think about the mechanics of driving down the road any more. I change the radio, eat or drink, hold a conversation etc, and never consciously think about what I need to do to maintain a consistent speed going up and down hills, around corners, dealing with other traffic etc. If something unexpected happens, I react most times before I ever even have a chance to think. Same thing applies to welding. Once you get to the point where most of what you do is 2nd nature odd positions and all aren't as difficult.Also don't be scared to ask questions on things like this. As we near the end of the semester we usually allow the students the last 3 or 4 classes to "play" a bit. I've had plenty of students  squatting on the floor to weld vertical, or laying down to practice learning to weld on body panels. Assuming they are at the point that they can do the basic welds, then it's all about learning to get comfortable in odd positions..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:Doug247 thanks for the video. Clears alot of things up for me.