Autoarc 255 finally running - first welds

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I just got my deal of the century welder up and running. I bought a Autoarc 255 off of Craigslist for $75   Supposedly the spool motor was bad.  After some good advice from guys on here and a lot of tracing down Turns out it was the coil on the contactor, $25.  New nozzle, liner, tips, .035 solid... probably $150 total invested.I grabbed a tank of 75/25 from work and wanted to check everything out.  Did not go as planned. Turns out the feeder the wire mounts on had some rust on the shaft.  After a little wire brush and oil all is good.I burned some beads on 14ga with it cranked up.  Melted the wire to the first tip.  After I got it dialed down came out with what I thought was some pretty decent welds.I pulled out a piece of 3/16" and started on low and cranked the amps up until it got good penetration.  The best was the bottom weld on the long skinny piece.I lay out about $700K of metalwork a month for my shop (Architectural Sign Shop) but these are my first few welds.  I wanted to get your thoughts and input on the welds. (note: on the back of the smaller 14ga piece there is a very bad weld I did with no gas just to see if the machine was working when I was sorting out the problems). Attached Images
Reply:Just noticed the dates are off on the camera still.  These were done a few minutes ago 3/5/2010
Reply:welds look pretty good. the second plate you have it looks like your gas wasnt set right. where are you setting your gas? ( i normally run 20-30) too little gas and you get oxygen in the weld and too much gas and you can draw oxygen into the weld.best way to compare your welds is look up a welding book and compare your welds to what they have in the book.on the second plate from the top:first bead looks real good - good consistency and movementsecond to fifth bead arnt bad, just need to keep better consistency with the pool. remember not to look so much at what your welding as to keep your eyes concentrated on the pool itself. if you have a uniform pool then you will have a good weld if all other conditions are right.I break things for a living...
Reply:It's set right around 30.  Thanks for the tips.I just posted some pictures under the "36 Dodge Narrowed frame" of a bunch of welding and grinding I did today.  I got about five hours on it.  Got a lot done.I saw what you were talking about watching the pool.  That makes a big difference.John - Chesapeake VA