Duty Cycle? Help! What does this mean?

admin

Hi , I want to purchase a TIG Welder.  I plan on welding mild steel no more than 1/4" thick.   According to the specs this welders AMP range is from 5-150AMPs  which is pleanty for what I ever would use it for.  However what the hell is a Duty Cycle?  does it mean it will shut off on me all the time?here is a pic of the welder I am looking at plus the Spec infoRated Output TIG 100 A at 14 VDC, 115 VAC, 100% Duty Cycle 150 A at 16 VDC, 115 VAC, 30% Duty Cycle 100 A at 14 VDC, 230 VAC, 100% Duty Cycle 150 A at 16 VDC, 230 VAC, 30% Duty Cycle Welding Amperage RangeTIG: 5 - 150 A, 115 VAC TIG: 5 - 150 A, 230 VAC thanks!!!
Reply:A 30% duty cycle means that you can weld at that amperage for 3 out of 10 minutes continuosly, and then the machine must rest for 7 minutes.... I think.
Reply:That's my understanding as well.  I think many modern power supplies have thermal overload protection, so it will probaly shut down on it's own, without you having to count minutes.Just as a side note, I noticed the voltages listed, 14 & 16 volts, are probably higher than actual GTAW voltages, more like 9 to 12 volts depending on arc length, amperage, and shield gas, so under these lower power conditions of an actual weld, you will pick up some extra duty cycle.
Reply:Keep in mind too you probably won't be doing a continuous bead for minutes on end - usually weld a bit, have to reposition, weld a bit, stop to check how it looks, ... etc.... So you are giving your welder a 'break' with this start-stop action, lessening the chance it is going to shut down on you. You probably won't be welding at balls-out 150 amps for 3 minutes straight.- John
Reply:Cool! Thank you guys for your help, It looks like I will be considering this Welderthen .
Reply:That is a nice little welder but keep in mind, I don't believe that one will run a/c current for aluminum. Maybe I've got my welders mixed up.Bill
Reply:My Lincoln 135 has a duty cycle of 20% we used it for 3 days in 100 degree weather and it never went into thermal shutdown.  The welds were 2" longseveral hundred times over but the machine had enough rest time between welds to cool down.  We didn't intentionally give it any breaks ... 3 or 4 welds then new steel.  Weld'n Girl ain't no slouch when it comes to making my welder work hard.So duty cycle is usually worst case. temperature sensitive too.My angle grinder is my best friend!
Reply:I have ran 6-8" long beads right after another with my lincoln 100 without it shuting down on me and barely any drop in amps, I was amazed.  I don't remember what the duty cycle is on it but it's not much.  I figured it would've shut down on me.DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:You can cheat sometimes too by opening the door and putting a fan right next to it. A 20" box fan does wonders.
Reply:sweet thanks again for all the info!!!