Question for David R

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Hi david,What info do you have for fine tuning your v350? i found some basic info on the lincoln site but would love something a little more in depth.Also how does yours run on your ranger? do you weld with it or the inbult machine.Just looking at a mobile system and am thinking if i should get a stand alone generator or a DC welding source.... hmmm
Reply:The V350 is kind of simple like me.  It does what ever I want and can dial in any arc I want.  I have no need to run it off the ranger 250 and it doesn't have enough balls on the AC side anyhow.  The ranger 250 puts out 35 amps, the V350 can draw up to 84.I can make Co2 weld almost as good as C/25.  Stick its hard to beat the V350.  Arc gouging, the V350 has the edge on the ranger because it goes up to 425 amps although I rarely go over 250 to 300.On the road I usually don't need over 200 amps.  The glory of the V350 is the pulsed spray mode.  Its the balls!Ask all the questions you want.  I am getting the hang of this thing.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Ok yeah it all depends what work you are doing i guess.Just looking at a mobile welder and wondering if it's worth setting up.Amps would be an issue for sure....I use mine mostly for manufacturing 1.2mm Stainless Steel race mufflershave a look at www.adrenalinR.com have you played around much on the stainless or alloy settings?I found a interesting article in the lincoln search engine regarding using a cobramatic on alloy which i don't do but it broke down the arc control settings and basic running in pulse mode.Matching WFS with the setting on 350 however that doesn't work well on the stainless it feels like there is too much heat and not enough wire? still getting very good results but i have seen better.Used to do alot of contracting when i bumped into a essiti pulse machine that could basically be adjusted almost as much as my 205t, pulse Hz etc, this performed very well on stainless we were fabing wine tanks etc, have you updated yours from the power wave site? maybe this would get me some amazing welds!!Thanks for your time david it's kind of hard down here the reps know s.f.a about what they are selling, apart from a few boat builders there arn't that many of these machines out here.
Reply:First, for the pulsed spray in stainless, I have never done it.  I do mostly carbon steel and some aluminum.The "Big knob" is supposed to be close to wire feed speed, but NOT EXACTLY.  It fine tunes the length of the arc and I found the shorter the arc the better looking the weld.  The "Wave Control" sets the frequency of the pulses.  It makes for a wider or narrower arc.  It makes quite a bit of difference especially when using different shielding gases.Using 98 argon, 2% o2, I can set the arc to be like a laser, or a wider more flowing arc.  With 92 argon, 8% Co2, I can do the same, but not as much.  The two overlap when when using the wave control.  Wave control to the left and the arc is more cone shaped, to the right and its narrow.  With 98/2 and wave control full right, the arc is no bigger than the diameter of the wire.I also found turning the wave control down makes the bead wet out a little better, again depending on the situation.For your example of matching wfs to 350, if it is too much heat and not enough wire, then either turn the "big knob" down, or turn the wave control down.  Either way will give a shorter arc with different results.I was builidng a BBQ grill in pulsed spray mode.  Just for the fun of it I cranked the machine.  I could weld 48 ipm flat or downhill on 3/16" plate. The weld looked pretty good, but my hands are not that steady.  The faster I weld, the more it shows.  The grill will never come apart.  I think I was running .035 at about 700 ipm.This thing kicks azz!I have put .045 wire in the machine and when welding 1/2" in pulsed spray mode, the arc actually takes place below the surface of the plate.  I checked with the power wave programs available, I have the latest software now.  I only had the advanced panel since december.DavidLast edited by David R; 07-11-2008 at 07:35 AM.Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Thanks DavidI will have a play round with it. At this stage welds are 85% toes need a little more wetting.I'll let you know how i get on maybe even some pics
Reply:Wave control down, Big knob up a little to keep the same length arc.David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Yes i think that is one of the issues, I have always run the arc control on +10 due to the focus this gives the arc, when i turn it down i never adjust the amps and wonder why it doesn't look as good. It's funny sometimes the most obvious things need to be spelt out to you...Got a big job on so won't be able to play with settings for a week or so will let you know when i get some nice looking welds.