Christmas came early... Need help.

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The wife came home this afternoon looking like the cat that ate the canary. Grins at me and told me to look in the truck, "...might find something you'll like, Merry X-mas!", kissed me and went up the house. So I go look and what do i find... MY VERY FIRST INVERTER WELDER!!!Its an Esab Buddy Arc 200 MMA/LIFT TIG unit. Hmm... I'm having difficulty posting pics...  so heres a link...http://www.centerindustrial.com/budd...ve-tig-welder/Tried finding reviews about the machine and all I found were posts in russian forums. Now I don't understand russian and it seems google translator doesn't either!  So I played with it this evening... what a diffrence it is from my ancient AC welder. The DC arc was softer than what I'm used to. Tried it on 6013 and 7018 DCEP, no problems. Runs those rods very smooth. Switched rods to 6011, NO JOY AT ALL! Very difficult to start an arc on 6011, and when it does start the arc keeps going out when doing whip and pause. On 6010 electrodes same story. 6010 and 6011 rods were fresh from last week. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Reply:I have heard some inverters don't run 6010 well. The everlast machines even have a 6010 terminal on them. Even my Miller needed a firmware upgrade to get it to run 6010.Regards,RobGreat Basin WeldingInstagramBlue weldersRed weldersMy luscious Table DIY TIG Torch cooler
Reply:There is no separate terminal for 6010. Also no arc force knob.I know about the miller inverters having issues with 6010. That's why I tried some 6011 rods. They said 6010 have issues with inverters low OCV's. 6011s supposedly friendlier. The manual states 66.3volts OCV. Could this be the problem?
Reply:Is the esab buddy arc 200 comparable with the MiniArc161? Except the 161 has a 80volts OCV from the spec sheets. Seems the 161s runs 6010 no problems as experienced by several members here... Anyone???Last edited by silvertina; 12-11-2014 at 12:06 PM.
Reply:We have Miller CST 280's and the 304 xmt's and ours run 6010 just fine. Maybe the lower amp ones have issues.
Reply:Esab 161 will run 6010 rod, I'm no expert on 6010 since I seldom use them but it would keep them lit.
Reply:The only issue I had with the 280dx was the arc would just go out on 6010, since the upgrade I have had no issues.Regards,RobGreat Basin WeldingInstagramBlue weldersRed weldersMy luscious Table DIY TIG Torch cooler
Reply:Tried 6011 rods again just now. Opened a new box. The arc would start and I could weld about one and a half to two inches weld bead doing whip and pause, then the arc would fizzle out. Restrikes are no problems as the rod heats up, before the previous weld freezes up. Now I'm getting real efficient like restriking 6011sAside from the arc going out, the resulting beads that i get are nice looking stacked dimes. Slag comes off very easy. No pounding needed.Last edited by silvertina; 12-11-2014 at 12:40 PM.
Reply:Is that a dual voltage input welder? On my 161 rods don't seem to run as good on 110 as they do on 220 even if set to the same amperage.
Reply:PROGRESS REPORT:Gave up on 6010 for now. Will call local distributor later to ask them bout it.6011=starting to get the hang of it on this machine. Burnt about 20 sticks now. Seems that I needed to hold a bit longer arc than I am used to. Not jammed into the test plate as I usually do. The arc now stays lit a lot longer before going out. Running 6011s 1/8inch dia @90Amps.7018AC= I run these rods as I have an old AC only 300amp welder. The Esab is my first DC inverter welder. The Esab runs 7018AC rods like a hot knife thru butter. These rods I used earlier first to test the Esab. Ran them 7018AC 1/8inch dia @120Amps. 6013= childs play on this welder.Overall I'm very happy with it. Elated actually, as I have been looking at buying an inverter one a while ago. I was shocked at the local prices. The Miller Maxstar 150s goes for 84,000pesos. About 1900dollars for you guys. The Fronius Transpocket 1500 cost a shade more, about 90,000pesos. Then my wife comes home with this Esab unit. I do not know what she paid for it... Now if only I could figure out what to get my wife in return.....
Reply:The unit that I got runs single phase 230volts. It is not dual voltage. It is now plugged into a 50amp NEMA 6-50R outlet running THHN #8 AWG.Again any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks
Reply:I think after a little more practice with your machine you should be able to run 6010, maybe you need more amp's.. My 161 looks the same on the panel except for the amperage dial.
Reply:Also on the Esab that I have if you stick a rod after like 2_seconds it cuts back on the current so you can break the rod free without it glowing red. All in all a very nice welder for the money.
Reply:Originally Posted by silvertina. Then my wife comes home with this Esab unit. I do not know what she paid for it... Now if only I could figure out what to get my wife in return.....
Reply:Originally Posted by M J DAlso on the Esab that I have if you stick a rod after like 2_seconds it cuts back on the current so you can break the rod free without it glowing red. All in all a very nice welder for the money.
Reply:Originally Posted by BistineauGet her a brand new Jeepney. She will love it.