Does SMAW Require Less Amps

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I know the ROT for welding is 1 amp per .001" of material.   It seems that with stick welding, the videos I've watched and recommendations on amperage needed seems to be about half of that.  It's DCEP, so I would figure moe heat into electrode and less into the material, which makes it even more confusing.  So with TIG, I'm seeing 250A for 1/4" steel, but 125A for 1/8" 7018 to weld 1/4" steel.  At 80 amps with 3/32 6011, I'm chewing right through 3/16 mild steel with my little TA95.  Am I misinformed, or does the SMAW process inherently have more gusto at the same amps as other methods?TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:with either process the question is how many passes...i guess with a tig setup using the pedal  you could move slow and control  enough heat into a puddle to feed lots of rod  and onepass it..you dont say butt or fillet but it sounds hot..3/32 6011 at 80 amps would blow through 3/16 unless you kept moving but then you'd never melt enough like that to onepass it..i think id be more like 65 amps..
Reply:You are looking at two different things.1/8" welding rod usually used 125 amps give or take.  (.125")3/32" rod is in the 80 amp range  .(9375")The rule of thumb is for one pass and all rules are made to be broken.I spent most of yesterday TIG welding 1/8" plate at 90 amps one pass.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:I will say the short answer is that tig is less efficient than stick welding in terms of electricity used to metal deposited.  It might be an intresting experiment say take some 3/8 plate make a v type of butt joint and fill it half way up then find out how much amps with tig it takes to just get a puddle, a realisticly useable puddle, and then see how big a stick  you can use more or less properly at that setting.  With say the 3/8 plate I can trip my 50 amp breaker with the tig and still be going much slower than the non breaker tripping 3/16 rods.  Mild steel.  I also think the mig or dual shield process makes more deposition per input watt hour than either discussed above.
Reply:There are a few things that contribute to heat. Electricity is one of them. The other would be the shielding gas. If you use a heavy helium mix, it will burn hotter than argon on tig. Same goes for mig. Flux Core burns hotter than plain wire (some are hotter than others). This has always had me wondering as well. I know its hotter but how much is what I never knew. I recently bought a 220amp inverter tig that can do 200 amp stick welding. I bought the stick electrode to play around with this very thing. Same machine. Amps to amp comparison.Hobart Handler 210 with SpoolgunHypertherm PM30 PlasmaHTP 221 Tig WelderHF BandsawHF Auto Dark Helmet
Reply:Originally Posted by mikeb9550There are a few things that contribute to heat. Electricity is one of them. The other would be the shielding gas. If you use a heavy helium mix, it will burn hotter than argon on tig. Same goes for mig. Flux Core burns hotter than plain wire (some are hotter than others). This has always had me wondering as well. I know its hotter but how much is what I never knew. I recently bought a 220amp inverter tig that can do 200 amp stick welding. I bought the stick electrode to play around with this very thing. Same machine. Amps to amp comparison.
Reply:The rule holds with SMAW because the amperage you are setting to is related to electrode diameter not the base metal thickness, 1/8" rod= ~125 amps. For thicker plate you make more passes, you would do the same with tig or mig
Reply:Hello drf255, this is really an apples to oranges comparison. Stick welding electrodes per a specific diameter can require and be run with an amazing range of amperages depending upon their type and application. Example: 1/8" E6010 electrodes, minimum suggested amperage values in use around 55 amps or so and I believe the upper end is around 115 amps or so. Another 1/8" rod: E7024, low end of amperage 85 amps or close to that, upper amperage settings 175 amps or more. That simple comparison comprises a very wide range of usable amperage for those two different but similar rods at least diameter wise. Comparing GTAW to SMAW is a completely different set of circumstances and possibly applications as well. Depth to width ratios for the arcs themselves is somewhat relative to polarity choices and in the case of SMAW the rod type: here again the 6010 has deep penetrating arc action and the 7024 has a soft shallow penetrating arc. GTAW, depending upon gas selection, current selection, and a number of other variables could have a lot of different penetration characteristics. Just a couple of items to consider when discussing this sort of question. Best regards, Allanaevald