symptoms of voltage supply problems?

[cup]

iv been working w/ my 110v welder for a bit and am having problems.. i skipped work today and practiced all day.. the problem is complete inconsistency w/ welds.. the only way i was getting an adequate weld was to have the voltage as high as it would go w/ my feed speed @ 2.5 or 3.. any lower and it spitts and spatters any highter and it pushes into the work.. the other power settings are pretty much useless.. i changed wire, have new gas, pulled the guide out of the gun and cleaned it w/ brake cleaner, cleaned tip and cone, set tension on wire feed, played w/ fegulator settings, different grounds.

heres the wierd thing. after having this problemway to long.. i pluged into an extension cord and used an outlet across the room.. on the low/low setting it blew right through a thin peice of tube.. i upped the feed speed and increased travel speed and all seems ok.

Q: what are the symptoms of a suply voltage problem?

[hankj]

What machine do you have, and what is it's current draw according to the owner's manual? 120V units are sensitive to voltage. If it needs 20-amps, it really needs 20 amps! If the circuit you had it plugged into has other things running on it at the same time, there will be a voltage drop.

You asked what the symptoms are, and what you describe before you swapped plug locations are exactly those symptoms!

It's best to have a dedicated 20-amp circuit for the 120V machines.

Hank

[Broccoli1]

heres the wierd thing. after having this problemway to long.. i pluged into an extension cord and used an outlet across the room.. on the low/low setting it blew right through a thin peice of tube.. i upped the feed speed and increased travel speed and all seems ok.

It's not uncommon for the outlet "across the room" to be on a different circuit and since you seemed to have rid yerself of the problem by running an AC cord, perhaps it is

As Hank stated, these little guys need all the juice they can get.

Some of the houses I've been in for Photo shoots, I swear the guy closed his eyes and threw a hammer and then said "let's pull some wire through here"

[cup]

THANKS for the help guys, it was driving me nuts...

What machine do you have, and what is it's current draw according to the owner's manual?

HANKJ
the unit is a campbell hausfeld (who makes the unit for em?).. max feed amps is 20.. im about to start trash talking the unit or buy a TIG

 If the circuit you had it plugged into has other things running

i suspect the deep freeze and the overhead lights..

BTW these are all GFI outlets.. what are they rated @.. does it matter.. they dont trip

Broccoli1

Some of the houses I've been in for Photo shoots, I swear the guy closed his eyes and threw a hammer and then said "let's pull some wire through here"

yea, you should see the phone jacks....!!!!!

I went out and put 2 peices of 14 ga ss exaust tube together and its probably the nicest looking weld ive ever done...

[Broccoli1]

i suspect the deep freeze and the overhead lights..

dat be da culprit

[cup]

"Hold my beer while I try this!"

like your sig.. this is how i get myself WAY in over my head in the shop (i mean garage)

[Broccoli1]

Cup,

Don't go trashin' the little guy too much- just ain't designed for for what people think it can do.

But it does seem that ya got the power problem solved and it's workin' better and not to beat it too much- but the power is a BIG factor in the performance of these 120v machines.