Stick Welder

[Sberry]

That is a plus with welding/gen sets, way more poop than common generators and one reason I think is engine power, a 6000 might have a 12 hp on it,,, on a welder a 16 hp engine, a 20 on my GS8000. They start motors wayyyyyyyyyyyy bigger than they list in the manual.

[Brand X]

I will say I do like my Yamaha 1000 inverter generator also. I am a big fan of using only enough generator for the job. Inverters in general do that very well. (Matches RPM to load, with the freg staying at 60hz at all times) Running my Lincoln 305G (sold) for a few lights, never really appealed to me. 1-2 gallons of gas per day does. Light load for fridge and a few lights is about .66 gals per 12 hours.

[Sberry]

I use an 8K unit for power and the main reason is the well and have 3 fridges + the misc stuff. I turn off my air comps and 1 water heater if I need to make power, hasn't happened in a long time though. I usually hook it on, turn the well off till any other loads cycle then flip well on and everything is ok after that point. The 8 k is marginal, about 10 would be perfect but it is certainly pricey to keep a machine revved, makes a guy appreciate line power. The poco here has done a lot of repair, finally got to some things that were causing flickers and outs, last interrupt that was more than momentary was about 3 hrs a couple or more years ago. Longest I been down was couple days.
During a short one I decide to drive up to major store to get a couple things and kill time, the poco said 2 hrs so off I go. I am in HD and run into a neighbor trying to get assistance from elect dept from a guy says he is an electrician, maybe so, but I strongly encourage this guy to get some help, he wants to back feed his property and in a panic. I tell him,,, the power will be on by the time you get home, after he walks away I corner the HD guy, I had a little informing of my own. I say, it should be obvious you are talking to this idiot first and second he has no clue wtf and although I am not the lawsuit type I wont hesitate if this fool tries to hook this up based on advice he got from here and its not a good idea to hand it out when people trying to do something illegal. Not only should you not be helping him but should inform him how dangerous this is,,, multiplied x the dimwit factor. I have nearly grilled myself and have some concept,,, ha

[Blacksmith]

I have sucessfully backfed, but I still have a written checklist of steps and cautions and refer to it each and every time. I have no desire to cause injury to anyone or damage anything just to convenience myself.

[laman]

Where is Thermal Arc 161s manufactured? Are the reliable machines? I have always been a blue fan, but there is a big price difference.

[Brand X]

Where is Thermal Arc 161s manufactured? Are the reliable machines? I have always been a blue fan, but there is a big price difference.

China on this one. Not your average China welder. The 95s (little sister) was really put through it's paces before released. I am sure this went through some of the same testing. Mostly in Australia on the 95s. The 95s was outstanding in reliability.

[xdhd350]

They are designed with low ocv features for safety, the rod needs to have more stabilizers than 6010, hence the 6011 which was designed to be able to be used on buzzers.

6011, as I understand it, has stabilizers added vs. 6010 to be able to run on AC only welders.

It's the 7018AC variant that is designed to run on welders with low OCV, vs. standard 7018.

That's what I have gleaned from all the literature anyway.

greg

[Graybeard62]

This is the deal Cary.
I sold my 95s to my friend and bought this. 100 amps output on stick running on a 120 volt/20 amp circuit.(110 max stick on 120 volts) Plus the option of 220 use. The 95s was 90 amps output on stick. Three year warranty on this compared to one year for the 95s. I have a feeling it will run most rods better then the 95s.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/THERMAL-ARC-...item53e5eb6922

Would there be any problems running longer leads on this?

[Sberry]

I got another piece of number 4 25 ft long for my Max, wish I would have done it for an earlier job. I like to be able to drag the stinger around for construction type work.

[Brand X]

Would there be any problems running longer leads on this?

No, if you go a lot longer then factory, just up the size a bit. 25ft would not be a issue.

[Brand X]

I got another piece of number 4 25 ft long for my Max, wish I would have done it for an earlier job. I like to be able to drag the stinger around for construction type work.

I went another way. I still need to get some extra #4 cable. Since I had a few extra male 25 MM dinse laying around, This is a good way to extend the leads. I might buy a 50 ft and cut it in half. That will give me extra length when needed. The Thermal cables are 12ft. I rather keep the power cable short, and extend the leads if using 120 input power.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...E:L:OC:US:1123

[Sberry]

I ordered a couple connectors and made 25 ft just for the stinger side, that works pretty well. Even though the machine is portable I found it a pain to move 3 things every time something was just out of reach and the 25 plus the factory stinger gave it some range, set it anywhere near the middle of a project and have enough to jump around, trailer building or shelves in my barn, up ladders, each end of the bay etc. I didn't bother with the ground side. Was going to get a 6 due to the fact this would be small stuff usually from 120V but they didn't have it when I grab this up and had 4 in pre-cut, seems it was around a buck a foot or so at a welding store. Maybe 30$ for the piece. I actually had to order connectors, the counter types were about clueless and claim to have half a mill in inventory, big wall full of parts/pieces but you would have thought I was asking for moon rocks.