amp outputs mig vs. stick

[LD1]

I wonder why?

:laughing:

 

[yomax4]

There's no question that every brand machine will perform different. I have found with a lot the 115v mig units that they have the highest output with .030 hard wire. .023 doesn't seem to get all the voltage out and .035 held it back a little too. ( judging by what the DC Tongs read for output amps ) The thing is how they are built. There are so many contributing factors like as Arc Force on stick that will hold an arc and you can push a 1/8 rod through a 1/2" plate on 115v. Open Circuit Voltage that will light the 60 series rods if it's above 80. Power Factor Correction will clean your power peaks and valley's and add output to your machine. Ground cable size matters too. Quality units have these features and they make a lot of difference in performance... On the mig side, I have put DC tongs on the ground cables of various brands of 115v mig machines and got 80 amps up to 135 amps output from a 20 amp breaker. The higher output on 115v came from the 115 / 230 machines. They seem to have better output than the 115v only machines. At the factory, " What they put in is what you get out ". The small transformer machines are falling behind in features, benifits, technology and performance.