amps for mig

[bandaidmd]

Looking thru the manual for my Hobart 190 they have a quicky reference for amps. If you go by this "guideline" every .001 of metal thickness gets one amp so 1/8" (.125) needs 125 amps so it seems reasonable so far.
This machine is advertised as welding up to 5/16 which is .3125 so you would need 312 amps out of this 190 amp machine...hmmn i guess they forgot my amp multiplier attachment.
Why bother to list such conflicting information in a handbook.

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

It's what well versed welders know: Multi-pass welds and what is practical weld in a single pass. You'll rarely see people lay in a 1/4" single pass. Usually you lay in about 1/8" of metal in single pass. What they are giving you is a multi pass practical limit of a light duty machine.

 

[bandaidmd]

It's what well versed welders know: Multi-pass welds and what is practical weld in a single pass. You'll rarely see people lay in a 1/4" single pass. Usually you lay in about 1/8" of metal in single pass. What they are giving you is a multi pass practical limit of a light duty machine.

Yeah i realise the limits but if they don't clarifie what they write down it makes no sense to waste the ink. I won't be using the mig for anything over 3/16 anyway ,the heavy stuff will still get the splattermaster.

I posted this to the Hobart forum;
The brown truck showed up yesterday with my new 190 with spoolrunner and while going thru the operators manual i found some conflicting information.

Looking thru the manual for my Hobart 190 you have a quick reference for amps. If you go by this "guideline" every .001 of metal thickness gets one amp so 1/8" (.125) needs 125 amps so it seems reasonable so far.

This machine is advertised as welding up to 5/16 which is .3125 so you would need 312 amps out of this 190 amp machine...hmmn i guess you forgot my amp multiplier attachment.

By this guideline anything over 3/16" (.1875) would be multi pass but if multipass is what your referring to theoretically there is no limit to thickness with proper prep.

Why bother to list such conflicting information in a handbook.

 

[BukitCase]

To me, it smells like the same kind of marketing BS that allows companies to sell you a "6 horsepower portable air compressor" that has a 120 volt plug on it (not even the 20 amp version) - even if you calculate horsepower that's CONSUMED instead of the horsepower that is DELIVERED, at 120 volts and 746 watts per horsepower, it would draw 37.3 amps !!

Back in the '70's, a lot of stereos were sold using this same "marketing math" - in both cases, I call it "Lying for money". Sounds a lot like politics in my book... Steve