Everlast POWER i-MIG 253DP Operator's Manual page 33

Section 2
wire contacts the puddle and the current falls. This
process is happening many times a second so it isn't
usually visible to the naked eye. But the overall
effect is visible as the wire burn off height is changed
and a change in the wetness of the puddle and how
easily the molten metal flows in toward the toes of
the weld as it melts off. If the unit has sufficient arc
force, the edges of the weld will easily wick into the
puddle with little or no spatter with little or no ma-
nipulation of the torch required. The pitch of the
arc will be medium. With too much inductance the
puddle may be uncontrollable, high spatter and the
arc will have a throaty, raspy sound. Too little in-
ductance and the puddle will be narrow and possibly
have a high ridge in the center. The pitch will be
very high and the puddle will seem sluggish and less
fluid. The Inductance changes somewhat in Pulse
MIG and increasing it shortens the arc length and
increases the stick out of the wire. The frequency of
droplet deposition is increased, accompanied by a
higher pitch sound to the Pulse. With Aluminum, it
is particularly important to run on the high side of
the Inductance if the wire seems to melt too far back
before pinching off and streaming into the puddle.
All MIGs have a built-in amount of inductance or arc
force that is inherent in the machine's design. But
few MIGs have the adjustable Inductance. Induct-
ance is part of the personality of a MIG welder. Its
one reason that some people prefer the arc of one
brand over the other since people develop personal
preferences in arc performance. With that in mind,
having an adjustable Inductance serves several func-
tions:
1) The Inductance allows the user to dial the ma-
chine to a performance level that the user is
accustomed to. This helps if multiple users are
present and improves the operator's perfor-
mance with the welder.
2) The Inductance can help improve control and
weldability in out-of-position welds (weld posi-
tions other than flat) without having to change
other parameters.
3) Different shielding gases require different levels
of inductance for optimum performance. This is
particularly true when welding in the Pulse-MIG
modes The arc force improves performance
with different gas mixes by being able to adjust
the arc to render the best and smoothest possi-
ble arc for the shielding gas being used. Induct-
Setup Guide and component Identification
BASIC MIG OPERATION
ance allows this machine to have excellent arc
performance when pure CO2 is used in non-
pulse modes.
4) The inductance can improve weldability of thin-
ner metals without having to step down a size in
wire. While ultimately there are limits to what
any given wire can weld on the lower end of its
range, it does help improve the low amp weld-
ing characteristics of the wire diameter.
For the best possible experience welding with the
Power i-MIG, adjust Inductance after the Amps and
Volts (or Trim/Volt offset if in Pulse mode) have
been tuned. This will keep the user from constantly
having to hunt for the best balance of the other two
adjustments. Usually once a particular arc force
setting is selected that is suitable to the user, it will
work well throughout the range of adjustments and
will rarely require readjustment once set to the op-
erator's satisfaction. However, this is not to say
that readjusting the arc force from time to time is
not beneficial. When the operator must weld out-of
-position, readjusting the arc force control can help
reduce clogging of the nozzle and even make the
puddle more controllable.
Avoid the temptation of setting the control at the
mid-point or even full left or full right without per-
forming a few test welds first. Few users will find
these settings to their liking. Turning the Inductance
to the minimum setting does not turn the feature
off. A good starting point is somewhere between 2
and 3 in standard, non-pulse modes. In Pulse mode,
especially while welding aluminum, you may need to
start as high as 6 to 7 and increase from there. This
will usually produce a desirable arc with for most
people and will produce minimal spatter. If spatter
becomes a problem and everything seems adjusted
properly, always remember to check the Inductance
setting. Test and fine tune the adjustment from
there increasing in increments of 1 before starting to
weld any critical part. The range for this unit is from
1 to 9, in whole numbers.
Burn Back Control.
After the trigger is released on the welder, it's natu-
ral for a small extra amount of wire to coast out of
the gun. This small amount of extra wire may stick
fast in the weld as the molten puddle begins to cool.
This will require the operator to break it loose and
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