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Teach me about my buzzbox...

WrenchMonkey

NAXJA Member #771
NAXJA Member
Well, we're no longer allowed to wrench on our personal stuff at work anymore, because some dip$hit got busted lifting his kia with a forktruck, supposedly to look for an exhaust leak.

So I'm going to have to start doing my welding at home.


I have an ancient Hobart "AC Transformer Triple Utility Welder" that I got from my uncle a couple years ago, and have never plugged in. He has the receipt from when he bought it (used) on the 18th of July, 1966. The manual (!) has the numbers 020961 on the cover, so I assume that's Feb of '61.

So it's close to fifty years old. Pretty cool.

The insulation on the ground lead is cracked and peeling, so I may replace it, but otherwise it's in really great shape.


My questions are about power. I know that at 295amps it'll liquify anything I'm like to play around on (mostly 1/8" brackets, some 1/4", but nothing structurally critical.) I also know that those 295 amps will just as quickly liquify the wiring in my garage.

The manual seems to say that peak draw is 80A with capacitors, 98A without, but it doesn't say where these caps would be or how to know if I have them.

My math says that 295A at 30v is only 40A at 220v, so I guess the 80-100A is just a momentary surge? Like when you strike an arc? I dunno.



I've got the 220 in the garage, but never used it. As far as I can tell, it's only a 20A service, the plug is a NEMA 6-20.

If I swap the outlet, I can run the welder on it, right? Just not at full power? Not at anything even close to full power?

From what I've read, the full 295A will weld 1/2" or better in a single pass, is this about right?

So if I can only draw half (or a quarter?) of that load from my dryer outlet, it'll only put out half-or-a-quarter, ie: 75-150A, right?

I'd guess that'd do 1/4", but I really don't know. But for now I'm really only planning on 1/8", anyway.

Will it work? Or will this prehistoric beast obliterate my workpiece and my workshop?

Thanks guys, and sorry I ramble!

Robert
 
Okay, that was way too much information.

How about this:


If I can only supply my buzzbox welder with 20 amps, can I still weld anything with it?

Thanks.

Robert
 
I could be wrong, but is this a technical question? In this forum, none of us understand tech stuff... but ask about the beer box buzz and we snap too!

I'm just saying the right crowd to answer your query might be reading in the advanced fab section. And I'll add, I wish I had this particular problem you are facing. :) Sounds like a powerful unit.
 
I could be wrong, but is this a technical question? In this forum, none of us understand tech stuff... but ask about the beer box buzz and we snap too!

I'm just saying the right crowd to answer your query might be reading in the advanced fab section. And I'll add, I wish I had this particular problem you are facing. :) Sounds like a powerful unit.

Yeah, I considered it. And you're probably right. There's even the fab-tools forum that would have been better.

Oh well, here it is, unless/until somebody important thinks it should be moved...

Robert
 
Robert
The best advice I can give you is to drop a line here http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtalk/

The second one is that if your machine has a variable tap, like the older Lincolin's do, then simply use it at a reduced output amperage, and you should be fine at that rating. For example, if you need 100A, then taping it down and welding at that should be OK.

The caps I'm guessing are for starting an arc, but that's just a guess.

I'd try the Forum.
 
...if your machine has a variable tap, like the older Lincolin's do, then simply use it at a reduced output amperage, and you should be fine at that rating. For example, if you need 100A, then taping it down and welding at that should be OK...

That was pretty much my plan. It's got five coarse settings: 35-100A, 70-160A, 110-200A, 160-260A, and 230-295A; then a fine adjustment to tweek within each range.

I'm pretty sure I can do what I want with just the lightest setting or two.

I guess I'm just going to wire it up, start low, and turn it up until I either get a decent weld, or start blowing fuses/breakers in the garage...

Or, you know, set it on fire.

Oh, and thanks to the mods for the move!

Robert
 
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