110vt buzzbox questions

Years ago, at least 20, I snagged an elderly Marquette 110vt buzzbox.

Its always been an utter pain in the ass to weld with, as it seems to be nearly unable to maintain an arc. Open voltage is right at 34 volts, not measured under load.

Data plate shows up to 90amps, 30volts open current, so it SHOULD be able to burn 3/32 rod well enough. Line voltage is 124volts, on a 50 amp circuit. with a sag to 122volts when I strike an arc. Or try to.

There is no reactor(?) coil in the machine, just a hefty transformer, with 3 taps, Low, Med, High

I dragged it out over the weekend and tried welding with it since my skill level has increased a smidge since I got it .

Its still a pain in the ass. Even with 3/32 rod of various types, it will bearly maintain an arch, but the rod turns red very quickly and sags, even though it wont burn properly.

Is this an indication of too low an arc voltage, given that Ive good reasonable current..enough to sag the rod.

Ive tried 1/16", and its not a hell of a lot better, with 6011/6013 etc being tried in all sizes.

Would I be served by making a reactor (?) choke(?)

Chuckle..this is simply a fun thing, as Ive got other..better..welders to use.

Any of you technical guys give me a heads up ?

Gunner

"[L]iberals are afraid to state what they truly believe in, for to do so would result in even less votes than they currently receive. Their methodology is to lie about their real agenda in the hopes of regaining power, at which point they will do whatever they damn well please. The problem is they have concealed and obfuscated for so long that, as a group, they themselves are no longer sure of their goals. They are a collection of wild-eyed splinter groups, all holding a grab-bag of dreams and wishes. Some want a Socialist, secular-humanist state, others the repeal of the Second Amendment. Some want same sex/different species marriage, others want voting rights for trees, fish, coal and bugs. Some want cradle to grave care and complete subservience to the government nanny state, others want a culture that walks in lockstep and speaks only with intonations of political correctness. I view the American liberals in much the same way I view the competing factions of Islamic fundamentalists. The latter hate each other to the core, and only join forces to attack the US or Israel. The former hate themselves to the core, and only join forces to attack George Bush and conservatives." --Ron Marr

Reply to
Gunner Asch
Loading thread data ...

I think that you have better things to do, compared to adding chokes to pieces of crap. A POS with a choke is still a POS.

I heard that copper prices are up considerably...

i
Reply to
Ignoramus4289

What are the current levels on input and output while under load? Maybe you have a bad/resistive connection somewhere in the output. Measuring some current levels may prove helpful.

I've only seen reactor coils on DC machines. They help smooth out the bumps between rectified cycles while still allowing the voltage to fluctuate and current to stay steady. I don't think it would help much here (shrug). You can always make a crude one for a test. Just coil maybe 20 loops of the stinger cable around maybe a 2 inch or so square stick close to the welder output and give it a whirl.

Reply to
Leon Fisk

That is a great project. Perfect project in fact.

i
Reply to
Ignoramus4289

formatting link
>>

Only if you vote for Barack Hussein Obama

i
Reply to
Ignoramus4289

"Gary Owens" wrote: If its 110v, are you running it off a 100ft 18ga extension cord ? check

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Gary, you evidently didn't notice this part of the original post: " Line voltage is 124volts, on a 50 amp circuit. with a sag to 122volts when I strike an arc. "

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

formatting link
>>>>

Oh, look. Gunner's building a tar baby. Will he give it jellybeans for eyes? Will he use turpentine to slick down its hair? Stay tuned.

-- Ed Huntress

Reply to
Ed Huntress

Actually, I would call it a choke, but reactor is what you see most often in reference to welders. I'm just a lowly old tech, so what do I know... For a picture see:

formatting link
It would help if you had a core to wind the turns around.

Don's idea to find some diodes and make a little DC welder is really good. Then you could most definitely use the reactor. That would make a nice little DC box.

Another thought is to try using it in the low or middle output range. It is very possible that it could actually have a higher VOC in those ranges. I know the VOC on my dual range buzz-box sucks on the high current tap. The low-range tap is much higher.

Reply to
Leon Fisk

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote: I would blow my brains out first. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Can you hit a target that small?

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

"Michael A. Terrell" I don't know. Are you volunteering to be a target? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Oh, STOP it, Michael. How can I top a response as clever as that? Well, maybe, "Your mother wears combat boots."

Reply to
Leo Lichtman

Your biggest problem is low electrode voltage. It may be 30V off load but that probably drops by 50% on load. Then you need to shorten the arc, then the rod sticks, then the arc stops.......

It all sounds like my first welder. I didn't realise just how bad it was untill I got a good one.

John

Reply to
John

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.