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Ready Welder and thin steel question

Hi all (and Ernie...),

Although I'm getting better using the Ready Welder with my TA 185 CC machine, I'm faced with doing some body panel replacement on my truck and I'm not confident enough with the RW/TA to feel comfortable using it for thin steel, I just wanted to confirm something before I start looking for a used MIG or wire feed machine.

  • From what I've read on this NG I think I could use my RW as a spool gun in front of a CV power supply and it should work as well or better than the original setup, even on thin materials, yes?

  • Will the RW/TA work well on body panel gauge steel? IOW, is this just a matter of me practicing?

Thanks,

Peter

Reply to
pgrey
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Yes it will work fine.

It is a matter of dialing the machine down. The important bit is reducing the Open Circuit Voltage. On my Miller Maxstar inverter it is called DIG control.

After reading the PDF operators' Manual for your machine, it seems that there is a Voltage Reduction Device built in, but it is set to OFF at the Factory. The manuals tells how to turn it on. That should help immensely with running smaller wires on the RW.

Reply to
Ernie Leimkuhler

Thanks.

I know I have a hot start control, but could never find the equivalent to the Miller DIG control. I don't think I've ever read about the Voltage Reduction Device. I'll try to hunt it down. Very cool!

Thanks Ernie!

Peter

Reply to
pgrey

I think the PDF you read was for the Arcmaster 185 which is a more recent version of the 185TSW I have. My manual says that the VRD exists but gives no info on how to enable/disable it. The PDF for the Arcmaster does give that info though. I'll pull the panel off to see if the same process will work with my machine. My manual seems to indicate that the VRD is set to "on" as a default though.

Peter

Reply to
pgrey

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