Never welded before- How do I start to learn?

That's not uncommon. Some people swear by a ferrite loop with the router power cord looped through a couple of times. There's not always a good cure.
 
Famous last words....

"I'll try anything, ONCE." ;D

Thanks Tony. Worth a shot I suppose.
 
author=Highpower link=topic=1541.msg9909#msg9909 date=1302574209
author=Zigeuner link=topic=1541.msg9831#msg9831 date=1302549846

A few years ago, I got a Lincoln SP 175 + MIG welder and traded the Lincoln TIG in on a Miller Syncrowave 200. Both of those are perfect for the home shop.
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I'm not trying to hijack the thread here - but just had a quick question...

Zigeuner, do you ever have any problems with stray HF from your Syncrowave? I can't use mine when the wife is on her computer because it drives our home network router NUTS! :eek:
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What Tony Wells says might work. Also, I presume that you have the manual for the SW 200. Figure 7-3 on page 35 of the manual has a great diagram of proper techniques to stop HF migrating out of your shop. Take a look at that and see if you get some ideas from it.

I haven't had any problem since I live on 2 acres and my shop is in a barn. It's about 75 feet from the welding area to any computer so I haven't had a problem.

Beyond that, my power comes from the back of the house at a 200 amp service entrance from a pole just outside of the side fencing. From that box I took 100 amps to a subpanel inside of the barn. There are four really large USE cables underground that feed the barn: Two hots for 240 VAC plus a neutral and a large ground. Besides that, there is a 6 ga. copper ground from the subpanel connected to a rebar in the foundation that's about 6 feet down. I did all of that in 1979 when the barn went in.

The point of talking about that is that the barn electrical, although it comes from the house box, is rather well isolated from the house circuits and very well grounded. If you are using a circuit in your house and working inside of the garage, say, I could see where you would have an issue.

Interestingly, I do hear a touch of HF static in the barn if, and only if, I have the radio on when I'm working. It lasts only for the startup on the SW 200. I asked my Miller dealer about that and he said that, unlike a straight sine wave welder, the SW models only need HF on start since on AC, the arc is maintained by the square wave balance function. That's what he said anyway...and as I said, I can hear the HF at start for a second or less and then it drops out. For the record, I do recall that the Lincoln Idealarc TIG, which was straight sine wave and which used HF on at all times during AC operation would cause the radio to make constant static during AC welding - but for the reasons mentioned above, it never bothered any computer usage.

So, my take on the issue, which I understand is not an uncommon problem, would be that you are too close to the computer with insufficient grounding. Take a look at the manual and let us know what you think.

Maybe you could tell your spouse that you need an outbuilding to improve this situation....heh heh.

Hope this helps.
:)
 
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Zig made some very valid points, all should be checked out. I had a similar problem that you guys reminded me of. I was responsible for a hydrocarbon lab for a year or so, and we were experiencing all sorts of strange issues with the computer that ran our fractionating column. I hung a scope on the incoming power and once in a while I would get the trashiest sine wave I've ever seen from a utility. They were no help, after checking out the transformers, no action. Finally, it dawned on me that I was on the same transformers as our fab shop. A couple of syncrowave machines were in pretty regular use there. Every time the welders worked on their projects, the sine wave went wacky. Ultimately, I bought a very heavy 240 VAC line conditioner with battery backup. It was expensive, because it was pretty heavy, but it solved the problem. In the case of a smaller PC with problems similar to what I saw, there may be something to consider in a properly sized UPS with line conditioner. Not all UPS units have line conditioning, but it's probably worth a try. It's good for the PC to get good clean power.
 
OK, thanks guys. I have the service manual as well as the owners manual for the machine. I'll look into it.
I believe the biggest problem is the proximity of the machines. The wife and daughter's computers are directly overhead in the family room being that my shop is in the basement. The computers have huge UPS units, but I don't know that the router is plugged into one. :eek:

Will definitely start there!

City ordinances as well as funding rule out any out buildings I'm afraid.
I need to win the lottery..... lol.
 
Nelson,
I started out just like you. I by no means am a professional welder but I can do OK at times. I just jumped in, bought a MillerMatic 210 and practiced and read the helpful stuff here.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/improving-your-skills/

[Admin Edit: the link above is broken and returns a 404 on Miller's website. However, the 404 redirects to other training materials and resources elsewhere.] For example, here is there training materials page: Miller Welding Training Materials.

Trial and error, lots of error. If I can do it you can.
 
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I started welding with a cheap flux wire welder... it was a waste of money for me. I bought a used Lincoln 180 mig and a mix bottle recommended by the welding store and my welds improved tremendously... to the point that they aren't even embarrassing any more. I have never tried stick welding and for what I do haven't found a need to.

Prep your materials by cleaning the metal well... makes a huge difference. For MIG the rest is adjusting the power setting and feed rate to get a nice bead. The best feedback on how well the weld is progressing during the actual welding process is the sound of the crackle of the arc. I can't explain the proper sound but you will figure it out with practice and soon instantly know if you are getting a good weld from the sound.
 
is there a community college nearby they might have a beginner weld program that's how I started still cant weld well but I can stick 2 pieces of metal together bill I am trying to compare my welds to professional nuclear welders where I used to work not even close
 
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