yard kart frame?

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jacob lee

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would a flux wire welder be enough for a yard kart frame or does something of thicker metal like that need something with gas
 

chancer

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would a flux wire welder be enough for a yard kart frame or does something of thicker metal like that need something with gas

That is what I use. Lincoln weld pac 125 HD. with /flux core wire.
Many guys here use a harbor freight version of the same thing.
What welder do you have?
 

Poboy kartman

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I just got through welding two pieces of 1"x1" x1/8" thick angle iron together (way heavier than yard kart tubing) with my HF "flux me" core wire welder with the crappy HF wire ....and it did really well.............UNTIL ....it stopped! !!!

Now...I knew HF wire was crap.....but this is ridiculous!!!!!
 

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jacob lee

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Is their a minimal amperage I sHould use? I just don't want gas tanks in my apartment why I want to stick with the flux core . Any easy ways to test welds
 

itsid

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As far as I understood, the Amperage is basically setting the "penetration" of the weld.

90 Amp (output!) should be enough for thinwall tubing that's used for kartframes
BUT there's a catch, those max amps are always at a very low duty cycle (mostly 10% - means, ten seconds weld, 90 secs waiting for the welder to cool down...)
So you'd want something a little higher to increase the duty cycle.. also a higher amp eases the penetration with crapier flux core wire (at least so I have been told)

So personally I picked a 130Amps flux welder (italian made TigMig TM130 to be precise) el cheapo (but comes with gas tubing in the gun.. so adding a bottle isn't really going to be expensive if needed ;))

Can't tell how good or bad it is, since frankly.. it's still in it's box untouched...
not enough time to give it a shot.

'sid
 

Poboy kartman

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IDK....I'm really not getting all this "short cycle duty" crap , because I weld for several minutes with max amperage on my 90 amp HF flux core wire welder....and without problems. I was welding for like 10 minutes...(almost non-stop)... and I tripped the breaker in my house....(this was 1/8" to 1/8" welding....not butt joint, but overlap).

BTW: Just replaced the exploded HF wire with Lincoln, and OH YEAH! !!!!....what a difference!.!!!!.
 

chancer

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First off I dont care if your nickname is "Poboy" by now you should have known "HARBOR FREIGHT WIRE SUCKS!
Secondly I agree I dont understand all this duty cycle/cool Down crap either. I use My lincoln 125 for minutes and never worry about supposed "Cool down" and it always works fine.
 

Poboy kartman

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Now...I knew HF wire was crap.....but this is ridiculous!!!!!

First off I dont care if your nickname is "Poboy" by now you should have known "HARBOR FREIGHT WIRE SUCKS!
Secondly I agree I dont understand all this duty cycle/cool Down crap either. I use My lincoln 125 for minutes and never worry about supposed "Cool down" and it always works fine.

Ummmmm.....Eric,....are you overdue for a visit to the optometrist to upgrade an eyeglass prescription?
 

chancer

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I read that. I wanted to harrass you cause you knew and yet you did it anyway. Its like my sisters kids sheesh! Stop spending your money on Fruits and nuts!
 

Poboy kartman

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No , Eric, I had already purchased the spool ...(just before I found out it was crap on this forum) .....so I decided to try and use it up....I don't have the money to throw a $20 2lb. spool of wire away...and buy a 1 lb. for $15....if I can get some use out of what I have.
 

OzFab

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:backtotopic:

I used flux core on my kart & haven't had any issues... in fact, I used the same on my trailer rebuild

The thing to remember is, the most important part of the equation isn't the machine or the wire, it's the operator! If you know what you're doing, you can weld with a blowtorch & a coat hanger...
 

itsid

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Duty cycles... a huge pain in the behind..

here's what happens:

the transformer in your welder take 110V and maybe 15 Amps and step that down to only ~13 Volts and well about 125 Amps.

That causes heat in the transformer coils.

And if you have a low quality transformer (with less than optimal wiring) that copper wire is less than ideally coated (low temp lacquer)
Yes, according to Amazon reviews, my welder can be used for minutes rather than seconds as well... likely because noone ever tried to make one continuous 60 ft weld with it, thus releasing the trigger every now and then...

Aaanyways, that duty cycle is the makers way of saying: "hey bud, you burn your transformer.. you're not covered by the warranty"

just like blueing the clutch bell .. too much heat and you're on your own.

Oh btw: most if not all welders nowadays shut down on their own before they burn the transformer.. (mine does.. and it's cheap!)

'sid
 

jacob lee

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awesome thanks guys it would only be joining frame together at most so really amp wise I guess it depends on price I wont be doing allot of welding just trying to work my way into it so future upgrades are always possible
 
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