How to Set Amperage for Stick Welding

[@TimWelds]

You can learn to weld. I'll show you exactly what to do in my affordable online welding courses at courses.timwelds.com.

[@larryniidji]

At 72 I have done many things but always avoided welding. Having recently gotten hold of a small welder, it is time. This was great info!

[@ralphfrench2924]

47 and I just started also , never to old to learn something new .👍🏼👍🏼

[@gatoborracho4572]

Yes, It's never too late to learn anything

[@mapex311]

40 here and same. done wood working & building furniture, plumbing, basic house electrical & networking, land& hardscaping, felled bunch of trees, car and lawn equipment maintenance and repairs, etc etc. Always wanted to try welding though. Picked up a small yeswelder. Best of luck to y'all!

[@fixedit8689]

At 59, I’m tired of welding. 38 years as a millwright doing anything from structural, pipe, sanitary pipe and various other welding, I just let the other guys weld while I supervise.

[@teamallyracing1780]

​@@fixedit8689time to be a plumber know

[@daleworden189]

I have been going around different KZbin channels for welding tips and realised it’s too hard to learn from to many different people. Not that some are worse/better than others just hard because lots of people have different techniques. I find your style and the way you explain things to be the most straight forward and easiest to understand. Thanks for sharing!!

[@dannytse185]

those who can reach mastery can understand all methods and execute all.

[@signman9975]

I am teaching myself to stick weld and most channels tell you to dial it in without really telling you how to dial it in. This is the most informative video I've seen on the subject. Moving the amps incrementally and showing what to look for has helped me immensely and let me start doing better welds.

[@ewfd813]

Hey Tim, I recently began an adult education program at my local Boces and so far much of it has been “go in the booth and figure it out” after briefly being shown how to get the stick welder going, and i just wanted to thank you so much for these videos where you go into detail! They are extremely helpful for people like me who have zero welding experience and I’ve deff seen improvement from them! I’m going to look into your stick welding course to supplement my hands on experience in getting from Boces

[@tbilal11201]

Thank you for including the metric unit.

[@marsbase3729]

@Oakley John woah! I read this and realized IT'S A SCAM!!! 🙄

[@mpirokajosephmgcokoca2355]

I thought I was the only one who battles with these inches and quarter inches

[@TheIdeasGuy]

Down with the imperial measurement system!

[@InsaneTreefrog]

What's metric? I thought that was only for sockets

[@RwP223]

@@mpirokajosephmgcokoca2355 Imperial system for low IQ individual: 1 divided by 2 is 1/2 (one half), One half divided by 2 is 1/4 (one quarter), One quarter divided by 2 is 1/8 (one eighth), One eighth divided by 2 is 1/16 (one sixteenth), do you want me to go on?

[@RichardSmith-ms6hh]

As you and I both know there's way more layers of understanding than this - but you do a great service to welding with this "starting" video.

[@ericmaxwell4161]

This guy is a high quality teacher.

[@W_Rational]

Thanks a lot Tim. Really helpful. The chart is a great guide for me as a beginner. The sizes in metric help a lot for us Europeans. 👍

[@westhurman2819]

Thanks Tim. I'm a longtime DIYer. So, when I had a need to weld some items, I figured that I'd just buy a cheap welder, practice with a couple of weld runs, and then take care of my project. Boy was I humbled!!! I now have a great respect for you guys. Love your videos. Maybe, just maybe, if I watch enough of them and keep practicing, maybe I'll learn how to strike an arc at will. Right now it's hit or miss; mostly miss. But I'm determined to learn this art. Again, I love the videos and your clear explanations.

[@scottmyhre2450]

Very helpful to me. I’ve watched so many videos about welding but had not heard the comment about the “heaping of the bead (angle at which the bead meets the plate)”. Found that helpful re amperage. And had not really understood undercut before either. Thanks.

[@TimWelds]

Glad it helped. Thanks!

[@yvesf5355]

Hey Tim ,love this chart I'm a new stick welder and you make my guessing job a lot easier thanks

[@pyknight3186]

Many years stick welding experience as a teenager, taught by Grand farther. 20 years ago.Used knowledge in many jobs. Recently got one of these baby's, Röhr SMINI-140NI ARC 2 in 1 Welder. 140 Amp. Truly awesome.

[@patriciofreire3375]

Clear, concise, and accurate. Thank you for this video. I even saved it so I can re-watch it when necessary.

[@davetaylor4741]

Very helpful. I am a mediocre Mig welder and a poor stick welder. Settings and speed are much harder to dial in. Knowing what to look for is a big help.

[@Matanumi]

Mig man.... once you set it up its automatic

[@novabeast148]

Hi Tim, my name is Joe and I'm 16, I'm starting a welding coarse for my school next year and we're gonna MIG, TIG, and Stick welding and I was just trying to collect some information so i can be used to the stuff they say and I want to thank you for your videos. You have taught me so much about welding and all the concepts you need to know like arc angles and amps for different sizes of weld plates, so thank you. Have a great day.

[@TimWelds]

Awesome, Joe! I did a lot of welding in high school and clearly never stopped. Thanks for the comment!

[@AlexLopez-yv6rr]

Thanks a lot never welded in my life learned a lot from your videos bought me a small welder so I could repair my trailer with a crack frame

[@toddcott9510]

I have TI G MIG and Oxy. But my 1970s stick welder is still in use and gives value for money results. Thanks for a good video. My best from Scotland

[@glenstokes2222]

So, off the back of these videos I built a 150 sq m steel roof over my container in the jungle in Costa Rica. Thanks Tim!

[@derekharbison1101]

That is just gold!

[@gerardramirez6320]

Thanks haven't welded in 20 years, retired and ready to git Goin 😀. Subscribed.

[@santiagocortez9554]

I've just started welding earlier today and this is hecka helpful

[@marsbase3729]

This was great. It really helped me to see the effects of the different amperages and how to make the corrections Thanks!

[@GreyGhost-r4z]

I welded my Tractor Mower deck today and yesterday. My experience level... 1 hour of practice welding with 3/32" 6013 on 16ga sheet metal.. lol. So started to try to weld the mower deck. I tried it at 90amps and it was blowing holes through the sheet metal... backed it off to 70 and the rod was sticking. So set it at 76 and it was working. Still blew some holes throught it, but used some 6013 rod I chipped the flux off of to patch the holes. The second day (today) I turned the heat up a little bit and welded the Mower Deck Bracket back on and fixed my boo boos from yesterday. The mower deck was so thin, I had to build up enough metal to make sure it doesn't break again. It looked terrible, so I chipped off the slag, gave it a good brushing and primed and painted it. Now my mower is fixed all with a $103 Deko 160MMA. Now I need to go find some scrap metal and practice, because when I finished I just wanted to cover it up so nobody would ever see it. lol. Live and Learn. Thanks for the videos !!

[@temporalmadness3756]

Im just starting to weld on a cheap machine and understanding what to look for in order to diagnose what it is that im looking at and what i'm doing is paramount.. all i was finding was people recommending brands or useless gibberish.. your explaining method is perfectly clear and the topic is exactly what a beginner needs.. if i could recomend a topic to be adressed in this manner is "weld pool control and heat management". Thanks and best regards from Argentina.

[@braxtonjanes5862]

thanks so much, this is the best said video for stick welding, i’m 15 and just bought a little stick welding machine to fix my broken atv frame. thanks again😁

[@Nobody-xg2un]

Old dynasty DX, I love that machine. I have one, and the arc on that machine with the dig control is unbeatable. I have welded alot of pipe with it in the worst weather you can throw at that machine. I've been inside roofs tying structural steel beams together. I've ran it off my miller Airpak and used the carrying strap to go into places no welder should go. That machine can weld two beer cans together then go out and weld the roof back onto a water tank that's been half blown off. That machine has made me alot of money.

[@davidlixenberg5999]

I loved this piece of writing. David Lixenberg.

[@roygregory8334]

At last someone talking sense to beginners. Thanks.

[@kentonlandworks29]

Just bought one of those Dekopro stick welders last week - this video is exactly what I needed.

[@TulanePass]

He's the very reason why I got 1!

[@kentonlandworks29]

@@TulanePass Yep, he was a big reason for sure!

[@TimWelds]

Glad it helped. Thanks!

[@ricks6250]

the different amperages are because it's a switched voltage system, to make it accurate at both voltages would be prohibitively expensive so they just split the difference between the two.

[@johnmacmillan627]

Thx Tim! Couple of things caught my eye;namely, the weld bead looked the same on the 1/8in plate and the 1/4in plate for the same current. Also, the voltage readout on your machine didnt change a wit when you changed the current. I presume that’s the way the machine works for stick welding by just changing internal resistance.

[@robletto841]

Nice video for us beginners, thank you.

[@johndeere5455]

Thank you for the awesome information. This is tremendously helpful!!!

[@markashlock9017]

Really good material. Well explained and hopefully we’ll understood ; ) Thanks, and don’t stop!

[@manfromthemist1958]

Thanks Tim, you answered a ot of questions i had about why i was getting poor welds, great vid, please I found you

[@ronaldkobbo7347]

This was very helpful bro. Keep them coming. Cheers

[@rickmcdonald1557]

I have been a weekend welder for years with an old Craftsman 230 amp AC welder but I was never showed this test you made and it really helped me to become better at sticking things together. I was told by an old professional welder guy that 7014 was called "Idiot Rod" cause anyone could run it and it was good for making the final pass to look good. What do you say? I am a subscriber and enjoy your videos and thanks for your time~!

[@davecasey6104]

Awesome video, thanks for including the metric sizes too

[@ahdam82]

My brother bought me a mini stick welder it’s tiny under 8” long by under 4” wide weighing about 3.7lbs 120A and it welds great! So surprising for $80!

[@edwardsiyavong7860]

I'm learning something good today. THANKS MATE!👈🙂

[@michaeldunagan8268]

Thank you for your generosity of talent and time. So timely it is! I must cut into the subframe if my car to reattach/weld a broken out of place caged nut. I have 10 cu-ft of Acetylene and 20 cu ft Oxygen-but I believe I may rather stick welds to put a plate over the hole I need to cut to tend to this issue. I have not stick-welded since high school metals class and as I recall, I never went above 60 amps that I remember. No shops want to do the work because they do the subframe too much rust. It's still structurally sound. There's no use speaking Lee replacement subframe that is used unless it's from Texas or Arizona cuz I'm going to be dealing with the same rust. The used frame also I have a broken-off caged nut. Toyota asks for $800 for this subframe. Plus I'd have all the labor disconnecting everything that is connected to the subframe and then I'd have to brace the engine up to the top of the body in order to drop the subframe in order to replace it.

[@nanaklif4973]

Thank you for the information Am new to stick welding

[@GenaEnSamIAm]

Thanks so much dude! You're a freaking rock star!

[@SteveSnowman]

Great info on using your amp-clamp to vet the output. My son just inherited a Miller Thunderbolt so this will be the 1st thing we'll do. Thanks. BTW, I just Subscribed.

[@tyroneclarke1666]

Keep making videos please. Thank you so much. 🦘🇦🇺

[@saulgudino3584]

I love the explanation. This will help me a lot. Especially as I am learning on my own. Please make a video explaining the arc power settings.

[@Rockinruffhouser]

Took a picture of the chart even before you said to lol. Thank you so much. I have so much to learn

[@boricuaarecibo9259]

finally someone explained what undercut is

[@nooralhashimi6657]

Because the welder made in China. I was thinking about Decko welder for a while . And this video helped a lot. Thanks bro for your time making good video.

[@TimWelds]

Thanks! It runs pretty well, but the reading is a bit off.

[@nooralhashimi6657]

@@TimWelds . Hi, I went for longevity 140amp stick welder. At least made in USA. My next machine is the air plasma cutter 50amp. I am thinking about PrimWeld air plasma cutter. Any idea I appreciate it. Thanks!

[@maryc4463]

Thank you so much for your videos, I'm only just starting out and am learning so much from you! ☺️

[@raydontopotol3611]

Found this video by accident.. Now Subscribed..👍👍

[@dhirenlande4234]

Thankyou Tim, you make a great teacher!

[@TimWelds]

Thanks so much!

[@mlb6d9]

Nicely demonstrated & explained, Thanks!

[@Davidg1t1]

Well explained! Thank you sir

[@Thewatson77]

Great video Tim 👍🏼 thanks for sharing.

[@TimWelds]

Thanks!

[@Recluse.129]

Super informative! Thank you

[@davehuxley6689]

Thanks Tim that video was just what I needed, taught me a lot and gave me a better understanding of what to look for.

[@TimWelds]

So glad it helped!

[@davehuxley6689]

@@TimWelds Thank you.

[@jimsmith3971]

Ayup Tim. Your videos are great. It's boiling hot here in the UK today so I'm watching your video stark-bollock naked. Keepin it real. Jim.

[@azizaviation]

great video and very helpful. all other videos that I watched are excellent. keep up the good work

[@B.Cote39]

Hey man , thanks for the reviews I love this little stick welder . Had mine for months now, works great!

[@BuildsByBaz]

That was a great help, thanks mate.

[@MikeCraigSLP]

Thank you. Teaching my self to stick weld for a hobby and your videos have been very helpful.

[@johnalexander1816]

Thank you so much for this info. Great help for a newbie like me.

[@TimWelds]

Glad it was helpful!

[@PaodeCasa]

Great video, regards from Brasil.

[@RWD.G]

Thanks Tim ! Just what I needed.

[@workonitm8]

On dual voltage machines there is a direct relationship with volts in and amps out. Less volts will give less amps output. More volts will give more amps output. Re adjustment of the machine will be necessary when changing voltage.

[@antonywooster6783]

Great! Just what I needed. Thanks!

[@veaceslavanapislaru7310]

This is an amazing video! Thank you!

[@TimWelds]

You're so welcome!

[@oh8wingman]

There is an old trick that experienced welders use to set your amps and it doesn't involve charts and will take into account the length of your cables which will effect your amps at the stinger. Simply take a 6010 or 6011 electrode one size larger that the 7018 rod you want to use and strike an arc with it at the low end of the scale. Once your arc is sustainable, push on it as hard as you can into a piece of scrap. If it snuffs out, raise your heat a little and try again. Keep doing this until you cannot get it to snuff while pushing it in. You now have your base amps for the next size smaller electrode in 7018. IE: 5/32" 6010 will set you up for 1/8" 7018. If you look at the chart shown here you can see the amps for a 5/32 6010 are exactly the same for a 1/8" 7018 rod. Other sizes are similar in the overlap to one another. And before you ask, yes, I am a First Class Journeyman Welder with over 40 years of experience who had a B Pressure certification in the past before I let it lapse when I retired.

[@TimWelds]

Very cool! Thanks for the tip!

[@kermitthefrog6363]

Great teacher!!

[@aerotech1bob]

Great tutorial, thanks

[@rakentrail]

A cut and etch test may be helpful to show beginners the difference in penetration with amperage. Naval Jelly works as an etchant.

[@stidhamhimer]

Thanks for the content brother

[@truebluekit]

Wow... this was incredibly helpful. Thank you! And thank you for including metric measurements!

[@TimWelds]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sohnetowing9743]

Ok so every video I click on seems to be yours. And they are great…I guess it’s time to sub

[@ls66]

Hey Tim when you weld in your bedroom like that do you burn the carpet? I'm kidding that's the cleanest work area I've ever seen! Thanks for the great info. It's good to see someone using a stick welder. These days it's all mig and tig.

[@hudatva]

Thank you bro that was wonderful

[@MrWilberbeast1]

Very well explained. Subscribed and thanks for including metric units.

[@DanielinLaTuna]

Very interesting content, well presented. New subscriber. As an aside, and recognizing your education, when I was first training in the electric industry, almost all of us said "ampmeter." But our instructors corrected us; while they do measure current flow in Amps, the instruments used are called ammeters. No "P" in the word. Anyway, thank you for sharing your talent and knowledge.

[@TulareCounty1216]

If ur running 60130at a 70 his much do I adjust the thrust lever ?

[@replyhere590]

@@TulareCounty1216 With all due respect, if you would write with better grammar and punctuation, so that people can understand your question, you're more likely to get an answer.

[@TulareCounty1216]

Yeah I know my keyboard is fucked up goodlooking out thou

[@naseausderhuette]

Very helpful, thanks

[@MOTIVATIONEXTREME]

vous êtes super génial Tim!!! que dieu vous bénisse!!, j'aimerais acheter votre cours mais sur vos vidéos je ne pourrai pas metgtre les sous titres et malheureusement il y a beaucoup de thermes techniques!

[@yoelroque3950]

Thank u for showing this video

[@rabelingoodstanding2628]

This was a very useful. thanks.

[@bobfleming7870]

The problem measuring amps with the clamp on meter has to do with the inverter output waveform. It is not the 60hz sine wave or the pure DC current that the clamp on amp meter is designed to measure. This is a common issue with all inverters and all clamp on amp meters.

[@mouradpacha2670]

you are a great teacher thank you :D

[@julitoireneojr9587]

Thanks for the info and video

[@AndyX1337]

Wow, thank you for this valuable information, blessings

[@1vester1]

good info run a 3/16 7018 put lots of metal down.

[@ramnathlokhande9373]

❤ from india🇮🇳

[@edwinmendija8087]

When would you switch polarity when welding?

[@kumarpuri7752]

Thank you!

[@mane6150]

Dude all of this is fundamentals to correcting your beads how did I overlook this simple fix to find the right amperage. Asking other people what they're running at wasn't helping much

[@MrMojabo]

At what voltage did you end up using to make this example? Because with 120 the machine produces less power and with 240 it produces to much . This is because the machine is calibrated to an average . So using 90 watts at 120 on a 20 amp circut will be more stress on the power grid then 240 with a 40 or 50 amp circut. Sure the amperage can still be 90 at both voltages. Except there is more opportunity to blow the circut at 120 on a 20 amp circut. By the way your videos are the best.

[@lucineconradie5158]

Hi Tim please can you do it in afrikaans,ek sal dit baie waardeer.

[@daleworden189]

Thanks for the tips.

[@narigueta007]

I have the same amazon welder, and for me, completely useless at 110v, I meassured the output, and doesnt go further than 38Amps. At 220v works fine

[@loganlawlyes1980]

Holy crap, for so long I was using 200 amps with the same 3/32 rod, looks like I'm turning that knob down

[@rubenvargas3547]

Thank you Tim

[@shobhitsharan2027]

Awesome, very helpful video. Thankyou

[@TimWelds]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@hosseinjahangard336]

Excellent 🙏🏼

[@nathanburt6053]

What is the process for choosing amperage when bonding thick material to thin material? I always worry about burning through the thin material and not having adequate penetration with the thicker material