Setup is a little different on this machine. First, take out the pigtail on the right which you usually have set upon the positive side so the MIG function will work. Remove it and plug your arc welding stinger, or rod holder, into that positive port.
Now comes the tricky part. Start the welder and allow it to go through its boot up. The welder comes up in stick mode automatically, as you can see on the front panel display.
But the VRD (Voltage Reduction Device) is on, and you need to turn it off to run the stick welder. Here’s how to do it: Set your amperage to 108. Now push the 2T / 4T button and hold it for a second. Now the VRD goes off. (What is the VRD? It senses the voltage at the end of the stinger. So if you’re, for instance, carrying the welder to the top of a ladder and just happen to get between the stinger and the ground, or return, you won’t get shocked.)
Now your stick welder will work correctly and you can adjust your amperage to whatever you want.
Kevin is using some 1/8″ rod, so he sets the amperage to 70. Now let’s make some sparks!
He has some 7018 1/8″ diameter rod. He resets the amperage to 87 amps, and welds a bead. Then he makes a second pass at 97 amps because the first pass seemed a little cold.
Kevin chips away the slag and shows the two welds. “Not too bad for someone who doesn’t stick weld,” he says.
The machine works fine. You just have to set it up correctly!
Kevin is ready to play with more rod, so you have a moment and see what doesn’t make it into the video (you’ll know why!) ….