Finally figured out why my older Lincoln 225 AC was sputtering on 1/8 rod...

Swapped from the box store electrode holder to a Tweco 3/0 setup and it made a world of difference. Had been fighting arc blow and inconsistent starts for weeks on a job near Nashville. Has anyone else seen that much improvement just from upgrading the stinger?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robin16d ago

That old rubber hose holder probably had enough resistance to mess with your arc on those smaller rods.

stellat4616d ago

I welded for 35 years with a $8 rubber stinger and never had any arc issues on a Lincoln 225, even with 1/8 rod. My guess is you just got a bad batch of electrodes or had a loose ground connection somewhere.

jennifer_jones1716d ago

Can't believe you ran a Lincoln 225 with a $8 stinger for 35 years man. That's wild, those old rubber holders are terrible for heat buildup especially if you're running decent amperage. I fried two of those cheap stingers in like a year before I switched to a twist-lock, the rubber just melts and the spring gets weak. But honestly if it worked for you that long maybe I was just doing something wrong. Still, my arc was always all over the place with those things, could never get a consistent puddle with 6010s or 7018s. Ground connection being loose makes sense too, I had a clamp that was barely hanging on once and it was like trying to weld through mud. Good for you for making it work that long though, that's some real grit.