I was welding a 3/4 inch thick plate on a pressure vessel in a Philly shipyard last month when my arc suddenly went wild and blew a hole right through the seam.

I had to stop, grind out a huge section, preheat the whole area again with my rosebud for 20 minutes, and re-weld it with a slower travel speed, which made me wonder if anyone else has had a sudden arc wander issue with their machine on thick material like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin_wells4616d ago

Nah, I've seen that happen with a bad rod more than a bad ground... moisture in the flux can make the arc go nuts on thick stuff.

wright.finley16d ago

That's a massive plate to blow through. The arc going wild on 3/4 inch steel is a serious machine or setup problem, not just a bad pass. Did you check your ground connection was still tight and clean? A loose ground can cause that exact kind of crazy arc behavior, especially on a big piece that can act like a giant heat sink.