A "Duh" moment with my Welder.

[leehljp]

From the time I was about 10 years old I have used a welder. I grew up using good heavy arc welders and that is all I knew even after I heard the terms Mig/Tig/Flux/Spool welders. During my time in Japan I had a small arc/stick welder and used it on occasion to fix things, mostly for foreigners who knew I could weld.

About 4 years ago, I bought a cheap HF flux/spool fed welder and used it maybe 3 or 4 times since then, the last time was last summer when teaching my 10 year old grandson how to weld.

I needed it a couple of weeks ago and could not get it to work. It turned on, the spool would advance but I could not get it to spark/arc. Again, I needed it this week and again I could not get it to work - arc/weld. I took the sides off checked the inside for loose or broken wire.

Then, it dawned on me that it was a two step process: 1. Squeeze the feed trigger - while 2. striking the arc! WELL DUH! It would not spark/arc without the trigger being squeezed!
60 years of arc welding had messed with my thinking!

[capncarl]

I was waiting for you to say you just remembered to connect the ground lead. X

[woodturner]

while 2. striking the arc! WELL DUH! It would not spark/arc without the trigger being squeezed!

You must have an older or bigger HF unit - the tip is always hot on the entry level HF 110 VAC FC welder I got a couple of years ago. Seems rather unsafe, upgraded pretty quickly to a unit where the tip power is trigger controlled

[leehljp]

You must have an older or bigger HF unit - the tip is always hot on the entry level HF 110 VAC FC welder I got a couple of years ago. Seems rather unsafe, upgraded pretty quickly to a unit where the tip power is trigger controlled

I'm seriously thinking of going back to an arc welder. I miss that!