Century 130 - what can it really weld?

[wagonman76]

Ive got a Century 130 amp 120v wire feed welder that I picked up a few summers ago for $100. It has the gas kit, but I dont have a garage or anywhere to keep gas bottles anyway. And the only place I can weld is outside. So I just use .030 flux core wire in it. Awhile back I rebuilt the rear floorpan around the trailing arm brackets of my plow wagon, and welded a few odd things out of sheetmetal (all out of dryer skin). I had the feed turned all the way down, and the power at 80-100%. However I also didnt have a proper extension cord for it, I used my mid grade 100ft cord I use for outside, and just made sure it didnt get too warm. (I plugged it into my 30 amp 120v RV outlet with an adapter, so the house wiring is good.) It took some time but I learned how to pulse the gun just right and watch the pool and make sure the penetration was good on both sides of the seam.

I dont have a manual for this welder, and didnt have any luck locating one online. I saw something online that said this welder should be able to weld 1/4" thick steel, which would be nice but I really dont think it would. I read that decreasing the wire size is supposed to increase penetration with all else constant. I was wondering what this welder can really do if it was set up optimally. Like a super heavy gauge and short as possible extension cord, maybe a smaller mig wire size, and anything else that can be adjusted.

Does anyone have any experience with what this welder can really do, and if there is any more that can be gotten out of it?

[wyldman]

It will not weld 1/4" single pass.Multiple passes maybe.

You need clean power to the machine.A REAL heavy extension cord is needed,or you lose power to the machine.

Thinner wire will help,as the machine doesn't have the balls to run big wire diameters.

Are you running the polarity correct ? If it came set up for gas,and your running flux core,you will need to reverse the polarity to make it work properly.

[wagonman76]

Thanks Wyldman. It came with the gas kit, but also with flux core wire in it. But maybe the previous owner didnt know either. Where do you normally switch the polarity? There is no switch on the front panel.

Any idea what it should weld with a single pass? 11 ga maybe?

[wagonman76]

I also have read about the slag that flux cored welding is supposed to create, that needs removing with a chipping hammer. I never got anything like that, just some white dust that looked like aluminum corrosion and came off very easily with a wire brush.

[wyldman]

Are you sure it's flux cored wire ? Normally it will be dark crust,that will need to be chipped off.

The polarity is usually changed inside the machine.You will usually see where there are two bolts,so you can swap lugs around.

Most of those little machines will do 1/8" or so single pass,if it is set up right,and the material is good and clean.With flux core AND gas,you may be able to do 3/16" single pass.

Due to the limited penetration,I wouldn't do anything over 1/4".Even with multiple passes,you just won't have enough penetration for a good strong weld joint.

[wagonman76]

Thanks Wyldman. I am pretty sure it is flux cored wire. I bought it at Home Depot. It is E71T-11 Innershield Cored Wire, and it says shielding gas not required. I used 7 lbs of it on the car. I practiced with the wire that was in the welder when I got it (he said it was flux core), and the new wire gave a little bit brighter arc, probably because it was fresh. I got a good strong weld, I kept pulsing the trigger and watching the pool to make sure it was continuous with both sides of the joint. I also made sure that even beating it with the sledgehammer would not break the joint.

I wonder if the polarity was wrong, if it would affect the production of the dark crust. Ill just have to try switching the wires and see what happens.

I was thinking today about a good extension cord, and if I buy a 30 amp RV extension cord, I can use it for both the welder and camper so it would be very worthwhile.

Im thinking about designing and building a powered V plow for the wagon, so it would be mostly 1/8" steel to keep it lightweight, with gussets to keep it strong. I can do beam calculations to keep it at least as strong as the pipe of this plow, which has proved to be strong enough for the job.

Gotta go plow soon. 2nd time this year, we are actually getting some snow again.

[wagonman76]

Well I emailed Lincoln, who I found out bought out Century, and got a manual for the welder. I also looked up the proper polarity for the wire that was in it (and the wire that I am using, which is the same). I found that the polarity was set up wrong by the guy who sold it to me. He said it was set up for the flux core wire that was in it, and he welds for a living too. Kinda makes me wonder.

I also found out how much my extension cord is too small for the welder. The manual says it needs a minimum of 105V at 25 amps, and an online voltage drop calculator showed it at 90-some volts. Im still going to just pick up an RV extension cord, since that is good for 30 amps and I need one anyway.

Once I get a chance to weld something Ill let you know how it does. See now that I want to weld and I dont have a garage, its going to keep snowing. Which is still a good thing.

[wagonman76]

Well I got to try it out. Man what a difference. Before it was a stretch to do sheetmetal. Now it welds 11 gauge easily. It would probably do 3/16 with two passes. Itll work for all I need it for. Thanks again for the help.