Stick welder: why the electrode sticks

“The electrode keeps sticking to the workpiece, I reckon the welder is faulty.” They bring it to the counter at least once a month. Nine times out of ten the machine is fine, and the problem is one of the three things I'm about to tell you.

The current is decided by the electrode, not the knob

Every electrode diameter works within a current range printed on the packaging. If you stay below it, the arc doesn't strike properly, the electrode sticks and the bead stays high and cold on top of the workpiece. If you go above it, it spatters, undercuts the edges and the last part of the electrode turns red.

That is why, when you choose the machine, you shouldn't ask yourself “how many amps does it have”: ask yourself which electrodes you will use most often and on what thicknesses. From there you can tell whether a compact inverter is enough or whether you need a sturdier machine, like those in the larger Awelco series that we handle.

Duty cycle, or how long it lasts before it stops

On the rating plate there is a figure that almost nobody looks at: the duty cycle. It tells you for how long, over a reference cycle, the machine can deliver a given current before the thermal protection cuts it out. Someone who welds a gate now and then never notices. Someone who does fabrication all day with thick electrodes notices in the third hour, and thinks it's broken.

The cables matter as much as the machine

A classic mistake: a good welder, a thin earth cable, the earth clamp attached over paint or rust. The arc becomes unstable and the inverter gets the blame. Here is what I check:

• cable cross-section suited to the current and the length: if you extend it, you need a larger cross-section, not a smaller one;
• connectors properly tightened and not burnt: a blackened connector heats up and steals current;
• earth on clean metal, as close as possible to the welding point.

Electrodes: keep them dry and choose the right one

Rutile is the most forgiving and is fine for most light fabrication on steel. For stainless steel you need the stainless electrode, for cast iron the specific one: no clever shortcut will do. And electrodes absorb moisture: a box left open in a shed in winter gives you porosity and an arc that crackles. Close it up again and keep it somewhere dry.

Generator and extension leads

If you weld on site, connected to a generating set or at the end of a long extension lead, tell me beforehand. An inverter needs a stable voltage: with a weak supply it cuts out at the worst moment or never reaches the current you need, and that is not a defect of the machine.

What I need to know

To recommend the right welder, tell me:

• which materials you weld (steel, stainless steel, cast iron) and what thicknesses;
• how many hours a day you use it and with which electrode diameters;
• whether you work in a workshop or on site, and from which socket or generator you power it;
• whether you also need cables, connectors and electrodes to put in the same quotation.

We stock these

A few items from the range we keep. If you cannot find the size or the model you need, just ask: what you see online is only part of what we can source for you.

MMA stick inverter welder TRIS 500 AwelcoAwelco MMA stick inverter welder TRIS 400 AwelcoAwelco MMA stick inverter welder TRIS 280 AwelcoAwelco MMA stick inverter welder PRESIDENT 500 AwelcoAwelco MMA stick inverter welder PRESIDENT 350 AwelcoAwelco MMA stick inverter welder MIKRO 184 AwelcoAwelco

Browse the whole category: Stick (MMA) Welders and Welding Accessories