[Shop-talk] MIG welder term

[Doug Braun]

Good, questions, but you will probably not get any
straight answers from the manufacturers.  If you weld
too long, some overheat circuit breaker should pop.

In my experience, it is very hard to exceed any
reasonable duty cycle during hobbyist-type welding.
You would have to have an unusual type of weld, such
as a straight one several feet long on thick material.

Doug

--- Bob Nogueira <nogera at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

> Could someone explain to me the term 'Duty Cycle" in
> reference to MIG
> welders?   I figure it means how long you can weld
> before having to stop and
> allow the welder to recover but why is it expressed
> as a percentage?
> When they say the duty cycle is 25%  does that mean
> you can weld for 1
> minute and have to wait 3 minutes for the welder to
> recover? What happens if
> you exceed the Duty Cycle?  What's the time frame? 
> How do you know you are
> approaching the limit of the duty cycle ?