What Is Welder Duty Cycle and Why Should You Care? - Kevin Caron 

you are the most country knowledgeable dudes I have come across for welding. Definitely getting a follow today.

Duty cycles vary considerably by the exterior operating temperature. It's interesting how most manufacturers choose not to show the duty cycle rating in their specification data at 40C in accordance with EN60974-1. The reason for omitting the temperature data is to deliberately enhance the duty cycle figure to make the machine appear more durable to the buyer. For instance some machines rated at 35% duty cycle at 40C are capable of 100% or a full 10 minute cycle at a lower exterior temperature. It's not rocket science, the cooler the air being drawn in by the fan, the cooler it will keep the internal components and the welder will run for a longer period. If you are looking to make a smart purchase get a welder with a duty rated at 40C, with a 5 year warranty from a brand that doesn't use third-party service agents.

Kevin - if I could I’d shake your hand and thank you for your wisdom. Your videos have helped me a lot and I wish you all he best.

For sure a fan will help with the duty cycle. Had my evap. cooler running on high and got a much longer weld time out of the 30% machine. Great question!

Once again most useful and informative video, thanks. It also explains why my stick welder has oil in it (for cooling) and my son's doesn't. It has a noisy fan blowing!!

I just wanted to thank you Kevin for this video. I learned a lot and ended up getting a very nice Everlast welder with excellent duty cycle!

thanks for taking the time to post this video

Hey Kevin. Thanx for this excellent video. I'm looking at taking up welding & there's a lot to learn & this was just my speed

another great video from the artman and his asst. thanks for answering this question.

Thanks man my transmig rural pack 195 stopped working when iwelded a lot of welds.i thought i broke it. Fired it up after cooling down i left it for a week.was busy .she welded again .today .its old but a beuty

Stick is better outside or in tne wind. It is also better for really heavy steel , say over 1/2 inch. Pretty sure I talked about before.

is the duty cycle based on a ten minute weld so a 60% means 6 min on and 4 min off?

Awesome information I didn't know about duty cycle. Awesome thanks

I've got an old 1970's British made Oxford oil filled AC transformer machine, 230 or 415volts, amps up to 140A, you just can't overheat it, you can run at 140 amps all day long. They are still in business and UK made though no longer oil filled, more inverter and transformer based

LOL, short story, I had a dodge ram with the 10 cylinder engine. Told the wife it had a high studleyness factor. Got the plate for Xmas. Finally got to faded for the police soi got a new plate. Great eyes! You are the first to ask.

Thanks Kevin! You cleared it up. I always wondered about duty cycle. Keep up the great videos! I'm learning all the time!

Just wondering if the Duty Cycle would actually increase as the temp in your shop goes down??? I just thought maybe if would cool faster. Great video!!!!!

Great video and explanation of duty cycle

Hey Kev, If I am running 30% and I just welded for 30mins should I leave the welder on so the fan cools it for 70mins or shut it off for 70mins before welding again. Basically what im asking is, whats better to cool off your machine, (a) leave machine on with fan running to cool off or (b) shut machine off and let it cool off? Thanks for all your incredible videos.

a very important side effect of the duty cycle is the arc stability, I ,ve bought a 250 AMP AC/DC arc welder that is designed for production use to the usage of a general maintenance dept , this welder weight about 1,000 lbs, tha arc stability is remarquable and you can weld any type of rod ( including 7018) without any difficulty, If I remember well, the duty cycle was 100% at full power

great explanation Kevin. Do the digital welders tell how much weld time you have ? Like add up how many times you weld an clock down from there ? TU TY

Thanks for the video and the lady asking questions there , very enjoyable to watch and informative. I have a very small project and want to buy a stick welding machine, I want to buy a cheap welding machine like $50, Its 200A 60% ,What do you advice me? Thanks

Love your videos.Am new to tig.Bought the AHP 200 after watching your videos.Any where to get the basic settings for all the knobs to weld steel and then when you change to A/C for aluminum.Having trouble with so many settings.A chart or step by step for each knob would be nice.

Hi .. what exactly does it mean you need to cool it of for a while after hitting the duty cycle.....Do you really need to shutdown the machine? Or the machine was in standby mode (power On)and do nothing for a while

The problem is leaving the time a variable and undefined. For instance 1 month is only 8 percent of a year. If you pick 10 minutes to calculate your duty cycle is that the standard for the industry?

if you have a good external fan, would that help any to keep the welder cool ?

Good explanation.

when you say rest does that mean stop welding or turn the machine off?

Helpful video, as usual. Let's say you're working on one of your amazing pieces, a large one with a 6-foot seam you're closing with Mig, I assume you're not usually maxing the amperage right? I, also, assume that you aren't going to do that full 6' seam in one long continuous weld. So, that would mean you aren't coming anywhere near the welder's duty cycle, right? How thick of a piece of steel would you be welding at max power?

thanks for your help

Thanks Kevin for this video!

Hey Kevin, just got my Alphatig 200xwondered what size breaker is needed to run this unit? My 10 amp breaker kicks out

Thank you sir

this was extremely helpful thank you

I read on the internet that a person with a defibrillator can weld using a welder under 160 amp do you know anything about this

tnx for the reply

I'm still lost lol. On my everlast 200st 35%@120amps (110v)...what does that mean

Would you recommend a good beginner welder? I'm wanting to weld thin sheet metal on cars, and general repairs around the house. I was looking at the Longevity 140, but I wanted an expert opinion...

So could I just water cool my welder for a better duty cycle?

So if I have a 135 amp mig welder the lower the amp the more time I can run it....right

is there a number for how long it will run at a given setting?

Thanks guys. So, I'm thinkin' oxy acetylene has 100% duty cycle, huh? Also, would it affect duty cycle if ya put a fan blowing into the air grills on the machine?

Does it make a difference if it's a GFI 20A?

Ur a life saver

and whats the Duty Ratio %?

Just wonder are you professional welder own your own welding business? Or just made these video to help people understand and learn welding

Worth mentioning if you turn off your welder while its on duty cycle it will take longer to cool down given heat is the core reason for the overheat/dutycycle. Actually i would recommend never turning it off while on duty cycle. And lets face it most of us have had to wait for that damn thing!

I guess it's good because I tried another receptacle and it worked

Having an issue with a flux core welder. It turns off every 5 to 10 seconds

My duty is 80 proof!

Yet another great vid say hi to "The Voice" for me :)

You look like Cary Grant.

Why don't manufacturers just make welders that can handle constant welding without any chance of overheating? Yeah I know, it will increase the price, but with the right designs, it shouldn't be much of a price increase.

Kevin with all due respect, I love your channel I love the information that you give out to all of us but we've never seen your wife and just like a radio station that you never see the disc jockey but you always hear their voice sometimes you visualize what they look like. wife's voice reminds me of Roseanne. lol

I run my 30% DC welder for 3 hours, then leave it off for 7 hours.

Looks like Terry wogan

Basically just give your machine a break everytime

I still don't get it, I'm probably regarded and should just give up my dreams

The doody cycle of a welder is when it takes a crap once in a while.

I still don't get it, I'm probably regarded and should just give up my dreams