WeldingWeb - Welding Community for pros and enthusiasts banner

old sears craftsman ac stick welder question

1 reading
7K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  whtbaron  
View attachment zzz452.JPG

Grey one like this? Should be good for 180 amps so you're not really limited for rods... might not run well on DC only rods, but other than that you should be good. For smaller stuff (I'm thinking less than 1/2") you'll probably want 1/8" or 3/16" sizes anyway. 6010/6011's might be a little sketchy (depends on the welder), but any 6013,7014,7018AC rod should run fine with it. My old blue Sears has run a multitude of rods for years (including hard surfacing applications) so I doubt you'll have any big problems. Manual? We don't need no stinking manual...
 
Grab some 7014's and put it to work. If the metal you are welding is over 1/8" thick, the 1/8" rods will work for most light projects. Sweet spot should be around 85 and 120 amps (my Sears tends to clock a little low, so around 100 on it). I did all the farm repairs for decades with buzz boxes and 6013 or 7014 rods. They are pretty much bullet proof (I've changed the on/off switch and a couple electrode plug-ins on the Forney, just the leads that were left out in the sun on the Sears) so go have some fun with it. My Sears does seem to be a power hog so you might want it on a 50 amp breaker with a good sized lead. Mine is an older version than yours, and came in light blue. The Dinze panel plugs were added on.
View attachment IMG_1427[1].jpg

Rod applications you can read in the fine print on the package, or go to the individual company websites for major suppliers like Forney or Lincoln.