Esseti 501C BEAST of a Carbon Arc gouger!

[xterramike]

After unsuccessfully trying to sell my 500amp italian stallion (Esseti 501C wirefeeder/power source), I found a fantastic use for it...as my carbon arc gouger! I had a 12ft plow blade from one of the plow trucks consistently keep snapping an ear off & after yrs of crappy re-welds, the spot was nearly 1" thick. It needed to be taken back down to 1/2" so I could weld it appropriated with the 350P, get good penetration & get it fixed for this winter. I used 5/16" carbon/graphite rods & approx 375 amps to obliterate the gobs of molten metal...it was a blast! I actually found it quite gratifying to see the metal go flying. The angle I was working in wouldn't allow me to get any kind of grinder in there, and it would have taken DAYS to grind, even if I could. Thank you online community for not buying my Esseti...it will be with me until the end! I have several bucket repairs to perform on some excavators & loaders & I can now do them without issue with the carbon air gouger! Can't wait to run some 3/8" rod and hit 500amp! I'll see if I can hit the max on this machine...

[digger doug]

Me like air arc.....at this time of year, take leaf blower
around area, to make sure next time you lift your helmet.....

The area isn't on fire.....

Don't ask.

[xterramike]

Originally Posted by digger doug

Me like air arc.....at this time of year, take leaf blower
around area, to make sure next time you lift your helmet.....

The area isn't on fire.....

Don't ask.

Haha.. funny, I neglected to mention that this is a fantastic way to locate flammable items in your shop space, even if they're 25+ft away. I was fortunate enough to be working on the plow which itself acts like a self-contained work area (I was working near the bottom of the kickblade, behind the blade)...but before working on said plow blade, I tried out the gouger on a scrap piece of steel, to dial it in & get my form down...this was done on my welding table, and a towel used to clean up a small hydraulic oil spill earlier over the wknd didn't find it's way to the dirty towel bin, instead it was drapped over the forklift drivers seat (forkilift was used to move the blade around my shop, it was 12' after all). Well, that towel caught a blob of molten metal & proceeded to ignite, and kept burning thanks to the hydraulic oil...and a fan that was blowing on it (also used to blow fumes out the shop overhead door)....yep that was bad. I now have a slightly melted forklift seat, have retired another shop towel and probably developed 10 gray hairs when I realized something was on fire behind me...good times!

[milomilo]

Huge sparks, very loud noise, occasional fires and fast metal removal!!! A great way to spend an hour!!!

[FabberMcGee]

Yep, lots of fun and everyone within ear shot knows you're using your big boy tools.

[digger doug]

Originally Posted by FabberMcGee

Yep, lots of fun and everyone within ear shot knows you're using your big boy tools.

I always wondered what it would be like to run air arc off a detroit
powered lincoln portable....with the muffler off.....

[cramd]

Originally Posted by digger doug

I always wondered what it would be like to run air arc off a detroit
powered lincoln portable....with the muffler off.....

I suspect sign language would be the only way to communicate short of turning the damn thing off (and your ears would ring for hours after).

[allessence]

I'm so happy you kept your Esseti.. Now I have a fellow Esseti user and with a Name like Italian stallion and Yeti Esseti we have a good group forming..


It is to bad you weren't able to get the mig part up to par.. I used Yeti today to fix a wood splitter and He just works each and everytime..

Besides that.. He's paid me back a few times over vs Dyna which more than likely will never get paid back for.. But happy just the same to have Dyna in the shop..

[digger doug]

Originally Posted by cramd

I suspect sign language would be the only way to communicate short of turning the damn thing off (and your ears would ring for hours after).

Last summer along I-90 in downtown Cleveland they were working on the
bridge with one......looked to be placed WAY over a dirt embankment, and
had VERY long cables hooked to it.....

[digr]

At the shop where I worked I had to tie two welders together to be able to run 3/8" round and 3/8" flat carbons. The flats are great in some cases. The fumes are NOT good and I very seldom ran a air ark inside the shop. Also the arked area should be cleaned up with a grinder before welding.

Ted