Duty Cycle

[atcig]

Is it easier to get forgiveness or permission?

[d4ve]

I find its a lose-lose situation. On one side it is like you got no balls and on the other side you might as well not have them. Let it be known that "the grudge" is not just a horror movie.

[ISKI]

I think the confusion is from the two metrics and now I am not sure of my preconceptions. I thought that the duty cycle is set depending upon what the machine can handle. At high power the machine will change the on time to limit the power output. My Lincoln Ideal Arc 250 will put out 250 Amps all day and not go over temperature as it us rated for 100%. Now my Lincoln Precision TIG 185 set to 185 in the summer using an extension cord will run for a while and then sometimes over-temp and shut off. I thought that the machine was pulsing 185 Amps on and off at say 60% for a actual power of 108 Amps and if properly wired and cooled it would do this all day. As I stated on an extension cord, it has shut down in the past, but I didn’t think it really would ever give me 180 Amps but pulses of 180 Amps and the pulses controlled the heat/power so it should run all day. I thought the duty cycle of the on time was set so the machine would run all day, but never actually give me 180 Amps of continuous power. I’ll need to look this one up (interesting).

[rustycase]

I'm fortunate, being in the hobby level, that duty cycle probably won't be a concern.
rc