Arc power balance

The arc power balance tells you how much of the electrical energy actually ends up as heat in the weld. Some is always lost to the surroundings through radiation and waste heat. If you don't keep an eye on it, the weld will either be too cold and won't fuse properly, or you'll put too much heat in and the steel will suffer. Then you'll quickly get cracks or a too coarse structure. Just set the machine so that the weld melts in cleanly without overheating the material. Make sure the shielding gas envelope isn't blown away, then the heat stays where it should.