What is Duty Cycle?

A lot of people ask, What is a Duty Cycle? Especially when they're checking out our welders and plasma cutters. In simple terms, it's how long a machine can operate in a 10-minute period. For example, the duty cycle of our Mig 175 welder is 30% at 135 amps. That means, when it's running at 135 amps, it can operate 3 out of 10 minutes - then it must cool the other 7. That's a good duty cycle for a machine that can handle everything you need it to do on that restoration. And if you don't think 3 minutes is a long time, hold a pencil like you are welding, and run it across your desk for three minutes.