Welding application question

Someone recently gave me a 225 amp AC welder which was made by Lincoln
about 25 years ago. It has been sitting for about 20 years and was
previously hardly ever used. It has a switch on the front with
positions ranging from 40 - 225 amps. Admittedly I don't know much
about welding however I have heard that DC welders are much more
desirable. So I have some questions:
1. Where or when would it be more desirable to use an AC over a DC
welder?
2. Am I correct in assuming that the secondary on the unit's
transformer is tapped and then simply run through a switch on the
output?
3. If so can I construct on a suitable heatsink, say a 400 amp bridge
rectifier circuit and install it between the switch and before the
ground and electrode cables?
4. Are the outputs of welders normally protected in some fashion
against current overload. Would I need to do this?
5. The unit operates from 240VAC. What would the minimum breaker size
have to be to handle full load?
Thanks very much for any information on this. Lenny Stein, Barlen
Electronics

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