As suggested on the other forum, it's more about the limited settings on that machine than anything else. Did you buy the Chicago Electric 170 or the Titanium 170? If it's the CE model you're stuck with only 4 voltage settings which really limits how much you can adjust anything. By comparison, a Ho...

Why is it bad on your laptop/desktop? Seems fine to me. Different, yes, but fine altogether. Kiwi pretty much nailed it. The forum title/headline sections are very large, way out of proportion, so that just the TIG section takes up more than half of the screen (vertically). Then there's the large s...

Is there any setting to make this new format display differently? I thought the old format was great, but this new format is simply awful. I looked through all the user settings I could find and nothing seemed to address how the forum appears, but maybe (hopefully) I missed something? I don't think ...

If I do 2 passes with lots of filler the crack should go away? The cracks probably won't show up but that doesn't mean you'll have sufficient penetration. People can argue theory all they want, but the only way you'll know is to make a test weld with similarly sized materials, then cut and etch to ...

The 350 MP is a beast of a machine, no doubt. I had a Power Mig 300 which is the same basic machine with older software (which can be upgraded). I was very impressed with the arc quality and it had more power than almost any casual welder would ever need. It seemed to have a really robust wire feed ...

I don't doubt that at all...it would have to be. I'm tempted to set one of my machines at 160A and see how long it takes just to get a puddle started on 1/4" aluminum. With a preheat and the correct settings, you can get it to puddle with 160. You WON'T get nearly the penetration desired in a ...

1/4" aluminum with only 160A is way, way outside the box...like double the thickness you should plan for with that size machine. Pre-heat will obviously help, but I'd be looking to find a way to add helium to the setup as well. I've tried 1/4" aluminum with a 200A machine and it was possi...

1/4" aluminum with only 160A is way, way outside the box...like double the thickness you should plan for with that size machine. Pre-heat will obviously help, but I'd be looking to find a way to add helium to the setup as well. I've tried 1/4" aluminum with a 200A machine and it was possib...

Have you tried it with the standard collet setup rather than the keyless chuck? The keyless chuck is quite a bit longer as I recall.

I've been using one of my CK flex heads for a couple of years and it feels the same now as when I got it. They aren't really like most other flexible neck things out there. They actually take more force to position than you might expect so having them flop around is very unlikely. What I do know is ...

The torch needs to be connected to the negative (-) terminal....can't quite tell which lead is connected to the positive (+) terminal in the pictures.

It definitely could be a gas flow issue, but it could also be contaminated gas (I have had multiple contaminated bottles of 100% argon, from different sources, so i wouldn't consider it as rare as Oscar) but you have to take a step back to sort it out. As suggested, pictures of the machine and how y...

Can you post a picture of the joint configuration? I'm sure more experienced folks will chime in, but there are times when you have to use small tack welds on one side, flip the item over and weld a full bead on the other side, then flip back to the first side and run full beads. Sometimes you can r...

The 20 series torch is more than enough for that machine and is probably the most common water-cooled torch overall right now. I don't know about any cup size limitations with them...you can get pretty huge cups for stainless if you need them.

Definitely something to consider. Another thing that just occurred to me, is the porosity was happening sometimes a little at the beginning but mostly at the end, in both cases at the edge of the material, a 90deg drop away from the weld plane, so another pointer to gas coverage. Glad you found the...

However, I don't know of any machine under $3,500 or so that has great low end performance. I do know of one, and it's $900 less than your threshold. HTP's Invertig 221 is $2600 and goes down to 4A in DC and 10A in AC. Stellar performance for the money. :) Heck, I can go $1K lower :D I know lots of...

TIGTK wrote:New to welding anodized pipe and bending. I keep hearing about pvc pipe liner for bending to prevent scratches. Can anyone tell me where to buy this stuff ?
Thanks a million.

You'll probably get better responses by starting a new thread over reviving one that's old and on a different topic.

New gas and bottle swap, is from the same supplier so I don't really suspect that. Even the most professional, careful shop can send out a bad bottle by accident....it happens. Guys that run bit operations have even commented that they can figure out a percentage over time that will be bad...they g...

There isn't an easy answer to your question. For one, we don't know what sort of weather you have to deal with, and that will make a big difference. If you live in an arid climate, the welder should be fine in a carport. If you live somewhere with a lot of humidity and/or large temperature swings it...

It's possible that when you connected the current bottle and ran for 60 seconds you were really using the gas that was between the flow meter and the gas solenoid, not what was coming out of the tank. I would definitely start with a fresh everything on the torch, and check for leaks....new collet/co...

The difference is he already has a TIG machine at work so he doesn't have to buy anything. Heck, since it's for work they might even let him practice on the clock when it's convenient. It sure seems like a no-brainer for him to give it a try. a lot of tigs have a stick mode. Sure, but he didn't say...

The difference is he already has a TIG machine at work so he doesn't have to buy anything. Heck, since it's for work they might even let him practice on the clock when it's convenient. It sure seems like a no-brainer for him to give it a try. a lot of tigs have a stick mode. Sure, but he didn't say...

i still like the stick for starting of with. only one control to mess with. as long as you get some run on everything rods its pretty straight forward. no gas issues to worry about. only doing one thing, no feeding rod or working pedals. if you give it up, its only cost you a cheap stick machine, h...

I wouldn't suggest someone go out and buy a TIG welder as the first experiment, but you already have a machine available, so it's really a different scenario. Lots of people learned how to gas torch weld as a first process, and TIG shares a lot of similarities, so I don't think it's an impossible ta...

You don't mention your budget, or the available space you have. I would personally look for a used Syncowave 250. There are a lot of them out there at reasonable prices. They do a good job at both tig and stick. And, being a transformer machine-they last forever. Not so much any more. I buy every d...