I've got a 160STH. Good basic machine, HF start is nice. I use one for field maintenance type work, although at the moment, it's sitting in the basement of my new house. I was putzing with some shelves. S/F......Ken M

Change the AC balance way down, you have way too much "cleaning action" or electrode positive. S/F.....Ken M

Google "Franzinator" if you want to make an expansion air/water seperator. If you want to follow that up with a chemical dissicant, it'd probably be near perfect for anything less than lab or commercial use. S/F.....Ken M

Argon flow seems very high, what cup are you using, and gas lens or not? S/F.....Ken M

Over in Euroland, they use buttloads of 6013; it's weird. I believe they manufacture their 6013's for different performance than ours. I use 6013's for thin stuff where I'd probably otherwise use MIG. I don't see anything wrong with that, use the right tool for it's suitable purpose. It's all nonstr...

It's not frequency, there's no freq adjustment on transformer machines AFAIK. It's voltage for the HF arc. More voltage means more RFI which means more chance of weirding out the computer in the office S/F....Ken M

Holy Jebus! Does it do the job? yes/no Does it hold up? yes/no I'm assuming it's a non-paying shop project so some OHSA nazi doesn't come after you and fine you more than Goldman Sachs trying to make up the deficit on the back of the small business owner. You've never done those before? S/F....Ken M

The problem isn't water, it's a hydrated salt created in the presence of water. It's an actual chemical bond, not just absorption. That's why they require 400+ degrees F for 30+ minutes or whatever in order to refresh the rods(and that may still not meet code, which is why you see cases and cases of...

OK, that jives with what I've heard/read. I shop at Menards because it stocks a lot of US products. S/F.....Ken M

NAFTA puts American HD tow truck drivers to work anyways..... S/F.....Ken M

Thought US Forge was a Messer product for Menard's house brand? S/F....Ken M

A nice low charcoal fire in the grill works great for post weld cooldown. S/F....Ken M

I'd be interested in seeing a vid on MIG brazing. It's an automotive repair technique, as modern cars are using bronze to join boron steel and similar high strength heat treated materials. I-CAR has been the only place I've seen it addressed. S/F....Ken M

Looks interesting, it's cheaper than a Miller/Lincoln HF unit(as well as being self powered), so I'd consider one for my scratch start setup on an engine welder. I wonder if it'll sustain an AC waveform, so you can do Al/Mg off an engine welder(yes, I know 50/50 balance is gonna eat tungstens) S/F.....

Pulse MIG, at least on my PowerMIG300(I guess it's a 350 since I updated the software) is to force the unit into spray arc at short circuit heat levels. It's multipulse per second. S/F....Ken M

I'll try it, I see what you're saying, but I do auto/truck repair and occasional fab, so welding is intermittant. Some times I'll be doing it everyday, some times the welders will sit for weeks. S/F.....Ken M

Lincoln PowerMIG 300. I have a Python push-pull gun but haven't used it nor set it up, ever. One of these days I'll have to use it, if just to say I did. S/F.....Ken M

Most(all?) machines run the gas solenoid when you turn them on so you can set the flow and so it purges the lines. I always bleed my lines down when shutting off so there's no risk of wearing something(gas diaphram?) out due to extended pressure. No idea if this is relevant or neccesary, but it's wh...

If you watch chuckE2009's HTP 2400 MIG video from a week or two ago, he seems to be getting a TIG like appearance using the "pulse" settings. Which seems to be for setting up consistant stitch welding but it looks pretty. S/F....Ken M

What's your postflow set at?
S/F.....Ken M