Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi guys I'm new to the forum.
I got a Eastwood Tig 200
That I'm having problems with
I need to find parts for.
And Eastwood is no help



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Hey there,

Not sure if we have any owners on here, but we do have some smart people who might be able to help. What exactly is happening, or not happening?

Why won't Eastwood help? We don't have these in Australia

It's not what I really wanted but it was a gift lol
It stopped firing off like it used to, I keep having to scratch start it.
I change the torch, the foot pedal, the ground. Nothing seems to help.

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Your unit may use “contact points” internally as part of the arc initiation. Like a cars ignition points, they can need to be gapped. Your manual might have a pointer to this. I’d be pretty firm with eastwood for support or repair if that doesn’t solve the issue.

There's not a button to turn off the hf spark is there? Our welded have a button labled with a little lightning bolt and a hf/contact start. Don't want to be rude but sometimes simple things are the issues

weldin mike 27 wrote:There's not a button to turn off the hf spark is there? Our welded have a button labled with a little lightning bolt and a hf/contact start. Don't want to be rude but sometimes simple things are the issues

No there's no button like that. It has work good for 4 years. The preflow starts up just fine. It's just something with the startup. Damn Chinese garbage!!

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Fair enough. Definitely have a look for hf points or unit.
Best, Mick

They do have a spark gap / points on them - from memory a few inches back from the front panel & about 1/2 way up on height - don't remember them being adjustable in the true sense - you just clean them & bend them a bit if needed ! if they need adjusting & the HF board is still working it will make a high pitched sound when the torch switch is operated - if I can find anyone that still has one I'll try to get them to take a picture - I have known several people with them that I showed how to use - it truly is a POS welder though & extremely over priced ! quite unusual to hear of one still being around - they were renowned for leaking the magic pixie smoke !

Another thought, did your ground and torch cables get flipped around somehow?

Just happened to me when miller sent me a demo Dynasty 400 they had the cables put in backwards and I didn't understand their pictures (Not just a + and -)

I could get the unit to weld but not with a HF start, I had to basically do a weird lift arc scratching motion to get a arc to light up.

Probably not your issue by the sounds of things but definitely worth looking at since it's a quick fix.

Toggatug wrote:Another thought, did your ground and torch cables get flipped around somehow?

Just happened to me when miller sent me a demo Dynasty 400 they had the cables put in backwards and I didn't understand their pictures (Not just a + and -)

I could get the unit to weld but not with a HF start, I had to basically do a weird lift arc scratching motion to get a arc to light up.

Probably not your issue by the sounds of things but definitely worth looking at since it's a quick fix.

I have tried everything I can. Replaced the torch, foot pedal. Opened it up looked inside couldn't see anything. And now Eastwood won't even return my emails.

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On the front panel of your unit, there is a switch to toggle between foot pedal and panel control. Since the gas solenoid is tripping when you push the pedal (preflow is initiated) I suspect the pedal control button is functioning. However, flip that switch and start an arc. Then flip it back and try the pedal again. Does the switch feel “crisp” or “spongy”? It could be that corrosion is occurring on the contacts for that switch (or internal ones) and the circuit is not being completed.

Does this happen on DC TIG as well as AC? Is the Stick function working properly? Is there any noise associated with the arc initiation that is not “normal to how it used to be”?

It sounds as though the HF module has died, but these are a few self-tests you can run. Worst case, take it to your local Welding Repair shop, and they can determine its status. For a $700 gift, you got 4 years out of it. Not a lot to complain about from that perspective...

This unit is an AHP which is one of the better Chinese units as far as durability and quality. Eastwood just tacks their name on the cover and increases the price over Amazons (read the reviews). Kevin Caron shows how to simply clean and set the points on this unit. After 4 years of use this is probably just common maintenance and will cure your problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPKwrqbwiDI&t=147s

If the link should change , just do a search on youtube and type cleaning points AHP and the link to Kevin's video should come up.