Welding Tips and Tricks

Anyone have any issues with the colder weather tig welding? I'm a couple weeks into tig welding and had it down well enough to start building a cart. I ran into some issues with laying down the welds last night. It seemed like I couldn't get it to puddle very well and the tip on the tungsten would flatten out a bit. Seems like I'm getting enough gas according to the gauge (17). Part of me thought it was me being pedal happy for the tip to change like that, I was using 2%lanth and tried some pure (I think? Purple stuff it came with) and kinda the same result. I was running between 55-75 trying to get it dialed in again. When I used the machine for the very first time I left it at 100 and just controlled it with the foot pedal and no tungsten issues besides the random puddle dip (I would even run it up to 100 to experiment and no balling tip). So I really wouldn't think running it at 55-75 would ball up the tungsten going from 100 with no issues? All I can think of, and not noticing is bad torch angle? and possibly a colder garage and colder material effecting it? Thanks

Lincoln square wave 200
3/32
17 style torch and 6 or 7 cup (what it came with)
14g mild steel tube was the material

I have the same welder, the manual lists 14F as lowest operating temp (and storage temp). You didn't indicate how cold a temp you're talking about. The damage to the tungsten sounds like a shielding problem. Could the regulator on your tank be having a problem at low temps? I have welded in my unheated garage at temps in the 30s with no noticeable effect.

Thanks for the reply. I had a feeling it had something to do with the gas. I can't really say how cold it was the other night. I was just wearing a thermal and a hoodie so it couldn't have been that bad but... I think I read somewhere that the regulator that comes with that machine isn't the greatest so that might be something to look into. Since you have the same set up like I have have you changed the cup or experimented with the torch much? I've been meaning to pick up some different cups and some more tungsten to mess around with. Hopefully this weekend I can finish up the cart I've been working on. After the little bit of frustration the other night I almost just said screw it and finished it up with my mig lol. I really want the hood time with the tig though. It's all a learning curve with a new piece of equipment I guess.

Another thing you might look at to help with your problem is whether the fan is blowing your shielding gas away. A few times I had my machine pointed the wrong way and the exhaust from the fan was blowing into my work.

I didn't have any problem with the original regulator, but I switched to a dual flow meter so I could use a purge line. So I didn't end up using the original regulator very long and it was only in hot weather. I bought this cheapo torch flow meter, so at least I can tell if I have the right flow rate coming out of the end of the torch.

The original collet body was defective on my torch, the tungsten was not centered in the middle of the cup, so it didn't work very well. I use gas lenses anyway, so I just threw it out. I've tried gas lenses from several sources, including the radnor brand from airgas and the ones from Usaweld. Both work well, the one from usaweld is a two piece construction, so the screen gets reused on different collet sizes. It's a little clunky trying to get those two things apart without damaging the screen so I'd have a slight preference for the more traditional style like Radnor makes. I also bought some pyrex cups because I thought it would help me see better, but they break easy and I don't think they helped that much, and they're really expensive. I do have a Furick cup, I've had a few occasions to use it, but it's also pyrex so it's pretty fragile and very expensive. I've found that long nose alumina cups have been the cheapest and most effective way for me to avoid a long stickout in tight areas.

I took a year long welding class at the local community college, so I had a chance to use lots of machines and torches. A water cooled torch is really a big advantage, don't need to wear a huge glove to keep your hand from getting hot. I think the torch this machine came with is a nice choice for the money, it's got a flex head and it's the right size for most things I do. It also has a decent cover instead of those crappy covers that burn right through. My top choice for buying an upgrade to my machine would be a water cooled torch.

I tried lots of different tungstens and settled on 2% lanthanated, it seems to work well enough for everything so it's one thing I don't have to think about.

Thanks for all the info mark. I definitely did notice how strong the fan was in the machine when I first tried it out. I ended up having to set it on my mig welder for now. Hopefully this weekend I can get it working right again, if I have time this weekend I think I'm just going to get a better regulator. The more I think about the one I have it seems like I'm always readjusting it just about every time I open the bottle.

I never knew there was a minimum temp for storing equipment. I assumed it was no different than any other electronic device.
i related it to a car as an example, the stereos, car computer, etc, all have capacitors and all the other components on a circuit board, and they stay out in temps below zero at times. i'll have o dig out my manuals and see if mine have any minimums.

ljdm1956 wrote:I never knew there was a minimum temp for storing equipment. I assumed it was no different than any other electronic device.
i related it to a car as an example, the stereos, car computer, etc, all have capacitors and all the other components on a circuit board, and they stay out in temps below zero at times. i'll have o dig out my manuals and see if mine have any minimums.

Maybe they're worried someone will bring it into a warm humid building and moisture will condense inside the cabinet. Most consumer electronics operate at low voltages and currents, and don't typically produce high frequency output at high voltages. So maybe effects like differential contraction on surface mount boards have more serious effects on a welder. The only other household electronics I can think of in the same class would be a microwave oven, not sure if they have minimum storage temps or not. I'm still amazed that tig welders are now available for under $1000. I took welding in college 45 years ago, and there were pictures of tig welders in the text book but they looked like refrigerators and cost $30K.