Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello,
I think I bought a good welder but the welding skills are not coming with it. I have no use of my legs but want to learn how to weld aluminum. I have been welding Stick and Mig as a hobbyist with no problems for many years and get decent result easily.

I think I prefer just a trigger switch since it is hard enough to keep the torch steady as a beginner. I do have the torch amp control but that might be for later.

My question is what settings should I use to get me going? How do I setup my HTP for me without the use of my legs? Right now I just testing on 1/8" or thinner aluminum plates but my results are horrible. I don't even get a good arc or get the cleaning action going. I watched many many videos and it looks so easy when you see Jody doing it.

Any help is greatly appreciated because the HTP right now is just and expensive paper weight.

Respectfully,
Erwin.

When you say "hand amp control" I hope you mean you purchased a Tig Button. It's awesome. That being said, it's not listed on their page, but they can make you one, as they did for me.

If you are barely starting out, aluminum will prove to be a challenge without experienced help. I have the 221 and have used almost all functions on it.

Remember, it's not just settings, hardware & technique will play a huge role as well. Before we can even begin to speak of settings, the following must be known without uncertainty:

• What consumables are you currently trying to use (collet bodies, collets, tungstens, back caps, cups, gas lenses, teflon insulator gaskets)?
• Gas or water-cooled torch setup?
• Running on 240V or using the DV model on 120V?
• Where did you get your aluminum plates? Some aluminum plates aren't aluminum plates, lol.
• What cleaning/prep materials/supplies are you currently using?
• what welding gas/gases are you currently using?

Some of the answers to the above questions are best answered in text format, but some of them are best answered with pictures. So I hope you really are prepared to accept the help you get by responding with pictures when they are requested of you. A picture almost always speaks a thousand words.

So whats the good word?

Thanks for the replay and sorry for the delay. I need to check this more frequently.

Well I do not have that the button you made me awere of and will look into buying it.

1) I bought a lot of different consumables even the clear ones but my results are no different whatever I use.
2) Its just the standard Gas setup.
3) I did buy the 240V model
4) Well, at first I used what I had laying around (old and Dirty Aluminum), but Im also bought new material 6062 aluminum and other grades from onlinemetals .com. But the results are not much better.
5) I have an "Aluminum Only" stainless steel wire brush that I use to clean the material and I use acetone to wipe it clean. It does not seem to make a difference for my results. While I see videos of people making decent welds on uncleaned aluminum.
6) Well my Argon bottle is almost empty and is the only thing that I did not try yet. I am planning get a fresh bottle of Argon gas but honestly I am very discouraged right now about me learning aluminum welding.

It's almost if I do not get any cleaning action when I try to weld, Not sure if my settings are way off or the shielding gas went bad if that is possible.

Any input is greatly appreciated

It would be helpful to see a picture of the welds you're getting along with the actual settings on your machine for those welds. Balance setting, Frequency, Amps, material thickness, cup size and tungsten size/color. If you even shot a picture of your machine's front that too will help in case you have something backwards.

Well this are my typical results.

70 amps is probably too low for that material, bump up to 120.

The second picture showing your tungsten, shows a fairly long stick out. You can move the tungsten back in a bit, probably half that exposure.

The balling on your tungsten shows a fairly low BALANCE setting. Please confirm the color of your tungsten, and what BALANCE setting you are using.

The first picture shows poor gas coverage, and/or too long an arc (the distance your tungsten is from the work pice). Try to maintain the tip of your tungsten equally far as the diameter of your filler. Really. You may have to arrange the work piece so your eyes can see, or go up a few sizes in your cup. Also, a good quality gas lens helps enormously.

I hear what you are saying. Again, it would be very helpful to have a list of settings I could Check with the machine. I do not know where I am at. I am new to this HTP welder and to TIG welding all together.

Again there are hundreds of videos of people starting on uncleaned material with actual good results. I only get this crap. Even though I hear that there is gas flowing it looks to me that there is not. I do not see any cleaning action when I try to weld as I see on all of the thousand of videos I watched.

I will get a fresh bottle of shielding gas and get back with you after that since that is the only thing I did not replace yet and myself of course ( I used to have a Miller Welder what I had these results with in the end).

But I do not even get a start to improve on anymore, when I start I get all these flashes and am blinded to see the weld for a while.
Its so frustrating.

Set the amps to 100
Set the balance to 70
Set the frequency to 120
Use a blue tungsten
Clean the material with a stainless brush, and wipe with Acetone.

I don't want this to sound prick-ish, but if you can't do these things, STOP trying to weld aluminum. Start with carbon steel, its easier and less fussy.

One Question, is your ac light blinking or solid? if its blinking you are in amplitude setting and that's why you are having problems. if not CJ is right use his settings to start.

Your tungsten is blue as hell... not enough gas coverage, your stick out shouldn't be more that the width of your cup opening. if your cup for instance is a 8 the opening is a 1/2" your sickout cant be more than a half inch. Then you take your gas and times it by 2 so a 8 cup with be 16cfh roughly. Thats how how you measure stick out and gas coverage.

Also the HTP invertig 221 likes new metal at 65% Balance you can run freq anywhere from 60hz -200hrz that just changes your puddle size it wont help you go from your weld to a good weld only the AC balance will. You are having coverage issues, get that sickout like i said. again a 8cup is 1/2" every cup or or down is a 1/16 difference up and down.

That is good info Guys. After I get a new Bottle of shielding gas I will give it a try again.

Most definitely keep the tungsten stickout to 3/16" there abouts, and hold the torch vertical so you can assess the situation first. You absolutely must get a clear, shiny, mirror-like puddle with little to no black pepper in the frosty region before you can go any further. 3/16"-1/8" arc length maximum. Also, don't baby the pedal. You need to drop the hammer since aluminum conducts heat so fast. That's one thing that is hardly ever shown in videos, it's part of the technique.

I want to say hes better of with 4t or a tig button from www.6061.com a pedal is going to be difficult for him being a paraplegic. use all the other settings mentions but put slope up and slope down on, play with the settings. With the tig botton from 6061 its like using a pedal in 2T

You're right, I totally forgot on my last post. I don't think Aaron @ 6061 can get him the tigbutton for the 221, he has to talk to Dave @ TIG Control directly, as I did.

I usually always type in that response about hammering the pedal down because 4 out of every 3 threads on welding aluminum always turns out that the user is trying 1/8" aluminum using 50-60A and taking 10 seconds to ramp up only half that current on the pedal. But yea, in this case 4T would work, and the TIG Button would be eazy peazy.

biermaem,

have a careful look at this video, especially the very first part when Jody lights up and how quickly he lights up. If you have dialed in the right amperage, you should be able to see what Jody creates in the part fro 0:40-0:45 into the video. He gets a nice clean puddle in about 4-5 seconds. I personally have tried to shoot for 3-4 and that works for me.
VOqhh36Kcxo


Remember that joint geometry will determine the amperage need (in part), but generally you (or rather I should say, "I") want to set the welder to 1.2-1.5A per 0.001" of material thickness. Butt and outside corner joints don't need as much amperage as T or acute angle filler joints, in my experience.

Yesterday I installed a fresh tank of Argon gas and noticed that the flow meter was not reacting as it should. There is stuff inside on the tube on the ball.

Hopefully this is my problem. Not even trying to fix this flow meter, I bought a regulator on ebay that seems more accurate to me. Will try this again when the regulator comes in.

Looks like scraps of ally? How the heck did you get that in there?

As long as the tank is shut off you can unscrew the plastic top.

I think its teflon tape. I called WeldUSA.com and they promised to send me a new Flowmeter for free since they give a 2 year warranty, which I was surprised about.

Sounds good. While the engine is shut off, double check everything/anything that could get compromised before you turn the key again. Will save you from future headaches.

Oscar how do you like the tig button for the invertig 2221? is it worth getting? i have one for my dynasty 210 well a switch not a tig button but the arc on the miller is aggressive really aggressive compared to the 221. i really want a tig button if it works well. i figured with gloves it might not be as easy as Aaron makes it look.

WeldingJunkie wrote:...but the arc on the miller is aggressive really aggressive compared to the 221.

You've made that statement numerous times. You are the only person I've ever heard or seen with that opinion. Either your machine is whacked, or its not setup properly. The Dynasty has been the most highly rated TIG box for more than a decade, and tens of thousands of them have been sold, and nowhere on the Internet can you find anyone with the opinion of an "aggressive" arc from theirs.

This is not to say the HTP isn't a good machine also, but I find it dubious that anyone who owns a Dynasty would characterize their box in your words. Being able to have an arc start at 1amp, with virtually any waveform makes it nearly impossible to believe someone could find it "aggressive"...

My tig button works great and is worth getting. You have to email Dave directly though, as it is not listed on their website. I agree that something may be wrong with your machine, as most people who have used the dynasty say it has the smoothest arc they have ever experienced (once it is setup properly). Perhaps your Blue Lightning settings are responsible for the "aggressiveness" you are describing.

CJ listen man, don't take this the wrong way but if you've never used a HTP Invertig 221 then you really cant really comment about the difference can you?. I own both and ive owned the Dynasty 200 as well, more than one in my life. The dynasty will not go down to 1 amp first off with aluminum and you cant run 3/32 down to 1 or 2 amp the low end only .40.

When i run the same settings on both Tigs, which ive been using them both for a long time btw im not a rookie, the Dynasty 210 has a crisp, hard almost aggressive like start and with the freq feels sounds and feels completely different than the HTP Invertig 221.... The 221 starts and its smooth easy going start and weld on aluminum where the dynasty 210 sounds like it could eat the material right up in front of you (not saying it does). The Invertig 221 can go down to 4 amps with 3/32 but again im not talking low end im talking in general in all amperage. makes no difference what amps it is, the arc is the same.

I'm laughing at the comment my machine isn't set up right or my machine is whacked. its just a completely different arc characteristic and if you never used one you wouldn't know (invertig 2221) or (Dynasty 210DX) im sure youll say you have thought because you seem to say blueish green if i say blue on certain posts, you come off very challenging. No where did i say the dynasty was bad or crappy. or anything but aggressive which it is PERIOD!... I bough The Dynasty 210 DX because its good obviously. Miller dynasty is the building block that all Tigs compete against ill make a video since you think its dubious and find it hard to believe.

Let me ask you a question which Tig machines do you own? I remember you saying an Everlast right?

BTW the wave forms are a gimmick. ive tried them all many times, what a joke. ill take the Amplitude setting all day long over that BS.

Here is a video i posted to you tube for you. The end has both arcs back to back so you can see, clearly you can see and hear the difference. Maybe it is the blue Lightning. Maybe people find it not aggressive but how many dynasty owners own both probably not many.


https://youtu.be/vv-pDGumDXQ

Video for you tube. Its private only we can watch it.

BTW you must not read many posts on here, Here is a full thread on it CJ.... Oscar may or may not remember this one but its directed at CJ. Im sure Mike Zonk doesn't know what hes talking about right? why dont you check out the title of that ost while you are reading.

http://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/v ... f=5&t=6855

Thanks Oscar im buying one of those buttons i reached out to him already.


My machine is set up right there isn't a whole lot to setting up a tig and ive been welding for 20 years. I'm not saying the arc itself isn't smooth but sounds and feel is real aggressive. Ill make a video and post it. You own an invertig 221 so you know how quiet and smooth that arc really is.I think you are right about the BLUE LIGHTNING.