Welding Tips and Tricks

So my wife got me the new "Prime Weld Tig 225 AC/DC" I am super stoked to get it and start using it. for the last year I have been welding with an AMICO cs160 which is also what I learned to tig weld on. It was challenging at first due to it being a finger trigger set up and not foot pedal. I had to learn very fast how to control the heat the best I could. Even with the amount of hours put in I could still never really get good welds on thin sheet metal like I was able to with thicker stuff. I am comfortable on outside corners/Inside/Butt and Lap and have had a lot of fun going through all the frustrations to being able to produce those consistently. Again, I am glad I learned on a trigger machine because there are no doubt times where a foot pedal will not work and that will be my only option, at least now I have that down.

I wanted to Prime weld machine because I am restoring the Sheetmetal on my 72 Chevy truck. I was about to start with my Amico but decided to hold off until I got something that I could use PULSE on. Everything I have read has said if you are gonna use a tig on autobody that pulse was a huge advantage. I really just want everything to look clean and not warp this is what I believe is the best route to go.
Can anyone give me a crash course on standard setting using pulse. What are you all using when doing 17-19 gauge sheet metal? I am unfamiliar with downslope/upslope and percentages. I am reading up on it but it is an enormous amount of info. I was hoping that someone could tell me if there is a standard setting that I could use and maybe tweak. I really appreciate anyone's help.

Please don't tell me to go to MiG either lol I know it is probably easier but I really enjoy the focus tig welding takes and the way it looks when I am done. Its more relaxing for me taking the time:) thanks again.

I know I"m probably the lone exception, but I almost never use pulse, even on sheet metal. That's to include thin aluminum. I do backstep welds when I'm doing sheet if there's any length to the weld area. But that's about all I do. To be fair, I don't do autobody work, but it's not unlikely I may be doing some in the near future. If I do, I'll stick with processes I'm familiar with and any experimentation will be on scrap.

BugHunter wrote:I know I"m probably the lone exception, but I almost never use pulse, even on sheet metal. That's to include thin aluminum. I do backstep welds when I'm doing sheet if there's any length to the weld area. But that's about all I do. To be fair, I don't do autobody work, but it's not unlikely I may be doing some in the near future. If I do, I'll stick with processes I'm familiar with and any experimentation will be on scrap.

That makes perfect since. I'm not sure I will use pulse either, it's only on my own research and learning that it seems to be a great option. But I have also never had the ability to control my heat which will be totally new for me now that I have this new welder. I might not even need pulse. We will see! Its gonna be a fun couple months playing with this things.

I don't use pulse much at all, but recommend you start with 50% on time, 50% background, and 30-40 pulses/sec. Play around with the adjustments from there to see what responds best to the materials and machine you are using. You'll also need to up your amps a bit from the usual amp setting...probably a 20-30% increase at least. Again, start with that and adjust as you see how things are responding.

Make sure to have good fitups with sheetmetal, and when you do have some gaps, just jam the rod in there and give it a bit of a weave to get past those areas.

Good luck. It will get easier as you get more time on it under the hood.

If I could chime in here, my pulse settings are rather different than Spartan's.

I use 40% on time, 15% background, and 1.2 pulses per second. I probably bump my total amps up by 15-20% from the "1amp/0.001" thickness rule. But I find this recipe provides ample heat to fuse, knocks back the arc to freeze the puddle, and provides a metronomic rhythm for filler/movement. I experience virtually no warpage with this recipe and use it for autogenous or filler. (I might tinker with the 40%-45%, or simply bump my high range amps by 5 amps at a time if needed).

I also like silicon bronze wire for body panels over ER70. Takes less heat, perfectly strong enough, and won't rust.

Think about it like this, peak time will hit the weld with the amps set on the machine (assumes a full pedal press) the background will drop back to the given % you have set.

The goal is to make the weld and at the same time keep heat input to the minimum. Lets say for example you wanted to weld at 50 amps, for Sparten he would set the amps (on the machine) lower then CJ, because CJ has a shorter "on time" and lower background, but both settings could achieve 50 amps if the machine amperage is set to what it needs to be. Neither is right or wrong by themselves, these are just the settings chosen by them for their reasons. A person could make the weld with either setting is what I'm trying to convey.

It may take awhile to digest what seems to be such a wide field to play on, try for yourself to see what happens. There is no one given setting that is magic unto itself.

LtBadd wrote: It may take awhile to digest what seems to be such a wide field to play on, try for yourself to see what happens. There is no one given setting that is magic unto itself.

It did take me quite a while to decide on that ratio. I probably welded with almost every combination for several days trying to get to a repeatable formula.

I don’t always use pulse, but it does have some serious advantage on thin, way out of position welding (under a car, or upside down inside chamber) where the pedal is not available and straight amps is easier. I’ve never been able to adopt the TIG button successfully despite having them on two of my machines. I’m probably just not coordinated enough

But you’re correct, there is no wrong or right, and what works for you can only be determined by experimentation.

cj737 wrote:I’ve never been able to adopt the TIG button successfully despite having them on two of my machines. I’m probably just not coordinated enough

I get so sick of kicking a peddle around and look at those buttons often, but just can't swallow the price tag for something that I may not like...which seems may be the case for you. Perhaps my reluctance to pull the trigger on one has been fortunate.

Spartan wrote:

cj737 wrote:I’ve never been able to adopt the TIG button successfully despite having them on two of my machines. I’m probably just not coordinated enough

I get so sick of kicking a peddle around and look at those buttons often, but just can't swallow the price tag for something that I may not like...which seems may be the case for you. Perhaps my reluctance to pull the trigger on one has been fortunate.

When we cross paths later this week, I am going to loan you mine. Try it out and let me know what I am doing wrong.

cj737 wrote: When we cross paths later this week, I am going to loan you mine. Try it out and let me know what I am doing wrong.

That sounds like a good plan!

Every welder prefers different pulse settings, it's more like personal preference. For example, I don't really like high frequency pulse. When I dab, I usually use 1 pulse per seconds, 30-40% on time, 15% background current (i dab during ON time) . When I do lay wire, i use 2 or 3 pulses per seccond 30-40% on time, 15% background current. I also use 4 or 5 pulses per seccond on lay wire, 50%on time, 15-20% background current. When I do fusion welding (no filler rod) i prefer 2 pulses per seccond, 20% on time, 15% background currnet.
I use high pulse (more than 50hz) when I weld outside corner on a box cutter blade using copper backing without filler (no real job).
Most of the time i increase the amperage from 30 to 60%, depending on the application, joint configuration, filler rod thickness, pulse settings etc.
Those are the settings I personally like.
The best way to find what you like is to try different settings and different techniques. And when you need to use pulse (if you're not doing it on a daily basis), you should always do "warmup round".

You guys are great! Thank you for all the responses, I learned more and understand a lot better with your input than watching stuff on it. It will be fun a frustrating to see what works and what doesn't. I don't hate the trigger that I have been using, but it has been extremely frustrating specially in the beginning. I am glad i stuck with it ( * bottles of argon later hahahah ) Looking forward to getting this machine. Thanks again for your input.

I do from time to time use a tig button on my 256D when I feel that I'll be moving around a bit. I usually do all of my work right on my table and use the foot pedal - kick it here, kick it there. Without doubt, the button took a while to get accustomed to..and for the most part, find it hard to figure out that it does the same as the pedal with very little movement, and feel that is the reason it is sometimes a challenge.
there's ALWAYS a way to skin a cat.

The trigger isn't anything special, and you can get used to it very easy, you just need to set the amps right on the point.
General rule of thumb is 1amp per 0.001 inch. (40amps per millimeter). But that rule of thumb it's not always relevant. Most of all it depends on the material type, thickness over 1/8 (3mm), and joint configuration.
But let's set 1Amp per 0.001 inch (1A/0.001") as guide:

Carbon steel:
-Butt weld 1A/0.001"
-Outside corner 1A/0.001" -10%
-Inside corner 1A/0.001" +10%

Stainless steel :
-Butt weld 1A/0.001" -20%
-Outside corner 1A/0.001" -30%
-Inside corner 1A/0.001" -10%

Aluminum :
-Butt weld 1A/0.001" +20%
-Outside corner 1A/0.001" +10%
-Inside corner 1A/0.001" +30%

Try these settings, and fine tune them according to your taste (every machine welds a bit different, and every welder welds different as well). The downside of using trigger on aluminum is bead width, but you can adjust your feeding rate and travel speed to get decent results (you will start cold and slow, and after 2/3 of the weeld you should be rushing).

i prefer using high freq pulse on thin material.
that means i have to up the amps which gives me more range of amps to play with. ie if your at 30 amps you reduce amps much, if your at 60 amps you can reduce it a lot when required.