QuickSilver2002

I have not been on this board for a while (not sure why). I own 2 ls1 powered cars (a c5 and a GTO) and I mess with them all the time. I'm actually finishing up a turbo setup on my GTO now.

I don’t know any TIG experts local. so hopefully some of you guys can help me out.

I just recently got this TIG welder, I have wanted one for a long time, but I just now got my hands on one. It is a miller/hobart econotig. Nothing fancy, but it should do what I need. I just started using it today for the first time (trying to get some stainless downpipes finished up). I must say it is more challenging than I expected. I'm very confident and decently skilled with with my crappy old flux mig welder, but this is a whole new deal.

Overall, I'm making great progress on my practice joints (tubing is much harder than I thought it would be).

I do have two main questions.

1. The arc assist is only automatically starting sometimes. It seems to kick up fine if the base metal is already hot, but I'm having to tap the base metal to get it started sometimes (everything seems to indicate this is a bad practice and contaminates the tungsten). Wonder if anyone has any tips on what I'm doing wrong. Is my tungsten just not sharp enough..... It does arc up sometimes without a tap. Maybe my amps are just not high enough. I have it dialed down pretty low (30-60amps on the pedal)


2. I ran out of argon really quick (I thought I had the regulator set at 20cfh). I purchased a little 20cuft bottle, but it was gone in a very short amount of time. I would say the gas was only flowing for a total of 15-20 minutes (including the 15seconds the torch keeps flowing after the arc is cut off). My first thought is that they simply gave me a very empty bottle. How can I verify that he bottle is full. What should the PSI be of a full argon 20 cuft bottle. The only other thing I can think of is that I had the regulator turned up way too high. I thought I looked at it twice, but the flow may have snuck up on me once I started welding. And how much are you guys paying for argon. It seems like I paid too much (think it was $18 to fill that little bottle). .

xfactor_pitbulls

iTrader: (16)

1. I dont know about a little tig like that, but if you have the option for sensitivity, turn it to the max. Other wise, scratch your tung. on the work and dont gouge. Yes, it isnt good practice, but you have to start the arc one way or another. I wouldnt worry aboit contam. at this point. You should begin with the tung. sharpened to a point like lead on a pencil. You want it rounded for alum. Although, you are not going to have enough amps to run much of anything in alum.

2. You SHOULD have a gauge with your regulator and when the bottle is full, its right around 2100psi (depending on gauge and bottle temp). Usually you will have a setting on your machine that control flow delay on shielding gas. 3-5 seconds is plenty, 15 seconds is wasteful. You can set your airgon in a windless envirnment by running the argon flow down to the point that your work starts to crackle and pop due to lack thereof. Then increase the gas by 3-5 above that. The core charge on the medium size argon bottles isnt that much, and it would be worth picking up a 3ft bottle.

Brandon

QuickSilver2002

Cool, it was strange how the arc assist would work sometimes but not others.... I had the tung pretty sharp (about like a pencil). The striking thing was not that hard to do, but I wish it would have worked better. Now that I think about it, I wonder if having the gas flow on way too high could have caused some of this. It seem like the gas was always on when it would not start up without a scratch.

The machine has no adjustability on the gas solenoid cycle time, so I'm stuck with 15 seconds after the heat is off. It seems like a capable enough machine for the weld small stuff a few time a year guy like me. I probably will try some small alum stuff at some point. It can output 165amps (which should be enough).


Here is another question.
I'm curious about back gassing when welding up pipes. Do most people do it? Is it really required? My practice welds were showing some oxidized looking spots on the inside walls. would back gassing smooth those out at all?

I need a bigger bottle for sure. The stuff is more expensive than I thought. No wonder custom hand welded stuff is expensive. It is pretty dificult work and all the equipment and materials are pricey.

xfactor_pitbulls

iTrader: (16)

Purging isnt essential, depending (heavily) on what exact grades you are working with makes the work more or less prone to oxidizing contamination after your torch is lifted. For some cheap stainless or mild steel dont sweat it. If you pay attention to alot of DIY work on the site, you will notice it is mig welded anyways. Your lack of shielding the weld during the cooling cycle is still going to be as good or better than a mig weld. Practice alot before you try and turn out a finished product.

Brandon