Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey guys. I guess the wait is over. I was just contacted by HTP and my invertig 221 DV is ready to be shipped. Any one have any input for me as to anything else to have them ship with it?

I am ready to pull the trigger, but thought I would share here first. I have never tig welded -ever, but am very interested in sticking some aluminum together as well as the ability to weld SS. I am getting the standard CK9 water cooled torch, but am contemplating asking about the flex head or the swivel torch as well.

I have the aluminum scrap and am ready -help push me over the edge!

jtizzle

Oops. My mistake on the CK9 -Meant CK20.

Congrats. The roto-head comes in handy at times, but it is not necessary. It does let you position the tungsten where you need it, so you can focus your muscle control on creating muscle memory for the very fine movements. But at the same time it is a crutch because you won't always be able to utilize the roto-head to get the tungsten into position.

Don't forget coolant for the water cooler, and the algae inhibitor.

For welding aluminum, make sure you get 3/32" and 1/8" tungstens. 3/32" can handle the heat, but 1/8" holds it's tip better without balling back so much. 2% Lanthanated is a good all-around choice, as is HTP's Quad-Mix (which I think is 1.5%La with Yttrium/Zirconium/Cerium traces)

You did opt for the 25 ft torch lines?

If you plan to swap torches later on, they have a kit to make the cooler and the torch gas hose "quick disconnect". Comes in handy if you want to swap to another torch like a water cooled 24 (rated 180A), or even just an air-cooled 26 (rated 200A) for when you want to weld with the machine and without the water cooler. (all the torches have to be fitted with quick disconnect fittings though)

Standard 9/20 series medium gas lens kit (I think it goes 5-6-7-8 in sizes). You can go Pyrex/clear cups if you want, but drop them or lay the torch down too hard and they're gone. Regular alumina cups last much longer.

Check their pricing on filler wire. You can likely get good deals because you (and they) save on shipping. If you plan on stick welding with it, which by the way it is an awesome stick welder, might as well look into that so you can save on shipping.

They do have a wireless footpedal for it. But it might sting at $575. The slider amptrol works great for stick welding though.

They also have a dual-flowmeter so you can use one argon tank for both welding and purging SS, or other metals that need to be back-purged.

...and the list goes on and on....lol