Welding Tips and Tricks

Hi , im not very very experienced with tig but i been using MIG and arc for about 6- 7 years already ...

i just bought a ThermalArc LT-300 DC Tig welder and im encountering weird problems....

either its me being too much of a noob or either something's wrong with my setup...

when i use HF start , at every time i was striking an arc , my cheap battery autodarkening helmet would turn off if the helmet was about 16" or closer from the torch's end.. ???!?!?!?! when i stayed further to start the arc it stays on but it does flicker every once in a while when looking the weld closely and it is rather unpleasant...

i now have a Snap-On EFP with the automatic filter and it does turn off every once in a while for a few seconds when i weld , when very close from the arc , looking at it directly , sensors are getting light , i can't see what the heck it is all about thought it was the cheap helmet who was junk but the Snap-On does act up too , could it be from the machine itself ?


i also have a very hard time welding steel , it bubbles very easily making porosity even after a good cleaning of the steel... im using pure Argon and tried different flow settings and doesnt seems to help much .
stainless steel stays stable and goes well tho

torch connected to machine's ground
tried from 5 to 20 cfh Argon
machine settings here


is there something im missing out ?

thanks alot if you guys can help !!

Hey there,

About your auto darkening shield, I have heard of high frequency doing weird things. Try a start using the lift arc function and see if that makes a difference. Maybe your tig HF is a unique strange frequency?

With your problems with welding steel, steel will present porosity problems when stainless wont. When I had problems with steel, I changed the gas shroud to a #8, (straight bore/hole with no step.) Make sure your electrode stick out is the absolute minimum you need to see the arc. About 3mm-1/8 That helpled me. Check all your torch bits for worn out parts that could let air in. Make sure the gas flow isn't to high as that can suck air in.

Mick

thanks for the advice i will try them. my electrode was about 3/8" out

as for the weird frequency , theres high freq only at the start , and my Snap-On filter goes out while im like 10-20 seconds into the weld so HF is not supposed to be there... i will do more tests with lift start but i dont like this method much...

im also getting a new machine tonight , i want to weld aluminum and this DC machine wont do the job.. getting a Canox Econocrafter 180amp AC/DC TIG

Hi there,

Glad i could help. When I first started tig welding I used to have the stick out like that and bam... tigrosity, as i call it. When learned to move it back in and changed the shroud over away we went, no worries at all. Good luck with the new machine. I've never heard of them, what country are you from?

Kind regards
Mick