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Popping in AC welding

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 5:05 pm
by quadrod
I have and alpha tig 200x and when I am welding in AC mode, I get some popping. Does not seem to matter if using hi a/c hz or in pules mode. Welding thin aluminum, .035".

Re: Popping in AC welding

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:35 pm
by LtBadd
quadrod wrote:I have and alpha tig 200x and when I am welding in AC mode, I get some popping. Does not seem to matter if using hi a/c hz or in pules mode. Welding thin aluminum, .035".
Do you see something going on with the arc, or is it coming from the machine?

Re: Popping in AC welding

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 8:18 pm
by quadrod
It is with the arc. Not in the machine. What does an unstable arc sound like?

Re: Popping in AC welding

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 8:39 pm
by LtBadd
It could be at the very best, difficult to accurately describe a sound and diagnose this issue.

Can you take a short video and post that?

Does the weld show some anomaly that you could post a photo of?

Does the tungsten look normal after making a weld?

Re: Popping in AC welding

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:47 pm
by quadrod
Here is a video, can't see much but you can hear what I'm talking about.
Image

Re: Popping in AC welding

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 10:02 pm
by Sandow
Can you show us the tungsten after welding and the weld itself?

-Sandow

Re: Popping in AC welding

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 10:13 pm
by quadrod
Will try and get a pic tomorrow of tungsten, it is an .040" 2% lanthenated running at 25-30 amps. on .035" 6061 t6 aluminum tubing. I get the same popping with a 3/32 tungsten too. My welds are not pretty so don't laugh at them.

Re: Popping in AC welding

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 8:03 am
by MinnesotaDave
That sounds a lot like the rattle you get with too high of argon flow rates.
What are you set at for flow?

Re: Popping in AC welding

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:19 pm
by quadrod
I called AHP today and asked about the popping on A/C welding and found out that this machine will only go down to 20amps min. Welding this thin aluminum tubing is right at the min amps when I start, I had my son watch the amp readout and am fluctuating between 25 and 30 amps when in the bead. So this is not a problem with the machine, I just have to watch my start amps. Thanks for the reply's and putting up with a noob.

Re: Popping in AC welding

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:40 pm
by Skylineauto
I had something like this with my Syncrowave. Later realized it was my arc length. For me it was the machine turning on the HF to reestablish the arc.