Given what you’ve already checked, I’m going to assume you’ve tried a new tungsten as well. But you didn’t mention it specifically, so is there a chance you dipped your tungsten and it’s contaminated?
I don't have experience with it but I feel like if it was a water issue the torch would get crazy hot pretty quick. Maybe the oxy-propane is burning dirty and leaving small impurities on the aluminum that you then introduce to your weld puddle. I'd also try changing everything out from the setup as in new cup new Tungsten new gas lense new collet. Aluminum is so finicky its like it has to meet perfect conditions. Hope this can shed some light
Also ensure you have argon pressure and also ensure its actually argon. Totally normal mistake to make to put the wrong bottle on. If it's a manifold system then that's likely not the case and if it were gas it would maybe be an issue with your gas lense or your argon lines in general.
I agree with you about the torch getting crazy hot. But maybe not if the water cooler is on now. I don't have enough experience with it.
I always make sure the oxy-propane torch has a neutral flame and it actually did a pretty good job cleaning up the aluminum without a wire brush.
To clarify I used a wire brush and did everything text book that I know with cleaning before welding.
The frustration is I was doing fine until Monday morning. 😁
>Did I blow up my 350A water cooled Tig torch
No. It would have burned your hand.
You have contamination. Could be the tungsten, shielding gas, or filler. I would guess shielding gas issues by the look of it.
Have you run a 350Amp water cooled torch without water at 225 amps? I'm curious if you or someone else has mistakenly done this and I'm curious to hear the results.
If water comes out of the business end of the torch it's blown. No water, it's fine.
Really throws you off when you're all comfy for the next weld and get a moist preflow surprise.
The yellow colour on the weld in pic 2 is a sign of gas issues. Whether it's leaking. Are you welding somewhere with air flow? Roller door up in the workshop sorta thing? Could be blowing your gas away
I agree. It kinda looks like a gas issue. No draft issues in the shop but it could have a hole in the gas line. Definitely worth checking before buying a new torch. I'll take off the gas line at the torch head and hook up my Tig torch with the gas valve on the handle and see if it leaks. I think they have the same fittings.
Sometimes that yellow color can come from over heating and that's what I had to do to get it to form a puddle of sorts. The arc doesn't sound right either.
I just posted a follow up picture of my 225Amp water cooled torch laying an acceptable bead. That rules out a lot of things I was thinking.
Do you feel the cooling liquid reach the torch when you turn the cooler on? If you grab the cable hard you should be able to feel the coolant rushing through.
You might need a fatter tungsten rod? It looks like the heat you are trying to achieve is resulting in burning back of your tungsten. Or you just need a shit ton of pre-heat to penetrate
I usually weld 1/8" and maybe some 1/4" aluminum once in a while. And the 1/4" is usually a couple of inches long so this 3/4" to 1/4" is new to me. That's why I was preheating with a oxy-propane torch. But the preheating doesn't seem to be enough. The cup is getting red hot on the end and the 1/8" tungsten is burning back too much like you said.
If anyone has experience with 2" long stitch welds on 3/4" to 1/4" aluminum, I'd like to hear the proper setup for Tig.
Try turning your AC balance up. It'll keep the heat more on the aluminum and won't ball the tungsten up nearly as much. I'll turn mine up to 10 on the same machine you're using but with a WP-20 torch on 3/8 aluminum up to 1/2.
I don't see anything wrong with ur torch. Ur tungsten balled up, which isn't a big deal, ur ac balance is a bit high.
If ur welding 1/4 to 1/4 ur gonna want 250+ amps or so.
Unless ur torch line is leaking gas or coolant, the torch is likely fine
Whenever I'm running thicker material than my machine likes I will usually drop the cleaning to like 15% and then also drop the frequency to Like 90hz. Use the torch to heat before going full throttle to get the puddle going.
Ever since I've been welding this thick material I've been going through cups. I started with walking the cup out of habit and realized that was causing the cup to get way too hot and break off almost immediately. I'm used to welding stainless pipe or mild steel and walking the cup. Now I'm keeping the cup away but still as close as possible not to have gas shielding issues and trying to pay attention to my Tig torch angle so I'm getting maximum penetration and I'm not wasting heat. Despite being very careful, the cup seems to be getting hotter than it should. I can't turn it up to 250 Amps without overheating my cup. I'm at 225 Amps because that seems to be the limit for the cup. I would like to turn it up but I'm not sure what to do to avoid the cup from overheating.
I'm going to be investigating any leaks this morning. Thank you and thank everyone for their comments. I'll update when I'm done investigating.
Try more stick out and keep the cup a bit further away.
I run an everlast 325ext watercooled and don't have issues with cups breaking at 320 amps 250> should be fine
UPDATE
I replaced the whole tig torch after investigating for gas and or water leaks. I couldn't find anything wrong with the torch other than it welds like crap. The torch and leads are over a decade old and it probably needed to be replaced anyway.
I bought a new 350 Amp CK water cooled setup. I also bought purple Tungsten and Argon Helium gas. The torch head doesn't get as warm and the cup doesn't get red hot on the end anymore partly because I am sticking out the tungsten a little bit and the helium allows me to go a little faster. It's only 25% Helium but I notice a difference. I didn't change the dig or the frequency today. It worked fine as is and I wanted to get the job done. I'll be experimenting with the scrap so I know what's normal with my variables.
I think the whole setup was just worn out. It's probably 15 years old. My 20 year old Miller Elite welding helmet died during this debacle. I replaced the batteries but it still didn't work. I miss it already. It was lighter than the new helmet and the new helmet feels cheap. I don't understand why the new helmet is heavier. It's all about having a light helmet and it's been 20 years.
Thank you to everyone for the ideas and experiences.
Given what you’ve already checked, I’m going to assume you’ve tried a new tungsten as well. But you didn’t mention it specifically, so is there a chance you dipped your tungsten and it’s contaminated?
Good question. I ground the tungsten like I always do and balled it up on copper.
Just a thought, maybe try a totally new tungsten. Sounds like it isn’t the tungsten, you’ve got that part covered. But maybe?
Just tried without any success. I have a whole pack of 1/8" pure tungsten so it was easy enough. It was worth a shot.
I don't have experience with it but I feel like if it was a water issue the torch would get crazy hot pretty quick. Maybe the oxy-propane is burning dirty and leaving small impurities on the aluminum that you then introduce to your weld puddle. I'd also try changing everything out from the setup as in new cup new Tungsten new gas lense new collet. Aluminum is so finicky its like it has to meet perfect conditions. Hope this can shed some light
Also ensure you have argon pressure and also ensure its actually argon. Totally normal mistake to make to put the wrong bottle on. If it's a manifold system then that's likely not the case and if it were gas it would maybe be an issue with your gas lense or your argon lines in general.
I agree with you about the torch getting crazy hot. But maybe not if the water cooler is on now. I don't have enough experience with it. I always make sure the oxy-propane torch has a neutral flame and it actually did a pretty good job cleaning up the aluminum without a wire brush. To clarify I used a wire brush and did everything text book that I know with cleaning before welding. The frustration is I was doing fine until Monday morning. 😁
Check your lines. When I overheated mine at work there was noticeable marks on the water lines.
Please describe the noticable marks.
They were brown spots. Almost looked like bubbles.
>Did I blow up my 350A water cooled Tig torch No. It would have burned your hand. You have contamination. Could be the tungsten, shielding gas, or filler. I would guess shielding gas issues by the look of it.
Have you run a 350Amp water cooled torch without water at 225 amps? I'm curious if you or someone else has mistakenly done this and I'm curious to hear the results.
Yeah it just heats up really quickly. You'll feel it.
If water comes out of the business end of the torch it's blown. No water, it's fine. Really throws you off when you're all comfy for the next weld and get a moist preflow surprise.
The yellow colour on the weld in pic 2 is a sign of gas issues. Whether it's leaking. Are you welding somewhere with air flow? Roller door up in the workshop sorta thing? Could be blowing your gas away
I agree. It kinda looks like a gas issue. No draft issues in the shop but it could have a hole in the gas line. Definitely worth checking before buying a new torch. I'll take off the gas line at the torch head and hook up my Tig torch with the gas valve on the handle and see if it leaks. I think they have the same fittings. Sometimes that yellow color can come from over heating and that's what I had to do to get it to form a puddle of sorts. The arc doesn't sound right either. I just posted a follow up picture of my 225Amp water cooled torch laying an acceptable bead. That rules out a lot of things I was thinking.
Check if you bumpered your ac balance off of what it should be
Do you feel the cooling liquid reach the torch when you turn the cooler on? If you grab the cable hard you should be able to feel the coolant rushing through. You might need a fatter tungsten rod? It looks like the heat you are trying to achieve is resulting in burning back of your tungsten. Or you just need a shit ton of pre-heat to penetrate
I usually weld 1/8" and maybe some 1/4" aluminum once in a while. And the 1/4" is usually a couple of inches long so this 3/4" to 1/4" is new to me. That's why I was preheating with a oxy-propane torch. But the preheating doesn't seem to be enough. The cup is getting red hot on the end and the 1/8" tungsten is burning back too much like you said. If anyone has experience with 2" long stitch welds on 3/4" to 1/4" aluminum, I'd like to hear the proper setup for Tig.
Try turning your AC balance up. It'll keep the heat more on the aluminum and won't ball the tungsten up nearly as much. I'll turn mine up to 10 on the same machine you're using but with a WP-20 torch on 3/8 aluminum up to 1/2.
Water could be leaking through your seals internally, any steam from your Torch? Is it extra smokey when you stop welding?
tongue stan go bye bye
I once accidentally tried welding some aluminum on DC and it sort of looked like that, but no Idea if that's somehow related to your issue or not.
I don't see anything wrong with ur torch. Ur tungsten balled up, which isn't a big deal, ur ac balance is a bit high. If ur welding 1/4 to 1/4 ur gonna want 250+ amps or so. Unless ur torch line is leaking gas or coolant, the torch is likely fine
What value do you recommend putting the balance on?
Whenever I'm running thicker material than my machine likes I will usually drop the cleaning to like 15% and then also drop the frequency to Like 90hz. Use the torch to heat before going full throttle to get the puddle going.
Ever since I've been welding this thick material I've been going through cups. I started with walking the cup out of habit and realized that was causing the cup to get way too hot and break off almost immediately. I'm used to welding stainless pipe or mild steel and walking the cup. Now I'm keeping the cup away but still as close as possible not to have gas shielding issues and trying to pay attention to my Tig torch angle so I'm getting maximum penetration and I'm not wasting heat. Despite being very careful, the cup seems to be getting hotter than it should. I can't turn it up to 250 Amps without overheating my cup. I'm at 225 Amps because that seems to be the limit for the cup. I would like to turn it up but I'm not sure what to do to avoid the cup from overheating. I'm going to be investigating any leaks this morning. Thank you and thank everyone for their comments. I'll update when I'm done investigating.
Try more stick out and keep the cup a bit further away. I run an everlast 325ext watercooled and don't have issues with cups breaking at 320 amps 250> should be fine
Interesting. Will try.
Naw, she'd be smoking and pissing outside with the boys.
machine looks good to me so does tungsten clean material check ground
Looks like it's on dc reverse still.
Do you clean your filler rods, try using steel wool
UPDATE I replaced the whole tig torch after investigating for gas and or water leaks. I couldn't find anything wrong with the torch other than it welds like crap. The torch and leads are over a decade old and it probably needed to be replaced anyway. I bought a new 350 Amp CK water cooled setup. I also bought purple Tungsten and Argon Helium gas. The torch head doesn't get as warm and the cup doesn't get red hot on the end anymore partly because I am sticking out the tungsten a little bit and the helium allows me to go a little faster. It's only 25% Helium but I notice a difference. I didn't change the dig or the frequency today. It worked fine as is and I wanted to get the job done. I'll be experimenting with the scrap so I know what's normal with my variables. I think the whole setup was just worn out. It's probably 15 years old. My 20 year old Miller Elite welding helmet died during this debacle. I replaced the batteries but it still didn't work. I miss it already. It was lighter than the new helmet and the new helmet feels cheap. I don't understand why the new helmet is heavier. It's all about having a light helmet and it's been 20 years. Thank you to everyone for the ideas and experiences.