I need help setting up my tig welder

[pholmann]

Ok, so I got a new to me Lincoln precision tig 225 welder. I know ZERO about welding aluminum. School me on where to start with this bitch. Where do I need to set these knobs. What the **** do they do? I am ignorant beyond belief with this.

 

[BUG-E J]

Penetration will prolly be high. Pulse frequency you will prolly have to vary.

 

[zukimaster]

Wish my ole lady had a output knob I could turn up and down.

 

[pholmann]

Whats the deal with the pulse frequency?

 

[pholmann]

Wish my ole lady had a output knob I could turn up and down.

You figure that **** out and youll pass bill gates on the richest folks list.

 

[wont work]

Whats the deal with the pulse frequency?

Turn that off. If you will dip your filler rod you can stack it the same way.

Turn ac balance to auto. If you are welding on dirty Al turn more toward cleaning and just run a pass with no filler to clean it but I keep mine on auto and it seems to work best.
Pulse off unless you are welding the same piece and thinckness every time you will be constantly adjusting this
Ac for aluminum
Dc for stick
Dc- for tig on steel and stainless
Postflow around 10

Should be able to weld anything with those settings.

For the record I have that same machine at the school and I hate it for anything over 3/16 thick. It will go into over heat mode if you weld over 150 volts for more than 4''.
If you are going to be welding thinner items it works great though.

 

[pholmann]

Awesome! Thanks Haley.

 

[Beerj]

Whats the deal with the pulse frequency?

There's got to be some more settings available I think. The pulse frequency is how many times per second it pulses if you're using that feature, usually measured in hz. There should also be a pulse base which is the minimum amperage in between pulses. It's usually a percentage of the main amps. For example, if you have your main amps set to 100 and your pulse base at 20% then the machine will go back and forth between 100 and 20 amps at your set speed (frequency). Mine goes up to 200hz which really isn't noticeable. I agree that the pulse isn't really necessary but it can be nice for fusion welds (no filler). This fella does a pretty good job explaining things. Might be worth a watch. https://youtu.be/aiBxGI7fn4U

 

[poolman]

On the left where is says Power, that needs to be ON. That's all I got!

 

[onepieceatatime]

Re:

Set it to stick welding, grab ya some 6010 welding rod and stick metal together.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[pholmann]

On the left where is says Power, that needs to be ON. That's all I got!

Dammit man. Me and you are on the same level lol

 

[Beerj]

After looking at the pic a little closer, turn the pulse to OFF and assuming you're using a pedal then leave everything else where it is. You should be able to weld.

 

[pholmann]

Yes, it does have a pedal.

 

[Beerj]

Well, your max amperage is going to be close to your metal thickness. For example, 1/8" is .125 so you'd run 125 amps. That's at least a good starting point but you could also just crank it up all the way and just use what you need via the pedal. AC balance is just like it shows on the knob, either more cleaning or more penetration. I run around 35% for clean aluminum. You may want more if there's any oxidation but it's better to just clean it off first anyway. Post flow is how long the gas keeps flowing after you terminate the arc. Very little is needed for steel and even less for aluminum since it solidifies so much faster. But you'll want 7 to 10 seconds for stainless. I run about 18 cfh flow while welding for everything and almost always run a #7 cup. You may need more flow if you use a big gas lense. 3/32 1.5% lanthanated tungsten with 1/16 thru 1/8" filler. Also, with aluminum, keep the tungsten stickout to a minimum. If the filler starts to ball up before you get it in the puddle then you're likely too far out. That's about all I've learned in the past 8 months or however long it's been since I got my tig.

 

[stuftmunky2k]

When i run the peddle on my dynasty i just turn the machine clear up. Never know when you need a little more amps for something. Gas at 15cfm. Find ya a piece of scrap aluminum and start messing around and find the settings you like the best. I have honestly not touched my settings for ac on the dynasty since day 1. I fire the welder n water cooler up and start welding. I see alot of guys worried about certain setting have to be certain way. Yes in some cases it helps but we arent building spaceship, well i do monday through friday lol. Just mess with it you will get it figured out.

 

[pholmann]

I played a little tonight. It was an absolute failure. I did manage to get a couple pieces to stick together but it's a start. I swapped it around to weld some mild steel to make sure the machine was ok and it did perfect. I can lay down dimes on steel. The damn aluminum frustrates me.

 

[stuftmunky2k]

Lots of heat, slow travel speed, feed the crap out of the rod.

 

[cgriffin224]

Pulse off for the time being, Set it to Cleaning, turn on HF, turn the heat up. Depending on how thick you are doing, or how dirty it is, its probably beneficial to clean the **** out of it, and then run a rosebud over it until you see the black imperfections come to the surface, and preheat it.

 

[Jwhit55]

Lincoln has an ap for amperage rating that has been for helpful for me. It tells you everything you need to know based on material and thickness. It's not perfect but will get you in the ball park of where you need to be. I learned on that machine and it's awesome! I've actually been saving up to buy one since I've been maxing out of miller 165. I'm no professional by any means but If you need help give me a shout and I'll try my best to help you out.

 

[pholmann]

Lincoln has an ap for amperage rating that has been for helpful for me. It tells you everything you need to know based on material and thickness. It's not perfect but will get you in the ball park of where you need to be. I learned on that machine and it's awesome! I've actually been saving up to buy one since I've been maxing out of miller 165. I'm no professional by any means but If you need help give me a shout and I'll try my best to help you out.

Good. Drive down the road s d come school me since you live 5 miles away lol.

Well, your max amperage is going to be close to your metal thickness. For example, 1/8" is .125 so you'd run 125 amps. That's at least a good starting point but you could also just crank it up all the way and just use what you need via the pedal. AC balance is just like it shows on the knob, either more cleaning or more penetration. I run around 35% for clean aluminum. You may want more if there's any oxidation but it's better to just clean it off first anyway. Post flow is how long the gas keeps flowing after you terminate the arc. Very little is needed for steel and even less for aluminum since it solidifies so much faster. But you'll want 7 to 10 seconds for stainless. I run about 18 cfh flow while welding for everything and almost always run a #7 cup. You may need more flow if you use a big gas lense. 3/32 1.5% lanthanated tungsten with 1/16 thru 1/8" filler. Also, with aluminum, keep the tungsten stickout to a minimum. If the filler starts to ball up before you get it in the puddle then you're likely too far out. That's about all I've learned in the past 8 months or however long it's been since I got my tig.

I noticed one thing that's happening that you mentioned. The filler rod is balling up way before the puddle so I think that's going to be the tungsten sticking too far out. How far is right?