Tig ceramic

[john224]

How do you know which ceramic to use? I/e No 6-7-8 etc and what shape,,

 

[GrahamGKD]

How do you know which ceramic to use? I/e No 6-7-8 etc and what shape,,

Hi John,
I think the Miller TIG manual says to use a ceramic which has an inside diameter at least three times the diameter of the tungsten - others on here have said to use as large as you can accommodate (within reason, I guess). There are also gas lenses which are supposed to reduce turbulence and allow you to reduce gas flow as I understand it. I have continued to use the ceramic which came with the torch which meets the Miller rule and seems to work fine for me.
Graham.

 

[Andy from Workshopshed]

I've taken to using a No 5 with my 1.6mm tungsten and a No 6 with the 2.4mm and that seems to work ok

Symptom of too small a cup (taken from Miller's troubleshooting guide) is Yellow Powder or Smoke on Cup—Tungsten Discolor

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/tech_tips/TIG_tips/troubleshooting.html

Also a recommendation to use a larger cup with sheet to reduce total heat input.

http://www.amtonline.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=1&id=6376&pageNum=2

 

[GrahamGKD]

....just went and had a look - rightly or wrongly I have been using a No. 7 with a 2.4 tungsten.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Hi Johnwestmids.
Don't know if you know or not. the numbers on the ceramics refer to the bore dia in sixteens of an inch. i;e No 8 = 1/2" bore.

 

[john224]

No i didnt know that so somthing new learned again its just ive got 1.6mm and 2.4mm tungstones and wp9 and wp17/26 tourches ( i know a mixture silly me) but ive got no ceramics so need to order some but didnt / dont know what size to order so realy still not sure what to order..
Ive only just finnished my course at colledge last week 70 hours over one term 2 hours a week in which i mannaged to do my ( mig / tig /arc ) level 1 course and just waiting for my results,,
ive got an old ARC welder and a ( think ) its a sip 130 but does not say it on the case with a wire feed problem,, another story,,
And Ive brought a tig add on unit and some bits to go with it but as said no ceramics ,, so need to get sorted so can try and get some more practice as want to do level 2 in these courses this year and try tig ally as well,,

 

[gordon stephenson]

Wp 17 and WP 26 take the same size ceramics etc.

 

[weldmeister]

been welding 30 years get one of each and use the one you like. if your in a deep vee pipe to pipe you will need the small one .
i use a 6 all the time that does the trick