Trouble shooting!

[Van_Denton]

Hi all,

I havnt touched my kit for a good 6 years as life got in the way but now I'm trying to do some Ali welding but am having an issue! Ive basically forgotten everything I know which was very little! but I could once produce a nice-ish weld!

So starting it all back again I cant seem to get a good basic puddle, I replaced the tungsten to a blue in case I had the wrong one as I cant remember if it was the right one for AC.

The torch gets incredible hot and no puddle is created and alot of white oxidation? Can the gas be bad? perhaps the bottle has rusted out? its a big boc one and hasnt been refilled for at least 7 years!!. I will go and swap the bottle on Monday I guess.

Gas is flowing 20, theres post flow for about 5 secs too.

what do you think?

welder is a R-tech 161, Many thanks

 

[BrokenBiker]

if that value for the gas flow is in litres per minutes, you are flowing too much gas unless you have a massive cup...i use a number 5 or 8 on ally and flow 5-7lpm for the 5 and 8-10lpm for the 8.

it looks to me (a generally untrained eye) that you have massive amounts of positive in the waveform, which would say your AC balance is either jacked up way too high (about 30% positive is always good starting point, or the leads in th ewelder are the wrong way round (torch negative for absolutely everything) if your AC balance is set at 30 and giving these results, try setting it to 70 and see what happens, some machines reference the postive, some reference the negative so depending on which yours use will depending on how it should be set.

blue tungsten is fine, its what i use for everything.

as for gas going bad, i doubt it its a sealed bottle of inert gas so as long as its pure argon its likely fine.

 

[carbon]

Is it anodised?
Do you have any more aluminium?

 

[Van_Denton]

Thanks, I turned down the gas to 10, maybe a little better! Here are the settings, just frustrating as Im so out of practise aswell

 

[BrokenBiker]

Thanks, I turned down the gas to 10, maybe a little better! Here are the settings, just frustrating as Im so out of practise aswell

View attachment 537162

Try turning the AC balance to 70 and try another puddle...1 of 2 things will happen...your tungsten will get red hot and split and the weld will be horrific, or it will work nicely...if the first thing happens, set it back to 30 and we have eliminated that as an issue, if it welds nicely, leave it at 70

 

[Van_Denton]

Is it anodised?
Do you have any more aluminium?

Nope not anodised, I will try some fresh cleaned sheet though, thank you

 

[BrokenBiker]

Also, how thick is the ally you are welding? 86 amps is about it for 2mm if you are using a pedal

 

[Van_Denton]

Try turning the AC balance to 70 and try another puddle...1 of 2 things will happen...your tungsten will get red hot and split and the weld will be horrific, or it will work nicely...if the first thing happens, set it back to 30 and we have eliminated that as an issue, if it welds nicely, leave it at 70

I tried 70 and its super hot, cooked the cup! I still feel its getting too hot, I dont remember it getting so crazy hot

 

[Van_Denton]

Also, how thick is the ally you are welding? 86 amps is about it for 2mm if you are using a pedal

Yep using a pedal,

 

[carbon]

Torch should be in the negative socket for tig

 

[BrokenBiker]

Yep using a pedal,

how thick is the material? if the ac balance at 70 get hotter then its set right at 30 but if the amps arent there for the material thickness you are going to struggle to get a puddle and just cook the material

 

[Van_Denton]

It was 3mm I think, But I did play with the amps. I didnt have this trouble when I was first learning so just wondered if it could be something else, doesnt seem to make a nice arc, I remember a lovely cone of green!!

 

[BrokenBiker]

the welds in that last image are colder than an eskimo in winter. you need minumim 120 amps for 3mm to get a puddle going relatively quickly, granted once the material is up to temp you may be down as low as 95-100 amps while welding, but initially on cold ally, you need the beans to get it going...i usually set to 130-135 and use the pedal to bring it down as the material heats up...at 85 amps you are going to struggle to get a puddle as quickly as you should do and thats just going to cook the material. you need the heat on the positive side to get through the oxide layer, and enough heat on the negative to keep the aluminum molten during the weld which is where the AC balance comes in, but the amps need to be there as well. aluminium is always trying to take the heat away, and then you are sticking extra aluminum in by way of the filler rod which will cool the weld further.

the excess cleaning action could be a result of the excessive gas flow as you will only get the cleaned areas where the argon covered the material, plus the fact you are having to hold the arc there for longer which is going to make the gas flow situation worse. could even be intorducing oxygen if the higher flow rate is causing turbulence around the arc although ic ant see much of that on the images.

 

[Van_Denton]

Thanks, will keep trying

 

[Hitch]

I'd make sure the torch in in the - socket, earth in the + Mainly just so we know which way you're running...
Set the AC balance knob about 60%.
Amps at 100-110 for running a plain bead 3mm ish.
Gas about 8-10, too much gas can cause turbulence and be a pain.
2.4 tungsten (White if you've got them, blue will do)
7 or 8 cup.

Make sure material is clean.

 

[Van_Denton]

Will take it all back to basics, I thought I would just jump on and go!!


Killed this little piece! I know its very small and takes the heat quickly but Ive done similar stuff before and no probs! It just feels like its getting so hot without creating a puddle, plus the arc is a little wild!

 

[BrokenBiker]

Will take it all back to basics, I thought I would just jump on and go!!


Killed this little piece! I know its very small and takes the heat quickly but Ive done similar stuff before and no probs! It just feels like its getting so hot without creating a puddle, plus the arc is a little wild!

View attachment 537181

View attachment 537182

View attachment 537184

It will get very hot without creating a puddle if your amps are too low...you are heating the material, not melting it until it does melt, but because you aren't getting through the oxide layer it turns into a molten bag of metal...more amps fixes all of this

 

[Van_Denton]

Just looking back at old photos for a sanity check, this was very early on in learning but nothing like what is happening now!

 

[BrokenBiker]

Just looking back at old photos for a sanity check, this was very early on in learning but nothing like what is happening now!View attachment 537185

have you turned the amps up yet?

 

[carbon]

have you turned the amps up yet?

For me aluminium needs more amps and doesnt seem to be in any danger if setting the machine to the max when welding with a pedal. Plenty of local heat to get a puddle then back off once welding. It does seem counter intuitive though compared to steel