joshuabardwell
Elite Member
I had an issue tonight while trying to TIG weld some stuff. Symptom was that the arc wouldn't start even though I could hear the HF buzzing. Tried it on the work piece and my table top. Nada. Checked ground and it was good. The welder worked fine in stick mode. Checked all settings on the welder. Switched to lift start and the arc started and the tungsten balled up in a few seconds. Gas seemed okay.
My best guess is that, because I moved the table and work piece from inside in the air conditioning to the humid outside, condensation on the surface was messing things up. Does that sound about right? It was late and people were sleeping, so I didn't pull out the old propane weed burner to dry things off and test the theory. Also, I wonder if condensation may have formed in my gas line, although I did purge it before starting.
I had wanted to use TIG because it was some 16 gauge tubing, and I was worried about blowing through with stick. I ended up getting it done with 3/32" 6011 at about 65 amps. I established the puddle on the 1/8" tubing and then carried it over to the 16 gauge. I did a series of overlapping tacks, basically, with cooling in between. It's not ideal, but it's just going to hold 3 lbs of TIG filler rod, so I don't think it's going anywhere. And now I can say I stick welded 16 gauge!
My best guess is that, because I moved the table and work piece from inside in the air conditioning to the humid outside, condensation on the surface was messing things up. Does that sound about right? It was late and people were sleeping, so I didn't pull out the old propane weed burner to dry things off and test the theory. Also, I wonder if condensation may have formed in my gas line, although I did purge it before starting.
I had wanted to use TIG because it was some 16 gauge tubing, and I was worried about blowing through with stick. I ended up getting it done with 3/32" 6011 at about 65 amps. I established the puddle on the 1/8" tubing and then carried it over to the 16 gauge. I did a series of overlapping tacks, basically, with cooling in between. It's not ideal, but it's just going to hold 3 lbs of TIG filler rod, so I don't think it's going anywhere. And now I can say I stick welded 16 gauge!