[TheForge] TIG Welder

[ries]

Well, I tig weld daily with an inverter and with a transformer- I go  
back and forth depending on which one is closer, and which one is not  
being used.
And I have never noticed any significant difference in where you set  
em,as far as amperage.

250 to 325 amps is a LOT of amps. I doubt I ever turn it up that high  
to weld 1" square- much less to weld a 5/16" piece of flat bar to 1".

Going in and trying it out is a great idea.
Generally, mild steel takes less amps than copper alloys, or  
aluminum. So the times I crank either machine up high is usually when  
I am working with one of these. 1" aluminum- now that will suck up  
the amps.

In daily use, you use the foot pedal to vary the amps, so the exact  
setting is not as crucial- you just want to make sure you buy a big  
enough machine so you have the headroom for your biggest projects.

Most of the time, I leave my machines set somewhere around 150 or  
175, and we weld everything from 16ga to 1 1/4" at those settings.  
Occasionaly, it needs to be cranked up, but I would guess a 200 amp  
machine would do what you want.

ries



On Mar 5, 2007, at 4:12 PM, Ron Swisher wrote:

Jerry & Ries,

Jerry, I am welding mild steel.

Ries, what you say makes sense but Miller explicitly says that

"TIG Welding Calculator
All suggested settings are approximate...

Inverter-based welders generally require less heat input (lower amps)

Welds should be tested to comply to your specifications."

For a 1/4" lap weld the settings are 250 - 325 amps.

The Welding Supply has suggested that I bring in a sample of what I  
need to weld and they have a 175 amp inverted that we can use to try  
to ascertain the efficacy of a possible Maxstar 200 SD purchase.  I  
like this supplier's attitude so far.

Miller neeeds to change its calculator to reflect their current  
technology instaed of trying to sell their higher end welders.

Thanks,

Ron









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Ries Niemi
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http://www.riesniemi.com/