Alternative Tungsten Alloys (Ceriated, Zirconiated, Lanthanated, Rare Earth, etc.)

[Spike]

I want to know your guys' input on your actual experience with using some of the newer/alternative tungsten electrode alloys.
and i do mean ACTUAL experience... not just a sales pitch you've heard or what a website tells you.

I'm curious as to the performance of these in AC and DC, and on various metals (steel, stainless, aluminum, copper, titanium, etc.) as compared to their traditional Thoriated and Pure Tungsten counterparts.

I've been welding for many moons, and I learned using thoriated tungsten for DC and pure tungsten for AC applications... This week i finally made a jump and i've got some boxes of lanthanated electrodes on order and will have them by the end of the week. I'm doing a lot of aluminum fabrication these days, and the final point that got me to order them was not having to switch out my electrode to switch back and forth from AC to DC, and (supposedly) lanthanated electrodes can hold half over again the current of their thoriated counterpart... meaning i won't have to pull apart my torch to switch between 1/16" and 3/32" electrodes as often.
And, of course the salesman gave me other 'selling points' for holding it's tip longer, no need to use a dull point on aluminum, doesn't deposit in the weld as much, last longer, re-starts quicker, blah, blah, blah... and i halfway expected the salesman to say it would make the metal bond itself together magically just by pointing at it. lol.

We'll see how well the claims hold up. I'll keep you posted.

But seriously, I do want to hear about what experiences you have had.