Newbie 225LX pedal control question

[robsthomson]

Hi, I received my 225LX last month and finally managed to try it out for about 20 minutes today. This is my first time doing any actual TIG welding, although I've done a lot of reading and watching other people do it. It seems easier than I expected, although it will take a lot of practice before I can make a good weld with it.

My question regards the pedal current control. I don't know if this is normal or not, but releasing the pedal fully does not stop the arc. After releasing the pedal, I still have a very low power arc. I have to move the torch almost 1" away to stop it, which makes it hard to keep the end of the weld shielded as it cools down. It doesn't restart even if I touch the workpiece with the electrode. I'm not sure if it happens with the torch button control since I haven't used that. Pressing the pedal again will restart the arc without any issues.

Aside from that, the machine works as expected, although I've only used DC so far.

[600micro]

I had that problem too.

The issue is the machine still uses the downslope timer with the pedal plugged in. Change your downslope knob to the lowest setting and it will follow the pedal.

[performance]

Ahhhh 600,

I see you are learning fast. Yes. This is because it is tied to the post flow part of the timer circuit. Turn the downslope to zero and reduce your post flow time. You will find that it will speed up the termination process. Why is it there? It gives time to properly fill the crater so that weld cracking will not occur. But turning it down should nearly eliminate any delay.

It is perfectly acceptable (if you choose) to terminate the current by quickly snapping the electrode up and away from the workpiece with a twist of the wrist. It takes a little practice to do it cleanly, but it will stop the arc as soon as the machine detects no current flow. This is how many welders do it everyday that have always on torches, particularly with units that are primarily stick welders, and units like the xmt 304 Millers that are all in one power sources. In fact, on jobsites, many times these guys just slide a piece of rubber hose over the insulator to protect the unit from accidentally grounding out. Fortunately, this is not the case with our machines. Terminating the arc manually will reset the circuit in the machine.

[robsthomson]

Ok, thanks. That would explain it. I was assuming the up/down slope settings wouldn't be used when the pedal was connected.

[jtybt]

Post flow even after the arc stops especially helps protect and cool the weld puddle of SS.