New 200dx owner with a few questions

[Toby]

Hey guys, I have a few questions about my 200dx. I am new to tig welding but have picked it up pretty quickly. Been using a coworkers miller syncrowave 200 and throwing down some pretty nice and strong beads.

First off when welding steel, it will almost immediately melt the electrode upon startup. All my settings seem to be on par with what my buddys miller is set to. I am using a 2% red with my gas flow at about 8.

Next, i have been able to get it to weld aluminum, but my arc seems to be more of a dome shape rather then a direct line. I am doing everything the same as with the miller.


Any help is much appreciated!

[performance]

If it is melting on startup you have the polarity wrong. The torch goes in the negative. Also in AC you need about 30-40% balance only. This isn't a miller which is backwards from ours on AC balance adjustment.(cleaning) You should see a cone, and you should be using the red 2% if you have it for aluminum...but yes in AC you'll get a cone. You don't see a lightning bolt on an inverter because there is no HF overlay.

[Toby]

very good, thanks for the quick reply Mark! I will try those changes tomorrow. As stated i am a noob so Im sure there will be more silly questions. thanks again!!

[Toby]

Also one more thing, I am having troubles on startup. When everything is fresh and new it will start up no problem, but when i stop and need to restart, i have to touch the metal to get it fired up. Any suggestions?

[performance]

Be sure you have downloaded your manual from ONLINE on our website (click home) by clicking the red MANUALS button and download the latest version of the PowerTig Manual.