hello all new 250ex owner

[shayno]

Hello all from Wasilla Alaska. I just received my first tig welder, a 250ex. im familiar with welding (work) just not tig.. I was wondering if someone could give me some starting setting on the machine that work for the foot pedal? for aluminum..... freq-100, bal-65, 3 sec pre, 5 sec post, hf start, what setting for pulse pre and post amps? and how much cfh for gas? I also don't have a gas lense as locally there wasn't any. im using 3/32 2% lanthanated. 1/16 5356 filler, that's all they had....

[Rambozo]

Hello all from Wasilla Alaska. I just received my first tig welder, a 250ex. im familiar with welding (work) just not tig.. I was wondering if someone could give me some starting setting on the machine that work for the foot pedal? for aluminum..... freq-100, bal-65, 3 sec pre, 5 sec post, hf start, what setting for pulse pre and post amps? and how much cfh for gas? I also don't have a gas lense as locally there wasn't any. im using 3/32 2% lanthanated. 1/16 5356 filler, that's all they had....

Amperage will depend on the material thickness, of course, but while a frequency of 100 is great, you want your balance to be 35% or less. Everlast does balance in percent of electrode positive while some other brands do percent of electrode negative so while the function is the same the numbers will be different. I would set balance around 25% for clean material. Preflow can be less than 1 second, just long enough to get stable gas flow after the initial burst, a half second is usually good enough. Post flow will depend on welding amps and material. For aluminum you don't have to worry too much about post flow for the weld, but your tungsten will stay nicer if you have argon going while it is red. Figure about 1 second for every 20 amps or so is a good starting point. CFH depends on cup size and weld location, for a #7 non gas lens, around 10-20 CFH will do. Low on things like flat inside corners, higher for outside or overhead. Be sure your flowmeter is marked CFH. Everlast recently changed from LPM to CFH. If your's is LPM just cut the CFH numbers in half. So 5-10 LPM. For a foot pedal, you typically run upslope and downslope to zero as you will do that with the pedal and don't want the machine fighting you. Pulse is good for some things but I would not start with it, as again it will be better if you learn with fewer things going on. There are a few ways to use pulse, too. Some use a slow pulse to keep a rhythm going and hold the same travel speed. Another thing is to use a fast pulse to control heat input when welding near an edge or for thin material to control warping. It's very much a personal technique thing. So start without it, then once you have mastered the basics, you can play around with it to see the effects and what works for you. I like 5356 but I will admit that 4043 might be easier for someone new to TIG. So much depends on what you are trying to weld, but that should get you started.

[shayno]

Amperage will depend on the material thickness, of course, but while a frequency of 100 is great, you want your balance to be 35% or less. Everlast does balance in percent of electrode positive while some other brands do percent of electrode negative so while the function is the same the numbers will be different. I would set balance around 25% for clean material. Preflow can be less than 1 second, just long enough to get stable gas flow after the initial burst, a half second is usually good enough. Post flow will depend on welding amps and material. For aluminum you don't have to worry too much about post flow for the weld, but your tungsten will stay nicer if you have argon going while it is red. Figure about 1 second for every 20 amps or so is a good starting point. CFH depends on cup size and weld location, for a #7 non gas lens, around 10-20 CFH will do. Low on things like flat inside corners, higher for outside or overhead. Be sure your flowmeter is marked CFH. Everlast recently changed from LPM to CFH. If your's is LPM just cut the CFH numbers in half. So 5-10 LPM. For a foot pedal, you typically run upslope and downslope to zero as you will do that with the pedal and don't want the machine fighting you. Pulse is good for some things but I would not start with it, as again it will be better if you learn with fewer things going on. There are a few ways to use pulse, too. Some use a slow pulse to keep a rhythm going and hold the same travel speed. Another thing is to use a fast pulse to control heat input when welding near an edge or for thin material to control warping. It's very much a personal technique thing. So start without it, then once you have mastered the basics, you can play around with it to see the effects and what works for you. I like 5356 but I will admit that 4043 might be easier for someone new to TIG. So much depends on what you are trying to weld, but that should get you started.

Thanks for the advice! I got a water cooler all setup today and tungsten ready. Went to test the pump connected to the torch and water came pouring out of the torch head..... WHAT THe HELL!!!!! So after a little research it looks like the head is broke. .......not happy everlast.....actually I'm F&^€ ING PISSED....

[Rambozo]

Thanks for the advice! I got a water cooler all setup today and tungsten ready. Went to test the pump connected to the torch and water came pouring out of the torch head..... WHAT THe HELL!!!!! So after a little research it looks like the head is broke. .......not happy everlast.....actually I'm F&^€ ING PISSED....

It sounds like you might have the water inlet and gas lines swapped. Unfortunately they use the same fittings, and are not always clearly marked. It's always best to test by blowing air or argon through to see which is which before you hook up the water.

[shayno]

It sounds like you might have the water inlet and gas lines swapped. Unfortunately they use the same fittings, and are not always clearly marked. It's always best to test by blowing air or argon through to see which is which before you hook up the water.

I had argon going through the head at first when I was setting up the gas. theres no way I could have hooked it up wrong, the gas connection is connected at the base of the torch lead, where the gas hose goes up the lead. That particular connection is only a foot long and wouldn't fit anywhere. The two water leads are the same length and are both attached to the hose the same. Unless theres a water lead at the base of the torch lead then its not possible its wrong.

[Rambozo]

I had argon going through the head at first when I was setting up the gas. theres no way I could have hooked it up wrong, the gas connection is connected at the base of the torch lead, where the gas hose goes up the lead. That particular connection is only a foot long and wouldn't fit anywhere. The two water leads are the same length and are both attached to the hose the same. Unless theres a water lead at the base of the torch lead then its not possible its wrong.

Which torch do you have? Do you have a picture? When you say it's leaking out of the torch, where exactly is it coming out? It would be very unlikely for a torch to fail in such a way that water comes out the cup, and it sounds like that is what you are describing.
There will be a total of three hoses to deal with. One of them will have a wire inside, that is your return water line it will go to the DINSE connector and have a short hose coming out the side. If you blow in that line you should get air coming out one of the other two hoses, that will be your water inlet, and the remaining hose will be your argon and if you blow in it, air will come out the front of the torch. Because torch designs and suppliers always make changes, there is no other real method you can totally trust as to how to id the hoses. They all hookup at the base of the torch, and you can't go by how they look or how long they are. If the water is leaking from the torch handle area, that is the more typical leak from a bad torch or hose fitting. Also did you ever run the torch without water? That will take it out very quickly.

[Rambozo]

Watch this, but it might be a little out of date for your exact torch, but it will show you the hookup. The water cooled section starts at 1:53

[Rambozo]

I didn't catch that you said base of the torch lead, not base of the torch. The hose that comes out of the torch lead is the water return, so for sure you have it hooked up wrong. It's is not intuitive, but it should be documented in the manual pretty well. Be sure to flush your contaminated argon hose with clean water, then blow it out with low pressure air until it is totally dry before you try welding or it will give you fits. Moisture and TIG do not mix at all.

[shayno]

rambozo, I am a ### sometimes... thanks for straightening me out! I did not get a manual with the machine, I went through the box again and did not see one. I did get it up and running easily once I straightened it out... I put down some crappy welds, albeit seemingly solid. The aluminum was newish, but dirty. I do formally apologize to everlast for turning into the hulk! hahahha
I should add I have never tig welded so bare with the lack of conformity and straightness.. these are my first filler rod ever.

[Rambozo]

rambozo, I am a ### sometimes... thanks for straightening me out! I did not get a manual with the machine, I went through the box again and did not see one. I did get it up and running easily once I straightened it out... I put down some crappy welds, albeit seemingly solid. The aluminum was newish, but dirty. I do formally apologize to everlast for turning into the hulk! hahahha
I should add I have never tig welded so bare with the lack of conformity and straightness.. these are my first filler rod ever.

No problem, glad to see you are up and running. You can download your manual HERE. The online manuals are usually better than what comes in the box anyway. Aluminum will also show the most issues from any residual moisture in your argon line. So it might take a little while to purge the last of it. The bottom weld looks like it might have some of the tell tale pitting from damp argon. For a first try they look very good. It's all about practice. One tip, slowly back off the amps at the end of the weld and add a little extra filler. That will get rid of the crater at the end. End craters are where cracks will start, so you don't want them.

[shayno]

first fillet weld ever with tig. didn't clean the material....