255ext HF Start

[labmaster02]

I have a new (2015) 255ext and I have intermittent issues with the high frequency start. I could be welding along just fine then when I go to strike and arc nothing happens. I have found if I touch the tungsten to the weld material, without the petal pressed then lift it back up and press the petal it will work every time. It's been like this since new. It does it in both AC and DC, with the pedal and with the finger switch. I've varied the post and pre flow. Brand new tungsten and and clean shiny metal. I've been in touch with Everlast Support and they have already sent me a new control board and HF board. It didn't help. They have agreed to replace the welder, but don't have any right now in stock. I'm just looking to see if anyone else has seen this. I hate to send the welder back if it's going to be the same.

[rick9345]

if your 1st weld with a newly sharpened shiny tungsten starts ok and then have bad starts, check for at least .5s preflow and adequate post flow to keep tungsten shiny.
typically a bad/hard restart is caused by inadequate post flow. scratching tungsten removes oxides from tungsten. Crap from weld could also be contaminating tungsten/work surface along with very low arc start amps can also cause this.

Preflow and post flow important for good arc starts along with clean material to be welded.

[labmaster02]

Tungsten and metal are clean. Tried post flow between 0-3 seconds and still happens. It will error with "E04" on the display and the error goes away as soon as the pedal is let up. I'm just looking to see if anyone else has seen this.

[rick9345]

cHECK YOUR POST FLOW NEEDS AGAIN, POST FLOW NEEDS TO BE ABOUT 9-10s(.032 tungsten) , AT THE VERY LEAST POST NEEDS TO REMAIN ON TILL AFTER TUNGSTON RED GOES AWAY, 3s NEVER ENOUGH FOR ME EVEN WITH .O4O TUNGSTEN

[labmaster02]

Sorry I meant pre flow was up to 3. Post flow was always over 7. Again it's a machine issue confirmed by Everlast Tech support. I'm just trying to see if anyone else has this issue.

[Rambozo]

Tungsten and metal are clean. Tried post flow between 0-3 seconds and still happens. It will error with "E04" on the display and the error goes away as soon as the pedal is let up. I'm just looking to see if anyone else has seen this.

As I recall that "error" is just that the arc wasn't started within the set time. Not really an error, but more like information. Now as to why it's not starting, there could be any number of reasons and it's best to actually test the output with a scope and a load bank. You could also have a HF leak somewhere. It's very easy for high frequency to go somewhere you don't want it to, and cause hard starting. There are some things you could test, if you have more than one torch and cable assembly? It would suck if you send the machine back and the replacement does the same thing only to find it is a bit of bad insulation in your torch lead, or something equally simple.

[performance]

Try just using .5 seconds of Preflow or less. See if that makes a difference. Also touch your tungsten to the work piece before briefly trying to make a start. See if this helps.

[labmaster02]

I usually set the preflow to .5, but I even tried 0 and as much as 3 seconds still the same. It will start every time if I touch the tungsten first, but it kind of takes away from the HF starts

I tried another torch and it does the same. I also noticed it's much worse on DC, but also does it in AC just not as bad

[labmaster02]

I think I tried both torches, but I'm going to try again just to make sure. I agree it could be something simple and I hate to send it back if it's not the machine. What's strange is that when it doesn't start all I do is touch the tungsten to the work piece, is see a very slight spark and then lift it back up, press the pedal and it works. It will always restart if the post flow is still on and if I touch the tungsten to the work piece before the HF times out it will start, kind of like a scratch start. I really like the welder it's just frustrating to get set up to weld and I push the pedal and nothing.

I agree the "E04" is just as you said.

[WhitsonMetal]

I just received a 325ext and am pretty disappointed in the HF start. Lanthanated and ceriated tungsten sharpened to a point, pre-flow and post flow settings all over the place, foot pedal and 2T, more gas, less gas, it's just flat out inconsistent. My last welder, a hobart 165 with HF start, never had the issue. Reading some of these posts has me thinking I'm just stuck with it.

[Rambozo]

I just received a 325ext and am pretty disappointed in the HF start. Lanthanated and ceriated tungsten sharpened to a point, pre-flow and post flow settings all over the place, foot pedal and 2T, more gas, less gas, it's just flat out inconsistent. My last welder, a hobart 165 with HF start, never had the issue. Reading some of these posts has me thinking I'm just stuck with it.

With the air cooled or water cooled torch, or both? AC, DC, or both?

That is the flagship machine, you should have great starts.

[WhitsonMetal]

With the air cooled or water cooled torch, or both? AC, DC, or both?

That is the flagship machine, you should have great starts.

That's what I hoped as well. I was trying to purchase a 255 with quad fan, dual voltage, and solid state HF, but due to shipping delays was offered the 325 and assured it was the same machine (hadn't researched it at all, last minute change up), minus the dual voltage. I put it straight to use on work I was behind on, DC only so far with the #9. Last night I tried it with the 2T torch switch and had maybe a 50-60% success rate for good starts, same as with the foot pedal the night prior. Once it's lit it works great but those starts drive me nuts.

[Rambozo]

That's what I hoped as well. I was trying to purchase a 255 with quad fan, dual voltage, and solid state HF, but due to shipping delays was offered the 325 and assured it was the same machine (hadn't researched it at all, last minute change up), minus the dual voltage. I put it straight to use on work I was behind on, DC only so far with the #9. Last night I tried it with the 2T torch switch and had maybe a 50-60% success rate for good starts, same as with the foot pedal the night prior. Once it's lit it works great but those starts drive me nuts.

DC with air cooled, rules out the few things I can think of. I would call support about it. I don't recall if that machine has any hidden menu start settings, that can be tweaked.

[performance]

Check your work clamp connections. Are you trying to ground through the table or something or do you have the ground directly on the metal you are welding as well as ground down to the shiny?

Several things are possible. One thing comes to mind is that you are trying to possibly start too far off. Some welders allow you to initiate a spark further away than others. Put it about a penny's thickness off the metal and see if you can get consistent starts. Also is it creating the HF everytime but no arc initiation or is it not creating the HF spark?

There's no hidden menu settings. The 325EXT does not have as low of start on AC IIRC and the panels is the same as the 2014 255EXT but has not been updated with the 2015 version. The 2015 version of the 255EXT has the select button just below the easy start up menu and has the spot weld timer added along with a purge button.

[stevenopolis]

I have the 325ext. I just tap my tungsten on the work. Works every time for me. Makes a tiny little spark, then smack the pedal and off I go.

[Coolidge]

I have a new June, 2015 255ext, I just got to test the machine this past weekend and ran into this E04 error. Long story short it was user error in my opinion, contamination of the tungsten. I had a buddy over and we were both running test beads on stainless. Being noobs we dipped the tungsten into the puddle more than once, I had 5 tungsten's on the bench and we were regrinding them throughout the test. The E04 error seemed random until we had cycled through all the tungstens then it wouldn't strike and arc even on a freshly reground tungsten. The issue is I was not regrinding the very tip of the tungsten just the sides. This seemed like a conductivity issue so the next time I got an E04 error I swiped the tip with some 220 grit sandpaper, just scratched it once or twice, bang it struck an arc no problem. So I started grinding about half the tip off the tungsten from there on out after contamination and we never had another E04 error until we again dipped the tungsten into or too close to the puddle and contaminated it. By the way I had the gas up fairly high, 20cfph and was running 6 seconds pre and post flow.

Here's the interesting part. We had been using the water cooled torch with the switch on the torch, which made it a lot more difficult to steady the torch. When we switched to the foot pedal that allowed us a couple three fingers free to steady the torch, we stopped dipping the tungsten into the puddle, maintained a steady stand off, and both the E04 errors and contaminated tungsten issues went away. Hence I'm saying user error in my case.

[Rambozo]

I have a new June, 2015 255ext, I just got to test the machine this past weekend and ran into this E04 error. Long story short it was user error in my opinion, contamination of the tungsten. I had a buddy over and we were both running test beads on stainless. Being noobs we dipped the tungsten into the puddle more than once, I had 5 tungsten's on the bench and we were regrinding them throughout the test. The E04 error seemed random until we had cycled through all the tungstens then it wouldn't strike and arc even on a freshly reground tungsten. The issue is I was not regrinding the very tip of the tungsten just the sides. This seemed like a conductivity issue so the next time I got an E04 error I swiped the tip with some 220 grit sandpaper, just scratched it once or twice, bang it struck an arc no problem. So I started grinding about half the tip off the tungsten from there on out after contamination and we never had another E04 error until we again dipped the tungsten into or too close to the puddle and contaminated it. By the way I had the gas up fairly high, 20cfph and was running 6 seconds pre and post flow.

Here's the interesting part. We had been using the water cooled torch with the switch on the torch, which made it a lot more difficult to steady the torch. When we switched to the foot pedal that allowed us a couple three fingers free to steady the torch, we stopped dipping the tungsten into the puddle, maintained a steady stand off, and both the E04 errors and contaminated tungsten issues went away. Hence I'm saying user error in my case.

As you figured out, there can't be a plating of crud on the tip of your tungsten. Also, you typically need less than a second of preflow, so that will help as the arc will start just after you hit the pedal or switch, and not come as a surprise, 6 seconds later. You may need to raise your postflow a little depending on how much current you are using. You want the postflow to last as long as your tungsten is red hot and a little bit more. Otherwise it will pick up some contamination from the air as it cools and can also cause hard starting. When using the torch switch, it sometimes helps to prop the cup on the workpiece, so you can precisely hold the proper arc gap, then hit the switch. That way pressing the switch doesn't cause you to move the torch. Be sure you have a good place to prop your torch hand, too. One of the big keys to good TIG welding is precise torch control.

[Coolidge]

As you figured out, there can't be a plating of crud on the tip of your tungsten. Also, you typically need less than a second of preflow, so that will help as the arc will start just after you hit the pedal or switch, and not come as a surprise, 6 seconds later. You may need to raise your postflow a little depending on how much current you are using. You want the postflow to last as long as your tungsten is red hot and a little bit more. Otherwise it will pick up some contamination from the air as it cools and can also cause hard starting. When using the torch switch, it sometimes helps to prop the cup on the workpiece, so you can precisely hold the proper arc gap, then hit the switch. That way pressing the switch doesn't cause you to move the torch. Be sure you have a good place to prop your torch hand, too. One of the big keys to good TIG welding is precise torch control.

Agree post flow could be increased as the metal is still glowing a bit after 6 seconds during practice. The torch switch and I just won't play well together dexterity wise, I'd rather have that switch mounted to my table in 4T mode so I can operate it with my filler metal hand or just use the foot pedal.

Agree you really need a steady hand controlling the torch, I have a BuildPro table so that gives me endless opportunities for fixturing something to rest/slide my hand against. I was using the edge of the table after switching to the foot pedal, it worked great. I have to say both my buddy and I were amazed how nice a weld a couple TIG noobs could put down after just a short bit of practice. I invested weeks of practice into my Lincoln 210MP MIG, just hours and hours and was never able to run a bead like I did with the 255ext within an hour. The machine is quiet, the welding is quiet, nice smooth stable arc, no spatter, no mess, easy to control. I felt the MIG was a grip it and rip it machine, the TIG is a lot slower allowing me more control. Super happy at this point.

[slzboy]

Hello i have a new 255ext picked it up july 23 2015 with HF start problem its one day old it is also has the intermittent problem did you guy get it fixed? if so what do i need to do to resolve this problem its not good to have on a day old machine thanks