AC balance cleaning 200DX ?

[jaso1]

Hi all .

Just got my Everlast 200dx a few days ago and been playing with some aluminium which is what I want to get into with it and the primary reason for buying the machine. I've been doing mild steel and stainless on a cheapy dc tig for one bottle worth of argon which for me has been one year ,although been a busy year mostly due to having our fist bub.

Anyway I'm loving the challenge of alloy and thought I'd ask a question with a pic to see what people think of the ac balance/cleaning level of my welds. Current settings are as follows,
min setting for ac balance of 30.
100 amps, foot pedal.
1 sec pre flow.
5 seconds post.
no pulse.
10 Litres per min straight argon
ac freq 120
5356 filler, first try of this filler, my welds seem to look cleaner and shinier with this so far but only had a 20 minute quick go on this plate.

The thing is to me it looks like a wide band of cleaning at the minimum setting of 30 but I'm not sure ? Any tips ?
Thanks,
Jason.

[Grizzly1944]

Looks like you are doing quite well. Keep it up!

[jaso1]

Thanks Grizzly. Any tips on the cleaning action or am i worrying about nothing?

[zoama]

Thanks Grizzly. Any tips on the cleaning action or am i worrying about nothing?

You could try higher frequency and or hold a tighter arc.

[jaso1]

Righto will try that , thanks.

[Blaster]

Try 25%.....

When you have clean, well prepared, Alum you don't need as high a cleaning action. Plus, lowering the percentage also gets you a bit more penetration too!

[jaso1]

My 200dx in at the lowest possible setting at 30 % . I was thinking it still looked a little like too much cleaning but I can't adjust it down any more ?

[performance]

Cleaning is also a function of time. Moving too slowly will increase cleaning as well. Use more heat and speed up your travel.

[jaso1]

Cool thanks, I wondered if my travel speed might be a problem. might have to up the amps a smidge to get travelling a bit quicker from the get go.

[Grizzly1944]

Lot's of it is in the preparation. Many use acetone to clean stuff up. As long as the cleaning solution doesn't leave a film after it evaporates. I don't like acetone or MEK because they are very toxic. I use Coleman stove and lantern fuel. It used to be called white gas. You can find it anywhere including Wally Mart. Prior to that I would use a dedicated wire brush that is used only for cleaning aluminum.

[jaso1]

Yeah thanks Grizzly.
With that piece of plate I did pretty much what you described. I rubbed the plate pretty well with acetone and then wire brushed with a stainless brush that is just for alloy.
I'll have some more practice tonight with any luck.