210 ext

[Gus Nimateck]

Hello to everyone , I recently purchase a 210 EXT model and I am struggling for almost a week now to make it work .

1) I have tones of current that comes back to the table and hit me to the point of dancing samba ( ground cable is on..)
2) Arc doesn't even start ( I am trying to make some aluminum beeds on a 6063 tube but it's pointless)
3) The foot pedal gives me the impression of not working properly .

Any help will be much appreciate .

[Rambozo]

Is the ground clamp on the work, or on the table?

What is your welding experience?

How is the machine on DC welding steel?

[zoama]

Sounds like the torch and work clamp are reversed.

[christian]

Sure,

I've got a 210EXT that I've had for a year and a half or more.

I'll presume that you've never previously TIG welded on DC or AC. If that's not correct, please show an example of your EXT with a bead on plate with some flat mild steel.

If you can establish that first, as a baseline, then progressing to an AC bead on aluminum will be easier for us all to give better advise.

Otherwise, get some flat, 1/8" (11 ga) aluminum for practicing. Ground directly to the work piece.

What does your tungsten look like?

Use the Squarewave for starters. Use a 6 or 7 cup size, preferably with a gas lens, especially a stubby one. Use a .3 sec pre-flow and a 6 second post-flow. Set the arc start amperage to 15 amps, and leave the ending amps at the minimum of 3/DC and 5/AC. Skip any Pulse settings. Set your AC Balance to 30 and AC Frequency to 100. Make sure your Ground cable is plugged into the Positive+ Dinse socket. Set your 100% Argon flow rate to 15 CFH or twice that for liters. Set your amps for 150 to get a puddle quickly, then back off as needed.

Then it's just a matter of developing your technique with the torch and filler.

So, lets see some more photos and give us some more detailed feedback so we can better diagnose your issues.

Your photos are small so far, but it looks like you have the Pedal and 2T lights both invoked, which is a specialty feature, designed for certain hand amptrols that have the arc initiation switch and the amp adjusting potensiometer slider/dial separate from one another. Usually that's not really a problem, unless you have other sequencer settings invoked. So, if you're using the Pedal, press the touchpad button so that ONLY the Pedal light is showing. You panel shows that HF is ON, so that's all good.

If you do have a foot pedal problem, the included 2T /4T lever swith can be installed at the torch to possibly rule that out, especially with DC TIG on mild steel and some upslope/downslope settings for 4T.

Did you buy this 210EXT new or used?

Anyway, the 210EXT is an advanced TIG unit, so it may seem a little tricky at first, especially if you're just learning both DC and AC TIG on it.

No matter though, as you'll undoubtedly be doing well very quickly, as the 210EXT is brilliant, and this Everlast forum is a great place to help get up speed, so to speak.

Hello to everyone , I recently purchase a 210 EXT model and I am struggling for almost a week now to make it work .

1) I have tones of current that comes back to the table and hit me to the point of dancing samba ( ground cable is on..)
2) Arc doesn't even start ( I am trying to make some aluminum beeds on a 6063 tube but it's pointless)
3) The foot pedal gives me the impression of not working properly .

Any help will be much appreciate .

[christian]

So, Gus,

You havin' any luck yet?

[Gus Nimateck]

Sorry for the late reply but I was in Italy for buiseness .
Many thanks for your kind advises .
Although i am not a first timer regarding Tig welding I have tones of back current at my torch .
2T was by mistake pressed .
I am using a 2% Lanthaned Tungsten on a WP F26 torch .
AC balance at 35%
Amps set at 135 .
Cup size 7
Filler rod 5356 , 2.4 mm
AC frequency 90 ( till now I had the best results with this setup )
11psi of Argon gas , approx. . 8 lt/min ( maybe too low ? )
Pedal on ( nothing else )
The first foto is my best result till now .
The last fotos is a product I made .( not by using EXT)

I been using till now Kemppi ( Europe made) and Imperial ( Chinese made ) Tig machines .

I bought the 210 EXT brand new , not even a month now .

[christian]

Hey,

Nice to see the added follow-up.

I'm no expert, but since I have the same machine, I'll keep giving my input, at least until an old pro comes along. But it looks like it's just some subtle adjustment that would be helpful.

Anyway, I'd drop down to a 1/16" (1.6mm) filler rod.

I'm guessing that you're using a 3/32" tungsten, which seems right for what you're doing.

You could probably ease up on the AC Balance to about 30%.

Cup size of #7 is OK, but I've tended to gravitate to a #6 for what you seem to be doing.

I like the 5356 filler too.

AC Frequency is a matter of preference. I like 100-120 most times, as I like a narrower bead with Squarewave. Triangle wave will narrow it even more, but I'll suggest that you master the Squarewave first. But I do dig the Triangle wave on thin aluminum and at an edge.

Your gas for that cup size and amps could be a problem. The EXT regulator that you received undoubtedly reads in CFH, and about 15 or more CFH is probably about right for those amps and cup size. But, maybe your setting at 11psi/chf is marginally OK if you're using a gas lens.

Now, from what I see in that new first photo, which doesn't look too far off, but with the settings already mentioned, and some subtle adjustment in technique you may have more luck. And I don't know what the wall thickness of that tubing is, but from the amps that you were using and filler too, I'll guess that it's neither very thin nor very thick.

So, I'll suggest that you use the smaller diameter filler rod, use a little more heat, and increase your travel speed, i.e., currently your beads look cold.

And then please let us all hear how that goes. More pictures would be nice too. And how about laying down a few beads on flat plate to demonstrate an ideal outcome for getting your settings, travel speed, and filler timing all worked out satifactorily.

Sorry for the late reply but I was in Italy for buiseness .
Many thanks for your kind advises .
Although i am not a first timer regarding Tig welding I have tones of back current at my torch .
2T was by mistake pressed .
I am using a 2% Lanthaned Tungsten on a WP F26 torch .
AC balance at 35%
Amps set at 135 .
Cup size 7
Filler rod 5356 , 2.4 mm
AC frequency 90 ( till now I had the best results with this setup )
11psi of Argon gas , approx. . 8 lt/min ( maybe too low ? )
Pedal on ( nothing else )
The first foto is my best result till now .
The last fotos is a product I made .( not by using EXT)

I been using till now Kemppi ( Europe made) and Imperial ( Chinese made ) Tig machines .

I bought the 210 EXT brand new , not even a month now .

[performance]

I am not sure what you mean by tones of back current at your torch. Do you mean you are getting shocked by the High Frequency? Or getting shocked while welding?
What exactly is it that you are seeing, not seeing when trying to weld?

Torch is in negative?

[performance]

which wave form are you using?

[performance]

From the looks of the original picture you posted, you have the torch in the positive. That is wrong. Should always be in negative. Never in positive if you are TIG welding.

[performance]

Have you read through the manual? It does show these things.

[rick9345]

Most times my manual knows more about my machine than I think I do. It also retains the info better than I do.

[Gus Nimateck]

Many thanks to all for your advises .
Problem solved , while I was out of work for 10 days , a co-worker had the idea to install sheets of EPDM plastic below the adjustable legs of the welding table ....
( nicely cutted ...as well ...they where invisible ...)
I was getting shocked every time I was pressing the pedal .
Regarding now the settings on welding various metals or non metals I will come back on another post.

[Rambozo]

Many thanks to all for your advises .
Problem solved , while I was out of work for 10 days , a co-worker had the idea to install sheets of EPDM plastic below the adjustable legs of the welding table ....
( nicely cutted ...as well ...they where invisible ...)
I was getting shocked every time I was pressing the pedal .
Regarding now the settings on welding various metals or non metals I will come back on another post.

Not really a solution. Something is not right and isolating the table only masked the problem. If there is some damaged insulation letting a small current through now, it could very well give you a lethal shock someday.

[christian]

Right, or if you're possibly plugging into 3-phase power.

Not really a solution. Something is not right and isolating the table only masked the problem. If there is some damaged insulation letting a small current through now, it could very well give you a lethal shock someday.

[performance]

It would likely be the HF, which can happen if you are wet, damp or sweaty.

[christian]

Hey, Gus,

Having some more luck yet?

[christian]

Here's a little something I'll piggy-back into this thread, as it is 210 EXT related and doesn't really call for a new thread of its own.

This was for a guy who sells a lot of vintage stuff and who also builds industrial-styled furniture, fixtures, and lighting. These two brackets had three breaks in them, and they turned out well enough, I suppose. The guy was very happy. But it was a new metal and style of TIG for me, i.e., TIG brazing on cast iron with silicon bronze filler.



Anyway, it was a first for me. I used a DC arc, even though I believe an AC arc can also be used, which reportedly results in a shinier gold colored bead with only 10% EP. I didn't really want a gold bead to show so much, but I was a little surprised at how there was no gold color at all. I mean, I increased the argon coverage to about 25 CFH. I didn't do any pre or post heating. But it was fun to do something new!!!!!!!!