AHP Owners/Users Thread. No Trolling unless you have used/own one!

[dbstoo]

Welcome to the group! It is a rewarding learning experience.

Dan

[sacherjj]

I just got mine today. Found out I have no idea what I'm doing. Lol. Let the learning begin. Feeling excited.

Do a search for DSW's wonderful posts about beginning TIG. Great stuff.

[bbqsmoker]

Will a dirty tungsten cause difficulty starting the arc? I've been playing with it today and sometimes it doesn't start with out the tungsten being really close to the base material. When I have a freshly ground piece I seem to have less trouble. Thanks for the help guys.

[dbstoo]

Will a dirty tungsten cause difficulty starting the arc? I've been playing with it today and sometimes it doesn't start with out the tungsten being really close to the base material. When I have a freshly ground piece I seem to have less trouble. Thanks for the help guys.

Yes, a contaminated tungsten will not start as well, and the arc tends to wander a bit. Scale or rust on the metal will also impact starting the arc. If you don't have the gas adjusted properly you might also have problems with the arc.

As others have said, when it comes to TIG, cleanliness is very important. Degrease, grind and clean again.

Dan

[sacherjj]

And make sure to clean the back side. When you fully melt the metal, you can often pull junk from the backside and make things go really wrong. Like forgetting that you painted the inside of an aluminum box until you start welding on it and wonder why your welds start going really bad. (And the inside of the tool box lets loose fumes that trigger you to immediately flee and ventilate. At least the visible welds look really good. )

[Tony Watson]

After a few issues (welder was DOA) I finally have my 2015 Alpha Tig up and running.
Now I just need lots of practice....I mean lots!
Thanks for all the help and advice.
TW

[dbstoo]

Glad to hear that Tony. I hope you enjoy yours.

I'm enjoying the precision that I get from it. I used it to weld together an oven rack, and did not have to grind down a single weld. To the casual observer all the welds looked consistent.


Dan

[Gamble]

what are the odds. i've been fighting with mine for a few days now, leaky gas hose and come to find out the biggest issue is i have a tank of bad gas. what are the odd!?

[dbstoo]

Wow! That is bad luck.

When I got mine, I connected it to a 20 cf tank that had been sitting there for 2 years, waiting for a MIG spool gun that I never bought. The blast of argon from the valve had me freaked out. I was not sure what was leaking and where. It could have been the regulator or the valve.

I took the bottle back to Airgas for a replacement. It turns out that the valve seal was just not seated. If I'd turned it one more turn it would have sealed properly, as demonstrated by the Airgas guy.

Since then I've had no problems. I did add a few wraps of teflon tape to the fittings to get rid of the last little bubbles when I spray the connections with soap.

Dan

[stanward]

I too have a bottle of 100% argon that was waiting for my Spool gun that I never bought.

[mechanic416]

I really like teflon tape. It has made me a lot of money over the years. I find it every were, in valves ,torches, regulators, etc.

Come to think of it, I have not seen it for sale at the welding store, wonder why.

[mechanic416]

NOTE to all with the AHP Alpha Tig 200X

Here is what you need to do so you can get a 3/4" wrench in to hold the fitting to tighten up the argon hose.

Cut out the 3 fins above the fitting.

[arcflash]

I picked mine up today. everything looked good, but the plastic cover had a scratch on it. Hooked it all up and ran a couple of beads on aluminum. I really like the way it runs. The only thing I can compare it to is the precision tig I was running and it holds up. Next week the local Airgas rep is coming over to try it. Should be interesting!

[Louie1961]

NOTE to all with the AHP Alpha Tig 200X

Here is what you need to do so you can get a 3/4" wrench in to hold the fitting to tighten up the argon hose.

Cut out the 3 fins above the fitting.

That sounds crazy. I didn't have to do that with mine.

[Louie1961]

If I spend $700 or more on a tool, I don't expect to have to hack it up to get it to work right.

[soutthpaw]

If I spend $700 or more on a tool, I don't expect to have to hack it up to get it to work right.

Well folks love to overtighten fittings and thus crack the plastic housing.

[sacherjj]

You don't have to tighten much to lock in the pressure of gas flowing up to 30 cf. I just gently did it with an adjustable wrench.

[Louie1961]

George didn't mention over tightening or cracked plastic.

[souththirty]

First day... 20mins in the garage. ..

120v .. im having fun

[mechanic416]

If I spend $700 or more on a tool, I don't expect to have to hack it up to get it to work right.

Well call it whatever you like. I have had some returned for warranty because the gorilla snuck in and over tightened it braking it loose inside.

[Jimmie]

Thanks for the tip George, good idea !!!

[Gamble]

Ok got to play with mine a little more tonight. I can do a write up if you guys feel the need for another thread.

Thus far in a nutshell. The clipping of the fins in the back will help but not necessary.
The gas hose did leak and I don't like regulators. The back cap for the torch doesn't allow the consumables to sit properly IMO. The torch body slides right off the handle almost too easy. However these are all silly little things that are no big deal. A flowmeter and gas hose and a ck torch head and handle and the problems are fixed.
Played with pulse once and did some playing with the balance and freq on aluminum. What can I say? It doesn't weld like a $700 - $800 machine. It actually performs VERY well. So far I love this thing.
And what I also like is the fact you can get 140amps on 110v and it doesn't seem to pull much out of the wall. The lights dim when I turn it on but so far I can stand on the pedal and not trip the breaker. For a sub $1000 machine it's really nice. Now I have some stuff on order for mine to make it better and when it's said and done I'll be about $1k into it if not less. Hard to pass that up.

[dbstoo]

I really like teflon tape. It has made me a lot of money over the years. I find it every were, in valves ,torches, regulators, etc.

Come to think of it, I have not seen it for sale at the welding store, wonder why.

Yeah, I should not have needed it, and there is no way to tell if it's really making a difference, but there is no sign of leakage. I always clean all traces of tape from the threads when I move the hoses. If it's getting in the valves, it's being used wrong.

NOTE to all with the AHP Alpha Tig 200X

Here is what you need to do so you can get a 3/4" wrench in to hold the fitting to tighten up the argon hose.

Cut out the 3 fins above the fitting.

An alternative is to use a thin wrench. I happen to have a set that is only 1/8 inch thick and it leaves lots of clearance.

[soutthpaw]

Ok got to play with mine a little more tonight. I can do a write up if you guys feel the need for another thread.

Thus far in a nutshell. The clipping of the fins in the back will help but not necessary.
The gas hose did leak and I don't like regulators. The back cap for the torch doesn't allow the consumables to sit properly IMO. The torch body slides right off the handle almost too easy. However these are all silly little things that are no big deal. A flowmeter and gas hose and a ck torch head and handle and the problems are fixed.
Played with pulse once and did some playing with the balance and freq on aluminum. What can I say? It doesn't weld like a $700 - $800 machine. It actually performs VERY well. So far I love this thing.
And what I also like is the fact you can get 140amps on 110v and it doesn't seem to pull much out of the wall. The lights dim when I turn it on but so far I can stand on the pedal and not trip the breaker. For a sub $1000 machine it's really nice. Now I have some stuff on order for mine to make it better and when it's said and done I'll be about $1k into it if not less. Hard to pass that up.

Glad you like it so far. You are not easy to please. Like you, I consider the accessories a minor part of the machine purchase. Did you try sick welding with it yet?

[sacherjj]

Did you try sick welding with it yet?

That is the first type of welding I did with mine. In fact my welds looked sick for about a week. Then they looked like they might get well.