Primeweld AC/DC Tig 225X

[mechanic416]

I can see were there may be a warranty issue arising from the use of other pedals on the Primeweld units. Primeweld has not stated or endorsed any other pedals to be used on their welders at this time.

I do know Primeweld has spent a lot of money on a new pedal that should be available in a few months for the people that can't seem to be able to use the pedal it comes with for some reason.


So using a different pedal or making up your own may void your warranty. I would suggest you contact Primeweld before adding a different foot pedal.

[mechanic416]

I checked out the Harbor Freight pedal as well. Being that I had a HF store credit to burn I figured that I would give it a go. With the %20 off any Vulcan accessory and additional $5.00 off coupons I picked it up for $51.00. Another reason for my HF purchase was pedal compatibility. The pedal that ships with the PrimeWeld has a resistance of 10K (Ohms) and the HF Vulcan is a 10K pedal as well so there is no potentiometer swapping involved with the conversion. I had a spare compatible 7 Pin connector so after a bit of wire tracing and soldering I was good to go . (I have the pin-outs if anyone would like them). Anyway the HF pedal is working out just fine for me. Now I am not claiming that HF is the worlds finest TIG pedal but it's pretty damn good one for $51.00.

So what ever made you think the Harbor Freight pedal was better then the pedal the welder came with?

[shovelon]

So what ever made you think the Harbor Freight pedal was better then the pedal the welder came with?

The Primeweld block pedal is a rear hinge swing which I cannot deal with. Most pedals are center hinging. The Vulcan pedal is front hinging. The prototypes ranged from center hinge to the front hinge which I hated and told them why. You could not even place your foot on the pedal without tripping the arc, so I lobbied against it. So what they did is put a massive spring in the front hinge one and it works ok. By ok is even though I find it dumb I forget about it for the most part while welding with it. My female weldors actually prefer it because they have small feet. I unscrew the heel clip and weld an extension clip to it then reinstalled. Now I can drag it around with my heel easier when needed. I still trip the arc occasionally when placing my big foot on it.

[mechanic416]

The Primeweld block pedal is a rear hinge swing which I cannot deal with. Most pedals are center hinging. The Vulcan pedal is front hinging. The prototypes ranged from center hinge to the front hinge which I hated and told them why. You could not even place your foot on the pedal without tripping the arc, so I lobbied against it. So what they did is put a massive spring in the front hinge one and it works ok. By ok is even though I find it dumb I forget about it for the most part while welding with it. My female weldors actually prefer it because they have small feet. I unscrew the heel clip and weld an extension clip to it then reinstalled. Now I can drag it around with my heel easier when needed. I still trip the arc occasionally when placing my big foot on it.

I believe you could weld with any foot pedal they throw at you. Would you like it probable not but that's not the point. The point is just because some people don't like the pedal that comes with the Primeweld 225ACDCP doesn't mean its any less accurate then others, its just different.

[restorick]

Been following this thread for a while and had a chance to email back and forth with Mike. The quick replies and the feedback on the extreme customer service pushed me over the edge. Just ordered the Primeweld TIG. Now, I need to clear out my garage and get some aluminum and stainless drops to put her through the 30 day gauntlet!

Looking forward...
Rick

[jeff.kabel]

Funny you mentioned buying the Primeweld TIG then having to clean out your garage. I Just started cleaning mine yesterday!
Yeah, I have a little bit of junk to move out!

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[restorick]

Funny you mentioned buying the Primeweld TIG then having to clean out your garage. I Just started cleaning mine yesterday!
Yeah, I have a little bit of junk to move out!

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Not too shabby Jeff! Care to come to Wisconsin to help with mine? ;-)

[jeff.kabel]

Hahahahaha, NO! I'm gonna be sore for a week at least after that! Getting too old for this sh-t!

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[JerDerv]

Mine showed up on Tuesday. Really happy with it so far. Love that it came with CK products. I too had to clean and reorganize my garage to make room for a welding table. I added a 50A breaker and pulled some 8awg for the nema 6-50 outlet. Still have to fab a cart and other organizational tasks, but figured id share a picture anyways.

[jeff.kabel]

Nice!! I like your setup! What gauge is your welding table? I am in the same spot you are. I just received mine this week and need to run power to it.

Love the layout! But where's your fire extinguisher?

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[xmmancharl]

all hiddenbrooke owners should have a fire extinguisher!!!











Charl

[Cyberrocker]

So what ever made you think the Harbor Freight pedal was better then the pedal the welder came with?

I just like the throw of the HF pedal better, plus it stays put on the floor. The original Primeweld pedal, while being totally usable just felt a bit awkward to me. It just comes down to personal preference that's all.

[JerDerv]

Nice!! I like your setup! What gauge is your welding table? I am in the same spot you are. I just received mine this week and need to run power to it.

Love the layout! But where's your fire extinguisher?

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

1/4" thick 2.5' deep by 5' 10" long. 2x4 on edge every 9 inches there is no bending of the plate while walking around on it. I really don't intend on doing any heavy work. Just small automotive and other hobby work here and there. Yah i need to figure out where to put my extinguisher.

Got the work area a bit more organized, still have alot to do. Decided to put the welder on the bench top to make fiddling with the controls and powering the unit on easier. The fans really move a lot of air on this thing so i built a diverter out of some kydex i had laying around and stuck some magnets on the outside to hold it in place. I used a small tealight candle to test for air turbulence and the whole table looks good except for right up next to the welder all the way up front or in the back. Im happy with it. Put some beads down on a chunk of 304 stainless i had laying around, got the gas flow dialed and messed around with some of the pulse settings. Ran some AC on a piece of 1/8" aluminum, had zero issues with HF starts. Cleaned the milscale of some hot rolled 1/8" and put down some ER70 filler. Im absolutely loving the way this thing welds and the adjustability is fantastic. Still havent played around with stick electrode. Im not a terrible welder but im no seasoned veteran either, ill have to snap some pictures of the welds tonight.

[shovelon]

I believe you could weld with any foot pedal they throw at you. Would you like it probable not but that's not the point. The point is just because some people don't like the pedal that comes with the Primeweld 225ACDCP doesn't mean its any less accurate then others, its just different.

I could prabably get by for a couple of hours, but not 8 hours a day 5 days a week. And taking it out on a jobsite would make it clumsy for me. But if an upgrade were available it would be a significant change for the better.

[danscobra6]

Primeweld 225 arrived today and so far(without welding yet) I'm impressed. Boxed up nice with some great items and features. I've been round and round with the pedals and actually have no problem with the included one. Got used to it pushing straight down, sideways and backwards. Purchased an SSC for the AHP and see no reason to spend the money on those. To me the throw is to short but it has a nice footprint. I really like the HF Vulcan pedal, comfortable and stays put. Everlast stock pedal is narrow but works fine. Lotos, AHP and Primeweld use the same pedal and it has been pounded on many sites that it's just a bad pedal. Put some rubber feet on it and it's just fine. Just my opinion but I've tried most of them and will save the pedal upgrade money on water cooling the Primeweld.

[danscobra6]

Sorry for the upside down pics but I can't seem to get in and correct it or delete and start over.

[pat h]

Well I just talked someone into buy one of these, I hope I'm not a idiot, they look good on paper and some support, time will tell

[pat h]

Well I got to try the 225x and it's real decent machine and to dispell the myth about the foot pedal it works but is way to sensitive like a on /off switch and no it wasn't on 4t, but if that's all you ve used you probably won't mind, anybody on the fence about this machine I honestly have to say buy it it's real smooth, lights up well and for 800 or less it's real impressive and simple to use, long term who knows but as much as I hate to admit it is better than my old dynasty in arc quality so a 4k dollar rig vs 800 in most garages you ain't gonna notice the 3 thousand dollar difference, good product for sure

[metalman21]

Pat, tell me more about that foot pedal. "Like on/off.." as in real short stroke? Any range at all in the pedal?

[pat h]

Pat, tell me more about that foot pedal. "Like on/off.." as in real short stroke? Any range at all in the pedal?

No it definitely has range and varies the amps I'm just not used to it, I've always had ssc or miller pedals so I'm used to them, plus I don't do much anymore so im rusty myself, given more than 1 or 2 minutes I used it I probably would get used to it, darn nice rig for the moneys, anyway it just doesn't seem as easy to manipulate the output as a ssc pedal but it definitely did what it was supposed to, so probably more operator (me) error

[JerDerv]

Been finding all sorts of stuff to fabricate and repair the last few weekends. I love having a tig at home. I Did have some thin .064" aluminum that i was playing around with when i noticed very poor stability at lower current on AC. My AC aluminum experience is limited and im quite certain the problem is with something im doing wrong but i thought i would share regardless. First thing that i noticed is with the current turned down to say 50amps the arc starts and holds at 21A im unable to get a lower start current unless i turn the max current down below 20 amps. Regardless of AC frequency or balance setting the arc pops and jumps around at lower current. I can watch it dance around the tungsten and all over the part even if the tungsten is sharp and the arc gap is as close as i can get. I tried varying gas flows and sharpening the tungsten to a finer point. I even thought maybe the grind was too rough and used a 240grit disk to give the tungsten a smooth grind. I tried directly grounding the part and low current arc stability remained poor. Im using 2% lanth 3/32" electrode. I tried the standard collet and collet body that came with the torch along with a gas lens setup. Id like to try a 1/16 or .040 tungsten just to rule that out.

Any tips for getting a stable low current AC arc? Whats the lowest arc start your primeweld 225 will do? Does your primeweld 225 have a stable low current AC arc? Thanks guys!

[arcflash]

Give the smaller tungsten a try. I think you will be surprised.

[stioc]

I just ordered mine...before the tariffs make all of them more expensive lol

I do have a question for the current owners or George. Does it allow non high-frequency starts such as lift-arc or scratch start since HF can damage automotive electronics etc?

Also, what's the 2T/4T switch do? is that a selector for foot pedal vs. torch control? I can't find the manual on PrimeWeld's site.

I know, order first, ask questions later haha

[Sedanman]

2T/4T is with and without a remote amperage control. So if it has the switch then lift or scratch start is an option. Most likely lift on a newer inverter.

[stioc]

2T/4T is with and without a remote amperage control. So if it has the switch then lift or scratch start is an option. Most likely lift on a newer inverter.

Thanks. Yeah I'm hoping scratch/lift is doable...based on the Q&A on Amazon people said you can't do scratch/lift. Sent a msg to Prime Weld this morning too, may be they're waiting to get an answer from their Chinese engineers when they wake up