New here, acquired two old (working) welders, hoping to put them into action soon!

[IROCZman15]

fantastic! thanks for the info and advice. yea I am on the fence about "paying" for a repair, which is why I am hoping to diagnose it to the best of my ability in the short term future. I still have the Linde MIG welder and just to get my "jollies" I fired it up today and laid down some welds on some junk scrap steel. That was rewarding.

As for the TIG issue, I spent about an hour this morning reading through online issues and then also looked through more electrical diagrams, doing my best to understand how it all works. I am about halfway sure about most of what I read. So when I came home after work today, I started investigating more. I was surprised to find a loose terminal on the master on/off switch, at what is labeled #3 on the back of the switch. The missing chunk of plastic by the terminal was attached, but splintered off just before I took the photo.... so the hole was not there until just earlier this afternoon, or else I would have certainly spotted the damaged switch housing earlier. As I disconnected the terminal I noticed some old (brown colored) glue where it looks like a repair was done some time ago.
Check this out:

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[/url]






So, I am wondering if this issue is the source of one of the problems. It certainly needs to be repaired (by a replacement switch) but I am not sure if this is "the smoking gun" which would be causing ALL of the issues.

I am going to try to find a replacement switch with the proper amp/volt rating online, and I will ask them tomorrow when I am at the welding supply. I'll see what I find for parts, and then continue the diagnosis.

The technical specs on the switch are:
Bryant brand
40A 600V 5HP 250V






Also, I will most likely be making a brand new thread/post so that it will get some fresh eyes, and nobody will have to read through the above discussion of buying components and whatnot.

[William McCormick]

Had a chance after work today to call Miller Tech Support on the phone. They were very friendly, but were not able to really dig into much troubleshooting with a model/serial number this old. i was told that Miller had limited info because during this time the engineers were doing a things a variety of ways before standardizing things better. The tech had me check ohms resistance on the upper left terminals of the circuit board, which showed about 1.3 ohms resistance. We also switched those wires and had the same results. I spent a good 15 minutes poking my head and fingers all around inside the guts of the machine making sure connections seemed good, and checking terminals for tightness. I had done some research on here, and learned that occasionally people have had success in taking apart the insides of the "range/polarity switch" and cleaning the contacts. So I did this, and was super excited to see that there was gunk and junk that needed to be cleaned off.

Dirty:


Cleaned up:


Sadly, once everything was cleaned and reassembled, not only was I not not able to weld aluminum, but I can't weld anything. The tungsten/torch now only produces an incredibly weak, dismal, skinny speck of a blue electricity at times, and usually it does not produce any electricity at all. It made an electric noise, not the usual sizzle noise, but more of a frequency "tone". To add insult to injury, I smelled electrical burning and looked over to see a small puff of smoke coming out of the front of the machine, right where the "electrode/gas out" torch hose is. Turned everything off, and unplugged the machine.

smoke looked like it was coming from here and also there was a touch of soot and a smokey electrical burning smell to the soot:



I am currently really bummed out and pretty defeated. Had a working machine for steel and all I was hoping to do was to get it to weld aluminum too. Sadly, things went backwards, and now nothing works. Now I am trying to learn electrical schematics (which is way over my head) to rectify this. Kinda hoping this is fixable; spent a LOT of money on parts for the welder, gas cylinders, an entire electrical sub panel in the garage, and now I am unsure what to even do next. I have a limited knowledge of electronics, but am pretty quick to learn ( I wire and build police cars for a job).

What about a Miller Welding repair technician or shop? I went on the Miller website and it pulled up the local shop 4.4 miles away, but instead of "tech service" it is listed under "sales". I also can NOT afford an expensive repair bill or someone just throwing parts at the machine in hoped of getting it running. Would love to fix it as I had started to get excited for all these upcoming welding projects I could tackle in the nearby future. Very bummed out at the moment.

misc pics:


what is this and what does the button do. If i press the button in, it does not stay in, so what is the purpose of the button/device?

That black thing is a contactor and the "button" is just a way to energize it without powering the coil that normally turns on the contactor. If it does not depress on its own you might not have coil voltage or the coil is not good.

Sincerely,

William McCormick

[IROCZman15]

excellent, thanks for the reply. Good to know

I went over to the two local welding supply places today and brought the broken switch. I knew in advance they would not have it in stock, but I was hoping to hear advice about how to acquire one. I also went to an electrical supply store nearby, and all 3 places were unable to come up with a proper replacement that I could buy locally. Switch must be 40 amps 600 volts single-throw double-pole as seen in the photos above. I came home and called Miller to check and see that the busted switch I was holding matched their part numbers and how to order it. I was unsure if the Bryant switch in my hands was a replacement switch that might have been put in the machine, or if it came this way when new. Surprisingly, the Bryant switch I have is the original factory switch, and Miller actually still sells the switch I need, using Part # 124511 (which matches the part number in the Miller manual you guys provided to me on page #1) but they said I would have to order it through a Miller Distributor. However, I searched around online and it looks like I can get it shipped to my house if I buy it online elsewhere, and it is not a knockoff switch either.

Links:
1 https://www.amazon.com/124511-Miller.../dp/B004HE9XHQ
or
2. https://weldingsupply.com/cgi-bin/ei...UNDEF:X:124511
or
3. https://www.ebay.com/itm/19387742770...MaAsfaEALw_wcB

So that is a small success in finding the proper switch. I'll order one of those in the coming days and install it when it arrives.

I also brought a sample of the (very embarrassing) aluminum test-welding I had tried to do, to see if the guys at the welding supply shops had any advice. Everyone agreed that something is wrong with the machine in AC mode, and it is not operator error causing the welding problems. I was told that there is a guy named Ken Wellington who is about an hour away from me in northern New Jersey who is pretty familiar with the "older welding machines" and his company is "Orion Equipment Service" (website: http://www.orionequipmentservices.com/ ) . If I get to the point where I am out of troubleshooting ideas (after replacing the on/off switch) I will probably give him a call or send an email over. In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to keep em coming.

Any particular switch from that list of 3 above that I should buy; they all should be exactly the same, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask you pros before I order one.

[IROCZman15]

Well, I ordered the switch and got it last week finally. Just got a chance to install it. Machine works, power comes on and off. It seems to be doing its normal power when in DCneg mode on mild steel. It got a little temperamental after a moment, and all of a sudden I smelled a "hot electrical smell" while noticing that I was not getting gas flow at the torch. The burning electrical smell was coming from the port on the machine where the gas flow and torch plug into. I worked the foot pedal a few times and noticed that the gas is escaping at the joint, and I could feel it rushing out with my hand. The port was also hot to the touch on the outside of the machine. Not happy. I am assuming an O-ring or gasket that seals the gas flow between the machine and the torch hose has been heated and destroyed or gone missing; there was no-O ring that I could seen in there when I took a look.

Questions:
- There should be an O-ring in there to seal the gas flow right?
- Anyone know if it is a common size, or should I plan on calling Miller tech-help to ask them?

- Despite the gas rushing out at this failed junction, I think its unlikely that the burning electrical smell and hot torch input plug/port are normal. Can someone explain to me how the power travels among the machine, this port, and the torch. I understand it is DC negative, but if this O-ring is missing, and the torch I bought has a poorly built connection that also may not seat onto the electrical part of the machine, that would be a problem right? When i ordered the torch, it was very very slightly too large to fit into the port, despite being made for this machine. I contacted the seller, and we agreed that I could file down the male plug-in part of the torch with a hand file to get it to fit. I did this and it fit just fine and worked great, but I am wondering now, if this is problematic when combined with the missing O-ring.






FYI; the Linde MIG welder is working great. I have used it for a bunch of stuff and have had more than a couple friends come by to use it and fix their stuff. Bought a new work clamp for it but otherwise it is working fantastic. !!

[IROCZman15]

Decide to investigate the non-gas flow issue, Tried to blow through the hose with my mouth, only to be surprised that the hose was blocked. Could not move air from either end. Decided to take apart the hose's ends and found that part of the hose end's metal had turned molten and melted the gas-flow orifice closed! What in the heck!?!? This was probably the electrical/rubber burning smell I smelled coming from the port/connection. WOW












So, that hose is cooked, no salvaging that. But what caused this?!?! I don't want to buy a new hose and have it melt down again? could there be a chance that the above mentioned damaged on/off switch was causing improper electrical flow to the machine and it melted the inner aprt of that hose fitting because it had either too much negative or too much positive current?

[albrightree]

I have a syncrowave 180 that has a similar torch set up with gas through the dinse fitting. Its about 20 years old, and never had any problems with it. I like that I can change over to stick welding quickly. Yours looks like the hose fitting to the dinse connector was loose and arced across the connection. The fitting should seat 2 brass faces into each other, I don't think there is an
O-ring in that connection. All the current goes through that connection so it need to be tight. Replacement hoses are available for that . What make of torch is that Most of the Millers are Weldcraft I think. You might want to get a Flow meter cup for checking gas flow at the torch just to be sure. I have used Orion equipment services through my local Prax Air in Dover, NJ. and have been happy with their work on my foot pedal for my old Airco. My first guess on the aluminum would have been gas, but a bad torch connection will make things go weird too. I think your getting closer.


best of luck

[Meltedmetal]

Have you considered shortening the hose at least while you troubleshoot the problem? Cut the ferrule off , cut the hose. cut the burnt end off the cable, adjust the length of the cable and pull it as far out of the hose as you can and reattach it to the fitting, pull the hose onto the fitting and clamp. You got nothing to lose but your time, the hose is junk anyway.

[albrightree]

Here are some pictures of my miller torch.










You can purchase the hose separate from the torch. Its about half the cost of the torch, but you can often find deals on the internet. BTW when I opened mine up to take a picture, I found my dinse connection was only finger tight. https://www.weldingweb.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

[123weld]

u can bypass the gas to welder, to this in the link, just clamp your - or + lead to it anyway u like. i use my rod stinger
https://www.ebay.com/itm/19054369146...Cclp%3A2334524

[IROCZman15]

this is awesome help guys; huge thank you, I very much appreciate it. I am on a quest to get everything figured out, even if it takes a while.

The bypass is interesting, I had no idea about that, I might give it a shot since it is a cheap method to help troubleshoot things while I troubleshoot things! ha!!

I reached out to the ebay seller to see if he is willing so sell me a replacement hose, maybe at a reduced cost, because the day i got the torch+hose from him, I checked it and it would not plug in, it was too fat in diameter but only by a small amount. At that time he offered that I could return it and he would send me a new one, OR I could file it down to fit. We decided to try filing it down but he still expressed that he would do whatever he could to make it right if needed. It does appear my torch is fine, so hopefully I can get a hose. OR, as mentioned above, I could get the fittings to re-make my hose and it would just wind up a little bit shorter. I don't have a crimper tool in that style, so I would have to source one out or ask some friends/neighbors.

allbrighttree. that sounds like exactly what I think might have occurred. A loose connection inside the brass dinse fitting caused an arc. I fully agree. Even when I twisted the dinse in It was able to spin with a finger touch, it never got "snug". I do indeed want to buy a gas cup, just planned on getting one in the future. Glad to hear that Orion repair is a good place, I am hoping it does not come to me having to drop off the welder for repair, as I am like most of you guys, and I enjoy troubleshooting, repairs, and successes that come from the process. I see you are in Northern NJ and have been to Praxair in Dover also. That has been my go to shop for a few years, otherwise I have been to the County Welding Supply over on Wharton. I live in Roxbury.
_ This is the torch and hose I bought back in April
https://www.ebay.com/itm/323565468064?var=512590313424
With the 35-70 dinse.
If the ebay link doesn't work, this is the title of the item: 17 Series 150 A Air Cooled TIG Torch INLINE Gas Connector- Welders with solenoid on ebay.

[Meltedmetal]

I could get the fittings to re-make my hose and it would just wind up a little bit shorter. I don't have a crimper tool in that style, so I would have to source one out or ask some friends/neighbors.

The pressure in that hose is likely only a few psi unless your torch has a valve even then it not likely to rise over 50 psi with the valve closed. If your careful you could re-use the existing fittings and secure the hose with a hose clamp from the auto parts store. It depends how much time you have to spend.

[albrightree]

USAWELD :

Just the cable: SUPER-FLEX POWER CABLE FOR 9 & 17 SERIES AIR-COOLED TIG TORCHES Product # 1512PCSF






The whole torch :

17 SERIES (150A) AIR-COOLED TORCH W/35 DINSE POWER CONNECTION & FLOW THRU GAS
Product # 1712FT-35D





Joe at Praxair in Dover never really has any tig torches in stock, Matt at County usually has Miller torches in stock(weldcraft I think?) but aren't cheap. If you have time you should go to the new "All gas welding supply" in Andover/Newton on RT206, they carry a full line of Miller, Lincoln, and CK torches and parts. They also have good prices on gases, and tanks. The really good part is they are open from 8-12 on saturdays. Praxair has never been open Saturdays , County used to be , but last time I went they weren't(about a year ago).

All Gas the store :





Roxbury ? I work at a factory in Flanders, by the Shop-Rite.

small world.

best of luck

[IROCZman15]

awesome thank you! I am going to dig into this more next week. Work has been hectic recently and tonight I went to Island Dragway to watch Team Texas from Street Outlaws NoPrep Kings do some 8th mile testing. Tomorrow morning I leave for a big autocross racing event I am competing in, way out in Pennsylvania and i won't be home until late Sunday. I am super thankful to learn of that welding place up in newton, but I am afraid I will spend a fortune there if I go there without a game-plan/list. Nonetheless, thanks, I will be getting back to the welder stuff next week, for sure.

[IROCZman15]

So, the original ebay seller was kind enough to send me a new hose mostly because from day-1 when i got the hose/dinse/torch setup, it was unwilling to go into the machine without some hand filing. Might have made the connection weak or unsteady. So the seller sent me a new hose and dinse connector.

and

THE WELDER IS BACK IN ACTION! I can TIG weld steel and it is working exactly as it was before. DC neg and DC positive is working properly; however still, jut as before, no luck getting it to work with Aluminum in AC mode. So, i am going to enjoy doing steel TIG practice for a while longer, and maybe I will eventually get the AC mode working, and maybe I will have to have the welder looked at by a professional repair shop like Orion.

I definitely DO want to stop by that All Gas welding supply store in Dover, thats on my list !

The other thing i want to do/buy is a tig welding cart. I had originally thought about building my own, but with race season in full swing and house projects, work, etc I might be better off buying a cheap cart and then modifying it if needed. I would like to spend less than $100 for a working TIG cart. I have an 80 cf argon tank. I do not think its safe to haev the heavy welder on an angle, so I prefer the flat mount style. I like the low-profile style cart better, because I have shelves at 44" above where the welders are in the garage. I also do not like the thought of having a top-heavy setup if I am wheeling it around the garage. The Miller EconoTig measures 13" across, 23" deep, and 18" tall. So, it is pretty big. I did some searching online and on this forum for "miller econotig cart" and didn't find much because this is a 20+ year old welder.

My first choice was this one: https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-lo...=google&wv=3.1
and even though the welder is dimensionally bigger than the top platform, I could make a platform on top of the existing one that will hold the big econotig. Yet, it also doesn't have hooks, or extras on it.



Here are a few other possible choices, but most are either two expensive or do not have the features i want:

https://www.weldingoutfitter.com/pro...BoCTr8QAvD_BwE


https://www.usasafety.com/mig-invert...hoCBuUQAvD_BwE

[albrightree]

There's a new Harbor freight in Mansfield between the walmart, and the Shop-Rite. Not too far out of the way when going to Island Dragway. I'm on the other side of the Great Meadow in Townsbury, I can hear you guys ripping it up at night when I'm working outside. Sounds like fun.

BTW All Gas is in ANdover NJ(Newton Rt 206) not Dover(Rockaway)

Before you send your unit out for repair , try buying some known good 6061 aluminum from Mcmaster carr or Grainger , some of the stuff you get at Home Depot or hardware store just doesn't want to weld.

Good luck

[IROCZman15]

Ah, yes, I miswrote that. Brain Fart. I remember that you said Newton and that was what I should have wrote. My good friend bought a nice big house in Newton (somewhere back behind Sussex County College area) and I helped him move in and do some projects. However, I haven't been back there in some months, but next time I go visit him, I will be certain to stop at the welding supply!

Also, you might be totally right about the quality of the aluminum! I thought about this early on back when I first tested the welder, but quickly dismissed the thought. But, pretty much all of the aluminum pieces I have tried to weld have been scrap pieces from work, and I have no idea what # or type of actual aluminum it is. It sure is cheap looking and feeling, and white-ish in color. I don't think you could polish it even with a machine. So, I agree with ya, before I go bringing the welder for an evaluation/repair, I should get some good quality aluminum and see how the welder functions. Very excellent point.


Lastly, if anyone has any input or suggestions on a good, cheap, low-profile, flat cart for the econotig, please feel free to chime in! Thanks!

[123weld]

Ah, yes, I miswrote that. Brain Fart. I remember that you said Newton and that was what I should have wrote. My good friend bought a nice big house in Newton (somewhere back behind Sussex County College area) and I helped him move in and do some projects. However, I haven't been back there in some months, but next time I go visit him, I will be certain to stop at the welding supply!

Also, you might be totally right about the quality of the aluminum! I thought about this early on back when I first tested the welder, but quickly dismissed the thought. But, pretty much all of the aluminum pieces I have tried to weld have been scrap pieces from work, and I have no idea what # or type of actual aluminum it is


Lastly, if anyone has any input or suggestions on a good, cheap, low-profile, flat cart for the econotig, please feel free to chime in! Thanks!

u' should know if ur "high freq" is working or not, just by the sound. there is a distinctive difference. it should litterally sound like a frankenstein expermint, or standing in the middle of a edison plant sub station on a foggy day. u cant mistake it.. if u cant hear the diff, ur hf isnt on/working . my stand is a shelf i made to slide in a cheap engine stand. its perfect angle/height/and one front wheel gets in tight areas. maybe shorten it for urs, as might be top heavy. strap bottle to wall near elect outlet, and run green inert gas hose the lenght of ur cord - can zip tie them together. i dont like carts w/ bottles on them. dragging weight is a drag. i suppose if the outlet were overhead, id put a bottle on a cart though

[IROCZman15]

Interesting! I can't recall hearing that sound, and from the way you describe it, I would certainly know it if I did hear it. Maybe, I will try to film a short video clip next time I get the TIG welder setup. I'd be using an iphone, so I am not sure if it will capture the scene properly, but hopefully it will. Then if someone sees/hears something is awry with my setup, maybe they could point it out to me. Also, you idea of leaving the bottle strapped to something other than the welding cart is something I also thought of and still might do. Cool, thank you

[123weld]

heres a guy w/ a machine like urs, doing it. does ur "hf start " work on dcen? in other words, do u need to scratch start, or can u make the arc jump start w/ the foot pedal

[ccawgc]

Ok. two things, I think you are on the right track with getting some known good metal. Your welds to me look like the metal is dirty or contaminated.
Second thing, clean your tungsten with a scotch brite pad. Remove any dirt or oxides from the length of the tungsten. Color should change to silver. pull tungsten through the pad. all scratches should go along the rod, not across.
Just had a customer that couldn't figure out why his AL welds were bad. turned out the contamination was coming from the tungsten. In DC his arc jumped off the side up from the tip and in AC the arc was ok but all the welds had black crusties along one edge. His tungsten was black. After I cleaned it it started welding correctly.
After welding dirty AL, the dirt builds up on the tungsten and needs to be cleaned off.
Prep of the weld joint is everything. what is used to clean with is just as important.
Some cleaning pads will contaminate the weld zone.
ON the operation of the welder. IF this welder welds DC correctly it should weld in AC . Provided the HF stays on in AC. This welder switches between HF start and HF continuous when welder is switched from DC to AC. Should be able to see the HF jump from your torch if you just barely press the foot control. Two basic versions of this welder. the older one let the foot control go from 0 to max. Newer welders the foot control adjust from 0 to panel control setting. If the control pcb has been changed the older welders were changed to work like the newer ones.

[IROCZman15]

123weld: Luckily the style foot pedal I have allows me to start the HF weld in all welding processes. I did get curious to see what would happen if I scratch started it, and while it did work, it was not something I will be doing going forward. So, the pedal can start the HF weld in AC and DC +/-

ccawgc: So I agree with you that it looks like the metal surfaces are dirty, the result also looks that way every time I do it. I followed your suggestions just yesterday while filming the below video. I used a brand new wire brush (dedicated for brushing aluminum only) as well as acetone on a scotch-brite pad. I also took your advice and wiped the tungsten rod lengthwise with scotch-brite dipped in acetone. I am using the blue tungsten, its actually all I have, should I buy a different color? From reading your description of how the HF start and HF continuous should be, I can honestly say that the welder does seem to be doing exactly that. I paid a LOT more attention to the sound the welder made based on what 123weld said a few posts ago. In AC HF mode, it does sound a bit like a wild science experiment. I hope that the noise can be heard around 10:26 in this video. So, to me, it does "sound" like it is working correctly. I am going to have to look deeper into what PCB this EconoTig has. I am thinking that it is the older style, where the foot pedal can go from "0-100%" instead of "0%-the max setting of the knob".



I had a few minutes yesterday to make a video detailing the situation.

Sometimes I may not convey things right with writing it here, but maybe the sight/sound of the video can help. Feel free to skip ahead to the 9 minute mark to see what is happening with AC HF aluminum. I wish I had a person to hold the iphone camera, so I apologize for the shaky raw video. I was in a rush, but wanted to make the video for you guys. Usually I have a sitting stool and better setup vice/clamps, but not during this quick session.

[Nasher]

Hi, I just picked up the Linde 160 too. I didn't come with a torch. What torch came with yours?. I have a copy of the instruction manual for it if you would like a copy.

[albrightree]

Everything sounds about right, except I can't hear the hiss of the shielding gas. What cfm are you running at ? I would expect a minimum of 15 to 20 cfm. By the looks of it you might have too long an arc, too low of gas flow at the torch, or bad metal. 'The sound, and the arc able to start and maintain itself in AC means the HF is working..It also seems to start on hf in DC. Step on the pedal and let go to see what the flow gauge is reading. I cant really see but the tungsten doesn't seem to be blackened, or burned off, so you have gas coverage at the tungsten. Ok , I take that back, I can see the tungsten.
At around 11:10 in the video your tungsten still in good shape after two tries on the aluminum looks good, and hasn't even begun to ball or burn , or blacken. Even the aluminum doesn't have a lot of blackening(usually a result of low gas shielding). It is also seemingly about an inch away from the aluminum when you start the arc, you should only be about twice the thickness of the the tungsten away (about 3/16") . Even when you were doing steel, it was very gray and oxidized. You haven't mentioned dipping the tungsten yet, which is really common when starting TIG welding. I think think for the most part the machine is good. Try holding the tungsten as close to the aluminum as possible and increase the pedal until you ger a shiny puddle. Crank the Knob up to 10 or 100 or whatever the full setting of the machine is and pulse the pedal all the way to the floor until it goes silvery, and round. That was a good video, it was very helpful. I?m just guessing long arc mostly.

Good luck

[IROCZman15]

Nasher: The gun that came with my Linde is a Union Carbide MT-200 and it seems to work great. I did buy some new nozzles and tips for it, but other than that, it has served me well so far. Here is a photo of the name/model and you can see photos of it on page 1 of this thread. Also, yes, wow, a copy of the user manual would be awesome! It might have some info I may need if I ever have to repair or replace parts. If you wanted to email me photos of the manual, that could work. Feel free to send me a Private message and I will share my email address with you! Thanks






albrighttree: thanks again for the help along the way. The argon is flowing at 15 cfm according to the flow meter. I am certain that it is flowing, because in fact, a short while after I filmed that video, I ran the argon cylinder out of gas. So I have to go out on Friday and get a new tank of Argon, probably over to All County Welding Supply in Wharton since it is only 5 minutes away.
- I fully agree with you that during that short video recording, i was not practicing proper arc distance. I was working haphazardly and at one time trying to stand on one foot while use the other foot to work the pedal and also film with one hand and tig with the other. Usually I am much closer to the metal, and often times I dip the tungsten. I have tried both methods (really far away and really close) and everything in between. If I get too close and spoil the tungsten I typically will clean it, but i did not stop to do that during the video as It would be a waste of viewer's time. I did film a short 1 minute video that same day, again, just to capture the arc sound for you guys. I did not initially upload the video here because the torch, cup, tungsten, etc were all filthy and certainly not something I am ok with. However, the video does capture the sound, which to me does sound like HF AC process.
Here is the video:

- no matter what I have tried, I have not ever seen the aluminum turn to a shiny piddle. All I have ever gotten is the burned black/white craters in the base-metal and no puddle. If I can get even one single puddle, I'll be elated and then I can work the problem from there.

I am also confused because the aluminum scrap that I am taking home from work, can be welded. What I have are pieces/cutoff's from aluminum such as in these photos below. So even though I do plan on getting some high quality aluminum, I am puzzled because the metal in the below photos shows that it can be welded, but just not by me with the EconoTig.





Whew, if I could get it to do that, i would be suuuuper happy.

[123weld]

well, if you tried everyhing everyone said, and still no go, then, lookin at it, and what ur sayin, i wonder if something is wrong w/ the, "ac balance". i didnt see a knob/adjustment for it when u showed front panel. and having the name econo tig, makes me think, economy machine, maybe it has a built in preset/determined percentage. im just guessing (and actually running out of guesses), that maybe whatever internally controls the % of the two polaritys u'd get, has failed, and maybe ur gettin all/too much neg. and no pos. for cleaning. i never used the color tungsten u are, but i never used a ac inverter either, if thats what ur's is. i use green/pure tunsten, w/ balled end