Can’t weld aluminium ???

[Gudgeon]

I have tried all sorts of different tungstens tbh but nothing changes

 

[Gudgeon]

Has anyone had any experience with these rtech tig welders before ?

 

[Popcorn]

Did you watch that video I linked to earlier ? Are you getting a Arc or is it stuck in High Frequency start mode.
I had this problem with mine (r-tech201) when in AC mode, it wouldn't initiate the arc.

 

[Gudgeon]

Popcorn, yes I did watch the video thanks, it does strike an arc yes but the weld pool never forms and eventually it just blows a hole through the material

 

[Paul.]

What kind of arc length are you maintaining, a short arc is needed to let the AC perform its scavenging effect and lift the residual surface oxide, the oxide has a melting point of around 1800 deg C, whereas the metal is around 600 ish, the arc is cone shaped so the further you are away the wider and less concentrated the arc will be, this will also affect your gas shielding, I think your problems are down to technique. Set the balance at 50, 50, and turn off the pulse, learn to weld before using these features, they are not needed, you can see if you have cleaning simply by running the arc along the material with a short arc and no filler, don't try to create a pool, done correctly you will see the cleaned area where the oxide has lifted,

 

[Gudgeon]

Hi Paul, my arc length is close to the workpiece, I don’t think it’s my technique tbh because as I said in an earlier post I’ve been welding with mig for 30 odd years and can get a good weld with tig on steel but it’s just aluminium I’m struggling with, I’ve tried numerous combinations of balance including 50/50 and I haven’t even used the pulse option as yet, I’ve tried to run a weld without filler wire but it just doesn’t pool and eventually blows the aluminium plate apart

 

[li150ss]

Hi, this wasnt a Rtech, my attempts to form a pool on 4mm ally looking similar to yours. I thought something wrong also especially by noise it was making. Got a lad from work to pop round and straight away he ran a bead.Didnt touch anything settings wise. This was a couple of years ago, only thing i noticed him do different was he seemed to move torch in small circles till he got a pool going,thats how i saw it anyway

 

[oggy]

Im no expert but does look like a lack of gas to me, have you checked how much gas is coming out the torch end ?

 

[Gudgeon]

Hi Paul, tried the tig set up as you said again just run a bead and still looks aweful, as oggy said above I’m wondering about the gas ... what do you think ?

 

[Gudgeon]

Li150ss, it might be me but I’ve tried all sorts to try and cure the problem but to no avail

 

[Pete.]

Strip the torch head down and re-uild it making sure the seals are all present and everything is snugged up. You have contamination there which is either coming from the gas or the material.

 

[Gudgeon]

Hi Pete, it’s a brand new torch, I’ve even got another torch and tried that ... I really don’t get it

 

[Pete.]

Do it anyway. Somewhere between the bottle and the cap air is getting into the gas stream. Might even be an internal connection on thegas valve. I know you're using disposable bottles but do you have a flow meter on it?

 

[Shox Dr]

Its not easy to find leaks at times, esp if its in the leads.
A No8 cup with a Schrader valve, makes it easy to pressurise them.


I use a MTB suspension pump to inflate, this keeps the valve open to the gauge so you can see it leaking down

 

[Gudgeon]

That’s a good idea Shox I’ll try that

 

[Gudgeon]

No Pete I’m not using a flow meter

 

[li150ss]

Hi Paul, tried the tig set up as you said again just run a bead and still looks aweful, as oggy said above I’m wondering about the gas ... what do you think ?

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i only know from what i have learned from this forum, just passing on what happened to me. unfortunately i wouldnt know if it was gas or faulty machine or settings etc. Im sure the lads on here will eventually get you there

 

[li150ss]

Just had a play with mine, white 2.4 tungstens, one laid down tried with no gas burnt back to blueish colour, new tungsten in torch turned gas to 8lpm and ran a bead ..ish. Under bead is bit i tried with no gas

 

[Stupoty]

Hi munkul, it welds fine on steel, I just can’t get a pool to form at all with aluminium, the tungsten starts off pointing but ends up with a ball on the end, it seems like there’s no penetration then if you keep on the power the plate blows away

Have you tried some other ally ?

I started to practice ally on some sheet ally I had , stuff looks exactly like your welds.

I think the material I had has a very heavy contamination in / on it or is a non weldable ally.

Went with some other material I had kicking about for practice and they came out nice and shinny

(also the aggressive nature of initial pool formation before it gets going was a surprises having only done DC steel before )


Stu

 

[Gudgeon]

Li50ss, that weld without gas looks exactly like my effort you know, I wish I could get a weld like the one you’ve done with your gas