Sherman 206p several Issues

[Lathinger]

Hi,

I was incredibly happy unboxing my new Sherman 206p after years of working on a simple basic Berlan 200 DC welder. This should be a treat from now on right? Well... There is some issues I just cant get my head around and maybe there is somebody that could help me with that. First off: I'm no slouch when it comes to DC Tig welding, been doing it for years now, semi professional with regular assignments.

I raise you the following scenario: 2mm mild steel - 1s preflow, 10A Starting amps, 0s Starting time, 80A Peak Amps, 1s Downlsope time, 15A Downslope, 1,5s Postflow. Flowmeter says 8l gasflow.

So:

1) The Arc only ignites when the tungsten is like 10mm away from the workpiece. If it was lets say 2mm away it sounds like an old spitfire and it will never ever ignite. Normal or not? Definately very annoying since my 200 bucks DC Tig welder did not do that at all.

2) It doesnt seem to get any power into the weld. When I am test-welding a normal bead it barely melts the steel. Even at 80A it is struggeling a lot. Hence I cant seem to be able to straightforward weld with it since it takes 3-times as long to get a puddle as it did with my cheap old one. (See the attached file: Top is without filler rod, Bottom is with).

3) The 4T welding function cant be turned of. I press it once, it starts, it runs, it cant be turned off again. You could be pressing the button as much as you want.

4) As to be seen in the picture the welder seems to bring in a lot of heat in the surrounding workpiece, instead of the actual bead. This is the same with the tungsten which weirdly turns blue (ergo too hot) without welding much.

I'm slightly heartbroken... Maybe somebody has a suggestion? Does it have to do with the setup of my machine? My old machine couldnt be fiddled around with, I guess it just had a bulletproof ramp for DC welding.

Thank you very much and all the best,

Simon

(PS: Sorry for my english I'm not a native and I don't have autocorrect in this window here)

 

[Lathinger]

Ah and I forgot to add: When I start it at 4T, the starting issues are the same just this time, once it started, it gets the power I'd expect into the work. Just that you cant turn it off again... So maybe it is down to the torch?!

 

[Mark 2]

So, the 4T, 2T, spot button does not cycle?

 

[Hood]

1. No it should ignite when close and likely not at all when 10mm away.
2. As you are used to tig welding I think this unlikely but just in case, you do have the torch plugged into the negative?
3. That is not normal, is it definitely 4T and not stuck in pedal mode?
4. As number 2 (unlikely but... )

 

[Lathinger]

Hi Thank you very much for answering. The 4T, 2T, Spot button does cycle and they do work accordingly, except for the 4T obviously. And for Hood:

1. Yes I know. It works better the further away it gets!? Very weird.
2. Yes it is plugged into negative.
3. Can it be stuck in pedal mode? I have no pedal, and it would show the "remote control LED", right?

I will try calling the people at Sherman tomorrow and most likely be sending it back... It was one of the last cheap ones available on weldes, so I hope to get it fixed instead of refunded. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Menno Bruinen]

Unfortunately you're the chosen one to have one that sneaked trough the QC apparently!
Hope that @www_weldes_de will take care of you with satisfaction.

 

[Nathan Levin]

I am watching with interest as my recently acquiredless than 1 week old Sherman dualmig 210 also has a problem in not delivering gas - has not worked from the beginning, so hopefully will get an idea of the problem from Weldes, i am hoping these are not 2020 QC problems,

 

[Nathan Levin]

Hi Thank you very much for answering. The 4T, 2T, Spot button does cycle and they do work accordingly, except for the 4T obviously. And for Hood:

1. Yes I know. It works better the further away it gets!? Very weird.
2. Yes it is plugged into negative.
3. Can it be stuck in pedal mode? I have no pedal, and it would show the "remote control LED", right?

I will try calling the people at Sherman tomorrow and most likely be sending it back... It was one of the last cheap ones available on weldes, so I hope to get it fixed instead of refunded. I'll keep you posted.

I tried calling today and there was a recorded message saying the number does not exist, so tell me how you get on I used +48 519 714 038 do you have another contact number?

 

[Misterg]

I am a rank amateur, but some thoughts occurred to me.

1) The Arc [...] sounds like an old spitfire and it will never ever ignite.

It doesnt seem to get any power into the weld.

Could this be a bad connection? (e.g. at the torch / ground lead plugs on the welder or somewhere in the torch / ground leads themselves?)

[...] the tungsten which weirdly turns blue (ergo too hot) without welding much.

Is this a gas problem ? Could a lack of gas also affect the arc striking?

Apologies if these comments are not relevant.

 

[Gazz292]

i'm extremely new to tig welding, but have the same welder.

My HF start works close up, i hold the tungsten about 2mm off the metal, press button, i hear the high pitched whine of HF start from the machine for a fraction of a second, then a little pop and the arc is lit,

If i press the button when doing a gas flow test or other reason i'm deliberately not trying to ignite the arc, i hear the whine and buzz of the spark coil/gap in the machine running for about 2 to 3 seconds before it cuts off, and i can smell ozone if i'm close to the machine (an ozone generator works in a similar way to the HF start in a tig)

just wondering if the spark gap part of the high frequency start is not right on your machine.


If the torch button is held down for more than 5 seconds without striking an arc, it goes into remote mode, the green light comes on the machine to indicate that, it beeps a few times and it's now expecting pedal input for current control... hold the button for 5 seconds again to get out of that mode, you get a different beep and the light goes out.


I've not tried 4T mode out on my machine yet.


i've only been welding 1.2 mm mild steel, i have my machine set on DC, no pulse mode (so middle led is lit on the ac / dc / mma selector) and i have 0.5s pre flow, 10 amp start, 0.5 seconds ramp up time, 50 amps peak current, 1 second down slope, 10 amps end current, and 2 seconds post flow. and i have 7lpm gas flow, using a size 7 cup and 2.4mm tungsten, and i melted through the 1.2mm steel earlier.

Is there any chance your argon is contaminated i wonder? but you have another machine so it would show up on that one if that was the case.

 

[Nathan Levin]

Hi Thank you very much for answering. The 4T, 2T, Spot button does cycle and they do work accordingly, except for the 4T obviously. And for Hood:

1. Yes I know. It works better the further away it gets!? Very weird.
2. Yes it is plugged into negative.
3. Can it be stuck in pedal mode? I have no pedal, and it would show the "remote control LED", right?

I will try calling the people at Sherman tomorrow and most likely be sending it back... It was one of the last cheap ones available on weldes, so I hope to get it fixed instead of refunded. I'll keep you posted.

How did you get on with calling them, is your problem sorted out?

 

[Menno Bruinen]

Today I encountered 2 times a not satisfactory HF starting. Both due to bad earth clamp on the object. When it happened there was a high frequentie sound from the welder.
Ofcourse easily solved by making sure there's a good contact point between clamp and object.

Could the topic starter confirm there's no loose connections on the clamp and at the welder itself? Probably a Longshot as you're an experienced TIG welder, but I really want to make the Sherman work for you and everyone else that purchased one!

 

[Lathinger]

SO! It JUST sorted out the problem and it is the weirdest fault. I'm still puzzled. First off - I have been in contact with the people from Sherman and they were straight on it, analysing the problem and sending videos forth and back with me. Good service! But they also could not have found the error. It was mice. Yes. The power outlet the sherman was plugged in to was faulty due to a (now fried) mouse that had a go on one of the distributors (you know - split the juice and stuff) in our workshop. I noticed this after equipping my old welder and voila - the torch suddenly could not be turned of either. Why this is an effect of a faulty power outlet I dont know.... But anyways the Sherman is working silky smooth now. Thank you all for your support, it was not the machine it was our infrastructure. What a puzzling error. But hey - at least an insight: The Sherman Service is hearing you out!

 

[Itwontstick]

SO! It JUST sorted out the problem and it is the weirdest fault. I'm still puzzled. First off - I have been in contact with the people from Sherman and they were straight on it, analysing the problem and sending videos forth and back with me. Good service! But they also could not have found the error. It was mice. Yes. The power outlet the sherman was plugged in to was faulty due to a (now fried) mouse that had a go on one of the distributors (you know - split the juice and stuff) in our workshop. I noticed this after equipping my old welder and voila - the torch suddenly could not be turned of either. Why this is an effect of a faulty power outlet I dont know.... But anyways the Sherman is working silky smooth now. Thank you all for your support, it was not the machine it was our infrastructure. What a puzzling error. But hey - at least an insight: The Sherman Service is hearing you out!

Hi i to having the same problem, when you say power out let do you mean on the welder or power from the electric socket on the wall of the garage.
Thank you