V205T Lincoln

Date 10-31-2005 16:34

Make sure you are on Straight polarity, Electrode Negative. If not, you will burn the tip off even faster than you would if you were on AC.

gls

By Anthony James (*)

Date 11-01-2005 08:02

V205T will not fire up on pos,lol.

By OSUtigger (**)

Date 11-01-2005 18:55

If the machine will not put out a current on electrode positive, and is burning tips on EN, then the problem is probably related. I am not familiar with the machine itself (ANY inverter should put out a EP current, either by setting a switch or by switching the work and ground), but I will bet that a diode is fried. How does it do on AC? HF is way too low of an amperage to actually cause any melting on anything thicker than a tinfoil gum wrapper, so I doubt it is that.

I am thinking about getting one of these machines in the future and would appreciate knowing what the problem actually is when you find it. Thanks.

gls

By Anthony James (*)

Date 11-02-2005 09:00

no inverter tech machine will put out ep.as we are talking about TIG welding NOT electrode.EP will blow! tungsten away.
Most machines have 2 safety(also non invertec)
1.No gas,wont fire up.
2.wrong polarity,Tungsten+ Wont fire up.

To reclarify,I like to weld with very sharp Tungsten.This is what i am used to .What i am experiencing is when i start up or after i have been welding for a short while The point is gone.either it is burning off or being blasted of with start up.
1.i have pre purge turned up1.5 sec
2. start up amps so low as will go
3.after purge 6sec as i also do quite a lot alluminium work
After stopping welding point inspection reveals small shiny ununiform point, no longer sharp,and i am not happy as i can not direct the arc as i would like.....

cheers AJ

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 11-02-2005 13:00

Anthony,

Some high tech welding power supplies have a brief pulse of reverse polarity (measured in milliseconds) incorporated into the GTAW arc starting sequence. The length and power of that pulse may be adjustable by an internal potentiometer. Some inverters do not use high frequency at all but rather employ a capacitor discharge with that little pulse of DCEP added to help the arc jump. I have experienced machines that will indeed shine the end of a tungsten when not operating properly or with a factory pot setting for larger electrodes.

So the end condition of your electrodes could be explained by an power supply out of adjustment or a bad diode.

If the above is the case you will need an experienced Lincoln service rep to verify, advise and adjust or repair your power supply.

Folks out there with older vintage Aerowave and Dynasty power supplies are quite aware of the condition you are experiencing. I can't speak for Lincoln but thats where I would start looking.

By OSUtigger (**)

Date 11-02-2005 17:14

Sorry, I have never encountered a TIG that would not allow EP, as I have always rounded the tips of my Pure tungs on EP rather than heating up the spot on the piece or the table by blasting 250 amps of AC. I did not realize that this was internally prevented, and it will definitely play a part in my own consideration of the machine itself. Thank you.

From the way you were describing the tip after starting the arc, I understood that the point was not even there, and it was rounded. Is this the case, as in the radius of the tip is equal to the diamter of the electrode, or is it a case where upon close inspection, there is no longer a needle point but still a cone that has a slight rounded tip? I don't think that you can expect there to be a perfect needle point after welding, only a pretty good one, and will probably depend more on the quality of the tungsten than it will on the machine itself.

If you don't think this is the case, I would go to what Lawrence said and just take it to the service guys.

gls

By Anthony James (*)

Date 11-02-2005 17:44

Thankyou OSU/Lawrence for your input,did just that went to my Lincoln dealer today.Appears that if i had a DC only machine this would not be happening,the fact that it is also AC mess's it up.Not sure on tech,Think because of inverter.Looks like i will have to get used to it and buy a reserve wheel for my bench grinder.

Cheers Anthony

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 11-02-2005 17:49

Anthony.

If your Lincoln dealer is telling you that you will "just have to get used to" the tips of your electrodes rounding off after a single arc start he is not doing his job very well.

That machine ought to start a 0.040 tungsten sharpened to a fine tip at about 40 amps all the way down to about 3 amps with no effect on the tip at all after dozens of arc starts. If you are being told otherwise go up the ladder at Lincoln until you find a competent agent. You bought Lincolns flagship inverter Tig Machine it should perform well.

Before you ship off your machine, do try a fresh 2% thorium electrode from a manufacturer that you trust just to make sure bad electrodes aren't the culprit.

Edit: FYI. NOTE: (The Invertec V205-T AC/DC cannot be used
for Electrode Positive TIG welding without special adapters.)http://content.lincolnelectric.com//pdfs/products/navigator/im/IM728.pdf

By OSUtigger (**)

Date 11-02-2005 19:29

Thanks Lawrence, thats what I was wondering. I can get used to blasting a pure tung with high amp AC, but I get a little worried when I am required by a machine's inherent design to use certain equipment, especially equipment that can not be purchased piecewise (for instance, I recently realized that I must purchase an entire A-arm or go on a junk yard hunt in order to find a M18-1.5 castle nut for the front axle of my truck. Why? Because GM decided to use a castlenut that doesn't exist in the US). I just keep promising myself that if I ever engineer something like that, my own father will cuss me into my own grave...

Again, thanks to you both for the info.

gls

By Anthony James (*)

Date 01-03-2006 21:52

Hi all,
Just to fill you in on the saga of my new machine,V205T.Got a load of Cryogenic work,17.5mm/1mm wall,100% x-ray.Well i hadn't used machine for a while as i had been working away,set my machine up,6amp start 25amp weld current,1.6mm red tungsten and guess what its still blowing the point off,leaving a litlle ball.After 2 pipes of figthing to control arc called my dealers electrical dep and they came round expecting it to be small problem maybe down to me and my inexperience with machine,which is very possible.But they couldnt sort it out!technician called Lincoln Holland cos a guy there had a hand in developing machine,only to hear "Yes we know about problem of blowing point off and we don't have a solution as yet,but 2006 model V205-T problem has been solved" The technician looking a bit foolish said its the first that he has heard of the problem with this model.They have lent me a 160 amp dc machine so that i can get my work finished,no cost,which i am very happy about as i have 97 of these pipes to weld.But still leaves me with a machine that i find useless for the type of work i am doing at the moment,and if work goes good alot more on the way.Machine is made in Italy,are your machines made there also?Has anyone on this forum got a V205-T and has it got the same problem?Are your machines made in USA?
By the way i bought complete machine with water cooler,so as i have only been working for myself now 20 months it was a pretty big investment for me,and this is the first good job(x-ray work) i have pulled in and i feel let down.Very very dissapointed!!!
Comments,Advice appreciated
So much for Lincolns flagship!

Cheers now
Anthony James
P.S
I am what you call an "A"welder coded in Carbon,SS,Duplex,Zeron 100X,Cro-Mo,Monel 400,Inconel 625,Sicromal.GTAW,SMAW,FCAW,STT.

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 01-03-2006 23:16

It can be hard but my advice is to insist that you be given a machine that will perform as advertized and to your satisfaction or return your money in full, and most importantly, it must happen at once.

The loaner thing is fine if they can provide a 2006 model in the next week or two to replace your lemon machine.

If you can go back and get names and quotes of the Lincoln folks who acknowledged your problem and use that information as a club if necessary to drive them to do the right thing.

I'm near the end (I think) of a year long warrenty battle with Lincoln and our local vendor over a Percision TIG 375 that is a certifiable lemon. Once I contacted the right people, Lincoln was quick to get the ball rolling on a replacement power supply with no further charge to me. I don't think Lincoln has a problem honoring the claims they make, but sometimes local sales folks don't have the ability to get the job done so you must politely step past them and move up the chain of command.

I think with the loner machine they are showing some pretty good faith and that your on the right track. Just make sure you are not put off for any significant length of time.

By Anthony James (*)

Date 01-04-2006 08:01

Many thanks Lawrence,
Should be talking to sales rep today over problem,and was from plan to use that approach.After all it is a 3 star dealership and as i recently bought a 350C Pro MiG machine,they can either keep me happy or lose a customer.

Bye for now
AJ

By Anthony James (*)

Date 01-06-2006 11:11

Well my machine is going back to Lincoln Holland.
It appears that it starts up on pos then changes to neg and the delay is just that bit to long,which is reason why it blows point of.So fingers crossed when i get it back it will be the machine that i expected.
Once again thanks for input.

Anthony James

By ridesideways (*)

Date 01-14-2006 19:39

i can't believe i found this thread here. i bought the v205t last week from weldingsupply.com, paid $2400, and today discovered that DC tig was melting the point of the tungsten. now i find this thread. what the hell... am i going to have to send my brand new machine off for a repair?

i used a miller dynasty 300dx all during school and never had a problem like this.

i get one or two starts in DC tig and the point is gone. i'm using 1/16" La-1.5% tungsten.

By billvanderhoof (****)

Date 01-15-2006 05:19

I think that this thread at least provides some evidence to use in arguing that your machine was shipped with a defect that should be repaired under warrenty.
Bill

By Anthony James (*)

Date 03-25-2006 11:02

Hi from across the pond,
Well the final part in my saga v205T,Asked and got a FULL refund,was interested in trying Miller Dynasty but couldn't.Due to work commitments.Went to exhibition in Utrecht hoping they would be there but no.
So i bought for an exhibition price Fronius Magic wave 2200 AC/DC,
fantastic machine comes from Austria.
Ridesideways,You got to insist on your money back.
Cannot understand the marketing strategy from lincoln,if this was a car they would have recalled all of the machines,but instead my local dealer has dropped price from 4,900 ex tax to 2,850 for machine including water cooling,Says it all really!
Good luck RSW

Anthony James

By devo

Date 01-08-2007 20:01

I bought a V205T in 04/06. The literature states that the machine is made to use 2% thoriated electrodes for DC and AC. Having an aversion to radioactive dust, I use 2% ceriated electrodes and have never had a problem with electrode tips blowing off.