hello folks, i just bought a linde heliarc 250. i have never tig welded before, but got the thing for 300 bucks. i consider myself a capable stick welder of mild steel. the linde didn't come with a foot control or regulator so i haven't even attempted to meddle with that yet. i did try out the stick part though. set the big dial to 35 amp min. (minimum?) and the current control to sixty for what i thought was a total of somewhere around 90 amps. it almost blew up the 3\32 7018 that i tried using first and put near cut through the 1\4 in. plate with the 1\8 in. rod i tried next. the welder i have been using is a lincoln 225\125 AC\DC buzz box. i can't even use 1\8 in. rod with dc on that thing. i'm wondering if there is a way to test the power source of this thing and find out if it is still good. any help would be greatly appreciated. and, if someone would like to explain all the esoteric dials and buttons on the front of this box, i'd love to hear what you have to say.