Syncrowave 250dx ac balance question?

Date 09-23-2012 21:32

Finally got to try out my welder Friday night and well I'm in love :grin:

I never remember it welding this smooth in shops I've worked at but I guess I never had a new machine either. I always got stuck with the ones covered in grinding dust and were ran extremely hard by about a 1000 different welders.

I was playing with the ac balance which is the penetration for the aluminum. I maxed it out at the number 10 which is full penetration and no cleaning action and well on 1/8 inch thick aluminum it didn't go to well. I was able to kinda find a happy medium at about 4-5 on the ac balance where it looked pretty good and I was able to feel a slight bulge on the back side of the aluminum so it is penetrating some but not getting suck back. I guess i'd like to know is for 1/8 inch aluminum plate what do yall like to have the ac balance set at??

I am by no means a expert here on aluminum tig but would really like to be able to get pretty good with it. I've tig plenty of stainless but not much aluminum, so I'm all ears for pointers to get better with it. Can't say enough good things about this new machine which I doubt I will ever grow out of.

By Smo-man 2 Date 09-23-2012 22:09

I would start mine out @ about 6 welding 1/8 alum,but here again two machines are seldom the same.The Syncro is a very good machine. :cool:

By Chris2626 (***)

Date 09-23-2012 22:29

I'll try and bump it up to 6 next time I try it out and see how it looks. Thanks

By Blaster (***)

Date 09-24-2012 04:43 Edited 09-24-2012 04:51

Almost regardless of the joint type, I think you will normally get your best arc and puddle control if you use as much EN as possible. I like to stop just short of the point where the weld starts to appear skuzzy.

I say almost regardless of joint type because in the case of an open root butt joint with relieved backing to catch or provide a backing gas, too much EN will make the arc more prone to jumping to the backing rather than staying at the bottom of the bevels of the joint.

The labelling on the Miller power sources of "Max Clean" and "Max Pen" are not the best IMO. I would label them "more EP" and "more EN" myself. I have seen many a welder trying to combat burn through problems do the seemingly natural thing and turn the control away from "Max Pen". The problem is when you do this the arc widens out. Given a consistant arc length, this results in a wider arc cone and bead that makes it even more dificult to prevent burning through while still achieving full pen at the root.

Less negative also puts more heat on the electrode, causing the end to melt and/or ball up, lowering its current carrying capability, and/or requiring the use of a larger diameter electrode.

When I do T or lap joints on 1/16" or .040" aluminum, I like all the EN I can use that will still allow adequate cleaning... and the max AC output frequency is so equipped. I also like a high frequency pulsed current (a couple hundred to 500 cycles) if the machine has the capability.

At least on the Synch 250s built a decade or more ago, I generally run the AC balance at max negative or very close to it.

By Tommyjoking (****)

Date 09-24-2012 18:55 Edited 09-24-2012 18:59

I like blasters reply but just set it where it is comfortable for you as far as how it carries the puddle. Personally most of the time on those machines I am set around 6-7 and just go with it. Each machine even in the same year and model has a little personality to it and is a bit different. That knob is NOT going to control arc profiles and puddling characteristics like a dynasty can...just saying. If I was going to buy a new tig I would have went with the same choice if not the the 350lx with pulse. That is a fantastic tig and it really can burn SMAW very well. I also love how low an amperage it will carry a stable arc on DC or AC....you can weld some seriously thin stuff with it. THe whole deal with aluminum is it just puddles different and it freezes fast....it will not take you long playing with it/running beads and you will set that knob and probably never touch it again....unless you get some old and dirty AL to weld up. On older boat hulls I usually turn quite a bit to the negative side just so I get more cathodic action going on and you can fight the dirt better.....on clean new material 6-7 always worked right for me. Enjoy yourself and just run beads for a while and it will get easy as anything else.

BTW as far as AL generally goes, I think you would like Ceriated tungsten the best (LWS will probably have to order it). It balls itself and you can actually run a bit of a point on it for finer work (narrow the arc a bit). On DC stuff thoriated is good as anything else.

By Chris2626 (***)

Date 09-24-2012 23:00 Edited 09-24-2012 23:03

Thanks, I was running some beads Sunday and while it looked pretty good I could still see some black specs in it but realize the screen was all boogered up so I bought a new screen today and will give it a go this weekend and see if the weld looks cleaner. I also bought this machine with the pulse as well which I need to read more about in the manual and give it a try. I'm using Thoriated 1/8 inch tungsten because it's what i have. I've thought about trying the 3/32 but the 1/8th seems to be doing fine even with the 1/8 inch aluminum. I think this weekend I'm gonna try it on my boat, i've got a couple of places that seap a little water when fishing, nothing to sink the boat but does drive me crazy.
If I can figure out how the heck to post pictures i'll post some pictures of my welds.

I still haven't tried stick welding with it so hopefully will be able to give it a try this weekend as well. I'm betting it will be a dam smooth.

By TAC

Date 09-24-2012 19:05

I agree with Blaster, except that the Dynasties run better (for me) at or near their factory default settings.

By Stringer (***)

Date 09-26-2012 22:55

I agree with Blaster, also. Max pen on aluminum, but it must be well prepped. Pepper flakes are a sign of weak aluminum weld and usually related to dirt, oil, bad gas, dirty tungsten (I use pure) inadequate shielding, excess amperage, or impatience regarding waiting for the puddle to form. With dirty castings, etc. you'll need a little less 'max pen' but you'll not solve all your problems with that knob.