Hey EVW, I've had an Aerowave since November. I'm still trying different setting on the AC side to get the optimum performance. AC works great but the DC GTAW isn't that impressive and I did a small job to
MIL-STD-278 with 7018 and it is down right poor on SMAW. Do your Aerowaves hum or buzz when on DC GTAW?
Also what did you mean when you said they didn't last long? Never ran the TA. Ted
I've never operated an Aerowave but I've been using a ProWave 300GTSW for the past few months. This Thermal Arc machine is quite an improvement over my old Lincoln IdealArc 250/250. The TA has a very stable arc at low as well as high currents. My welds on aluminum, which were just passable with my IdealArc, have begun to look almost professional in quality as I've gained more experience with the 300GTSW - the balance control and variable frequency help out a lot. The pulse control is an amazing feature. A couple of days ago I experimented with welding pieces of 1" tubing with 1/16" wall thickness to a piece of 3" dia. round bar x 1-1/2" long - without preheating the round bar. My initial welds were crummy looking but after the round bar heated up, the welds looked passable. This was done with the pulse rate turned up to 200; I had no burn through of the light wall tubing.
The ProWave 300TSW appears to be similar to the older 300GTSW model except that the 300TSW has digital readouts of the adjustments that are made by multifunction selector switches, much like the Dynasty welders. My 300GTSW has an individual knob for adjusting the value of each function.
I think that the AeroWave, with its ability to adjust each leg of AC current, must be a fantastic machine. I also am curious about your statement that ". . . they just don't seem to last long." What does that mean?
LarryL
Hey Larry, try a little Helium when working on heavy sections. Leave the setting where you put them to work well with Argon but add about five cf of he- makes a big difference. Ted
My statment abut them not lasting long the machine its self seems to break down alot there is a boerd in the machine I believe they call it the igbt board they are always burning out.Some of our machines go out 4-5 times in their 3 year waranty,then after the waranty is up it cost a bundle to repair them when they go out again.
Were all your machines bought at the same time? And how about the buzzing/humming on DC?
To answer your question TRC all the machine were bought over four year span the most recent being 4 months ago.Also I don't seem to be getting a humming noise on dc.
I've not heard of anyone elses buzz/hum on Dc. I have the Miller rep coming in at the end of the month to check it out. Thanks for the reply- Ted
The boards on the older miller aircrafters used to burn out alot too. the gas solenoid was one and one other function. The board from miller back then was like 300.00+ and we found a local electronics firm to rebuild them for around 45.00. We always had spare boards. Was worth it because those machines did awesome welds on aluminum.
Did you leave your HF on continous?
Seems dumb but could be an answer.
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