everlast powertig 185DV AC Problem

Hi ,

im new here but been welding for a couple years now , just purchased a brand new everlast powertig 185dv to practice some aluminium tig at home. first out of the box did some steel bead trying everything on the dc side of the machine ( worked perfect as expected from a brand new machine ). then try the ac side of it, now the fun begins, did a few bead noticing something strange like if mid weld the arc will suddenly go off and back on in a unstable fashion. at first i tought it might be me but i didnt dip the tungsten at all. so i started the idiot check list from the top , made sure that my ground is good ( undo the dinse plug tighten the lug and did a ohm check with a meter on it ( perfect result ) ) , did the same with the torch lead, next i made sure i had no leak on my argon line and double check for cfh, next tried both with gas lens and standard cup , tried both with the finger switch or the pedal , same result . the arc start good with th HF and then start stuttering . the longer i watch the arc going crazy i realise that the arc does not really go off it kinda stay on very low and then like a pulse go back up again in a non stable action. And then i realise that at the very momment the arc go down i can see the ball on the tungsten beeing formed and pull to the material as if the arc lost is dcen side and became only dcep for a second ( pulse is off btw) .To add to the weirdnest if i start the arc and start moving right away it seems to help keeping the arc constant ??? but still do the stuttering after 3 inch of weld. At this point i contacted everlast support ( wicht was very quick to respond ) and they made me do the idiot check all over witch i did ( cause i really wish this is an operator error and not a machine issue ). im looking for some more insight here. i already found forum with the same exact problem but no answer to the problem except they had to ship it back paying for the shipping. i mean its a brand new machine. hope you can help me here maybe i overlook something, hope im the dumbdumb here.

here is a video off the probleme just trying to get a pubble going : https://youtu.be/Uy_7EcKbw3U

and setting and setup :
plug on 120v
80amp on AC
3/32 , 2%lanthanated tungsten ( blue)
1/16 stick out electrode
1/16 tips to work distance
25cfh
100% argon
no.5 standard cup
pulse off
30%cleaning
150Hz

Well,

Upload a pic of your tungsten prepped and sharpened to a point, as well as the TIG torch itself ready to go.

Stick out can still extend to about 1/4" (so you can see the actual better) with a #5 cup and no gas lens at 10 CFH of 100% Argon (not C25).

AC Frequency at 150Hz could be a little high for learning AC TIG on, but, maybe not. Try 100HZ for starters.

Hold a tight arc, at about 1/16". Practice filler advancing even before you do it in actual welding practice.

Make sure you don't have any amount of downslope set, even if using a pedal.

Let us see some pics of your beads on DC, too.

I've personally never used dual voltage units. can you plug it into a 220 and see if you get same results?
I'd turn the gas down to 15 with a #5 cup, to much gas might be causing disturbance..can you notice gas flow at the torch?...I usually look at twice (cfm) the size of the cup. and the frequency might help you out at 100. (hi freq is a narrow arc). cleaning would be set at about the 9 o'clock position on my everlast analog unit. I don't want to sound rude, but are the leads in properly? (torch negative) and the torch assembled properly (all O rings in place). Proper torch angle and push the puddle. I tried to run beads before I added any filler...the learning curve is a bit different from other methods of welding. all the best and keep us posted.

You are over rectifying the puddle. That is why. You are staying in the same place or moving too slowly. Move on forward.

allright ,
so i was able to do more test on the machine , turn out im a complete goof ball ( as i was hoping ) .much cfh , enough post flow to keep your tungsten clean ( i mean keep your tungsten clean ) and enough amp to get a quick puddle. i didnt know how peculiar an AC arc was at lower amp , everytime i welded aluminium with other machine was 150 amp and up so i guess the higher amperage help clean up any mess that is on your tungsten. so i think the main mistake i did was not taking care enough of my tungsten and not running enough amp for the material thickness. so now machine is running awesome heres some pic i did today , im really stoked to be able to practice aluminium on 120v outlet. sorry about all this, i think a was too excited to get the machine running the first time and didnt take care about the basic stuff. thanks a lot all for the support !Attachment 13976Attachment 13975

Nice,

You're going now.

Everlast dual-voltage units do very well on 120V power.

My 210EXT does 125 amps (maybe more) on a 20 amp breaker at an unattached garage that has no 220/240V.