Hobart tr-250-hf ?

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So I have an older hobart that I have been working with over the years.  I am able to tig steel fairly easily but have yet to figure out aluminum, especially when it comes to a fillet weld.  After looking at some of the new style welders I noticed that they have many MANY more settings and features than what my old hobart has.  Curious if it would be advantageous for me to sell the old welder and purchase a new more modern one.  If you are not familiar with the welder I have it has both AC and DC settings.   DC has DCEN and dcep.  High frequency start with HF control settings along with post flow control . Thats about it.I am really curious about the new welders that have wave balance and pulse settings.  Just from my brief readings it leads me to believe these features would greatly help the novice weld aluminum.  Anyways just curious what your thoughts were.  I am definitely a novice welder and this is a hobby.  My current machine might very well be capable of producing perfect rows of overlapping nickles in aluminum.  The issue may be me !!!!!All advice is appreciated
Reply:My square wave 175 doesn't have all of the settings and it welds aluminum.  Do you have any welding buddies close by that are accomplished at tig welding aluminum to have them give it a shot on your machine?Harbor Freight Inverter 130 amp DC stick/tig (sold, really!)Lincoln Square Wave Tig 175 AC/DC stick/Tig
Reply:Add your location so guys can see if you live close.Dave J.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:You don't need fancy settings to weld alum. We teach students to work with the basics 1st.I can think of a number of issues you might be having. POst up picts and settings as well as material thickness and we can give you some pointers.Biggest issue I usually see with guys trying to learn alum tig is they take too long and try to weld with too low an amp setting. Alum is a great heat sink and you need a lot of heat NOW to get the puddle going, then you need to fly to stay ahead of the heat as you back off the pedal as the material heats up. If you don't, the whole thing heats up and as soon as the puddle starts to form, the whole thing is ready to melt. With alum, unlike steel, when things start to get out of control, the answer is usually to go with  more heat not less, and go faster, not slower..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I had one of those Hobarts a few years ago and it will weld aluminum just fine once you "Get It".....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Hey everyone.. Im in Louisville KY if anyone happens to be close or know of someone local to me.I guess the issue is as I thought with me.  I will need to seek out someone local and see if I can get some help.Sorry I do not have any pics at the moment.  The next time I go out and make a mess of things I will post pics
Reply:So while im on the subject of welding aluminum with my welder maybe you all can help me out.  I had been told way back when that I was to use the green banded tungsten for welding aluminum. I have tried and tried to weld a filet weld but the darn thing wanders so much I can never get into the corner for a proper weld.I then watched a guy with one of the newer welders use an orange banded tungsten which he said could be used on aluminum or steel.  He sharpened to a point and said it could be used this way on both materials.  Would I be able to use this with my welder / would you advise it.  After reading a little im getting the impression I would need a machine with wave balance capabilities to use itany thoughtsthanks
Reply:My machine is an old one (1963) and I use red tungsten on aluminum with good results.I generally use a 45 degree taper and when it balls up during welding, it's a small one.  Gets into the corners good.  I also prefer a gas lens setup so I can stick the tungsten out where I can see itTry this video:Hope it helps, he has a lot of tig videos with good arc shots.Dave J.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:I forgot to mention that although I use red tungsten, many publications state that it does not perform well on aluminum with balanced wave machines like mine.  Works for me...but I will still try others when I run out.Dave J.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Day instructor at the tech school is "old school" so all we have is 1/8" green for the Syncrowaves. I see a lot of guys complain about arc wander when they are learning alum, but the problem is they have the amps way too low most times. Crank it up and punch it vs trying to creep up on the puddle by slowly adding amps with the pedal.Given a choice, I prefer to run lanthanated or ceriated on my personal Syncrowave. They will ball slightly when ground to a moderately blunt point.Last edited by DSW; 02-20-2013 at 04:16 PM..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Agreed - too slow on the amps is when I get arc wander too - reminds me to hit the pedalDave J.Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.