airco high freq. problem?

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I am trying to sell an airco heliarc IV machine that has always worked fine for me but the other day a guy came to try it out and tried to weld aluminum with the steel mix I had in the bottleformy mig. of course,it was a little ugly tosay the least. when he triedthe dc on steel the high freq. start would not light up until the electrode was about 1/8 or 1/16 from the work. I thought this was normal but he said it should start at about 3/4" or so. Is this true? I don`t want to sell the machine to anyone with the premis that it runs if it does not run correctly. The amps wre set around 80 with a 1/8" 2% thoriated electrode. Any help would be appreciated.Last edited by crawler30; 11-01-2008 at 11:46 AM.
Reply:3/4"   still laughing.....No I dont think thats true.  I mean I can crank up the amps and do some tricks to help  it achieve 3/4" but why.     My HF starts are about 1/16" to an 1/8" weld it like you own it
Reply:thanx for the input, i`m not a pro at tig so I figured I`d better ask one.
Reply:I haven't played with too many units or even checked mine lately, but don't think the HF should be able to start with a 3/4" gap; it should be able to keep one that long once started though. The older units used a spark gap whose points do wear and thus need to be adjusted after long use. Too much HF isn't needed and just causes interference with other electrical problems. Maybe the fellow was just trying to get a lower price?
Reply:I suppose, I`m just glad to know there is`nt anything wrong with it I need to fix before I sell it. Thanx for the replies so quickly.