Thermal Arc 95S???

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Anyone know much about this new Thermal 95S????Any experiences???
Reply:I just bought one of these machines and I have spent the last 4 hours trying to get a consistent arc to start with very little success. I am using a low setting between 5 and 25 amps.  The tungsten sticks to the metal on every attempt to start an arc so the "lift arc" is more like a "sticky arc" and if you're lucky enough not to pull it too far off the metal you can actually get an arc going but it happens very rarely. If you don't have everything clamped down hard you end up picking everything up in the air with DC current going all over the place so I've gotten a few decent shocks in the last 4 hours as well.   I'd be surprised to see this machine on the market for very long because as far as tig goes, it is essentially a non functioning machine. NADA.    If anyone has some idea of how to keep the tungsten from sticking every time I try to start an arc I'm all ears. I called Thermal Arc and spoke with a nice guy who said it wasn't supposed to stick like that but it sure does for me.    Me is a professional welder with 25 years experience. Machines I own: Miller synchrowave 250 GTAW. Miller XMT on pulsed Mig,. Orion Jewelry pulsed machine, Lincoln SP-125 Mig.Last edited by Anthon; 06-18-2009 at 06:34 PM.
Reply:Try rolling your torch to start. Might help over going straight down with the tungsten.
Reply:Tried rolling it, scratching it, jiggling it, NADA. I can sit there for ten minutes doing this and that and presto, I get an arc. Then it's another ten minutes of messing around. On a typical day I might make four or five hundred welds for a typical job. There's no way in zeus this is going to work. Looks like the Miller maxstar 200 or dynastar 200 and 4k more for me. AT least then I'll have something that does the job no matter how much they cost.
Reply:Put the tungsten on the plate with the gas flowing.  Wait a few seconds for the tungsten to heat up, then roll the torch so the  cup is touching.  Keep rolling a little more and it SHOULD fire up.Never used the 95S, but for touch start, that is how its supposed to work.  Good luck.  I have a TA 185 and the touch start works fine.  So do the rest of my welders including a V155-S.  All are lincoln except the TA.David David Real world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Many thanks for the tips but I weld 3/32 and 1/16 stainless rings/rod all day long so the rolling on the plate won't work. Plus I do a ton of out of position welding to boot.  High Frequency is probably a lot less bother in the long run. I'll keep my old '90 Miller 250 Synchro for aluminum but unfortunately it just doesn't do the thin stuff like these newer machines.   The other caveat is I hate fans, having had to listen to them every day for 25 years and the Miller has a fan on demand, instead of the 95s which is on all the time. Yippie!   I've already ordered a Maxstar 200 and am returning the 95s.    To see my work go here http://www.howeart.netLast edited by Anthon; 06-18-2009 at 08:23 PM.
Reply:To Thermal Arcs credit, after hearing of my problem they suggested I return it to the retailer and have them obtain a new machine for me under warranty. They said my problem was something wrong in the power supply and that the lift arc works quite well on their machines. A lemon, iow. By the time I got this I'd UPSed it for a refund and ordered a Maxstar 200. Maybe the 95S is an OK machine?????? Love to hear it worked out for someone else.Last edited by Anthon; 06-19-2009 at 12:11 PM.
Reply:Anthon,What sized tungsten where you using. Sounds like to me you were using too big of one for the low amps. For the 5-25 amps I would have used a .040  That should have made it easier to keep the arc going. But I am glad to here they took it back.
Reply:I tried .040 and also the next size up which actually seemed to be a bit better. I also tried different size ground pieces which for some reason seemed to affect the arc. Smaller was better. If I turned the machine off for a bit It would work for the first couple of tries and then nada. Stickyville.Ultimately I think it was a lemon, as I said earlier which was echoed by the Thermal Arc tech who emailed me. Still, I'd like to be able to recommend this machine to friends who want to join the fray as it "seems" to be a great deal.
Reply:ok, I was just making sure you weren't trying to use a 1/8" tung with 5 amps.