help with tungsten colors

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hello everyone,need help with color of tungsten colors,im new to this tig welding but been around stick welding for years (pipeliners)trying to learn tig,been reading everything i can in books, welding webs , videos etc. l bought a 185 thermal arc about 1 1/2 years ago, and just started to play with the machine for about 2 months now on and off.anyway one of the  tungsten they sent me with the start up kit (one of  the 3 different colors is1/16 gray tungsten )which seems to  work the best so far for keeping a good puddle with steel or aluminum. i believe it is 2% ceriated, i like it the best so far for aluminum .i ordered online 2%ceriated in size1/16 and the color is orange. i no they use colors to describe each different tungsten . but the orange ceriated in 1/16 seems no where near as nice as the 1/16 gray tungsten. whats up?i have red (thoriated) white (zirconated)etc,i thought red would always be thoriated, grey ceriated,green pure etc. and used the 3/32 grey for 1/8 aluminum tubing and it is fine .    from what im hereing 2 % lanterated is best all around esp . for aluminum.thats next. but what is this grey tungsten? thanks
Reply:http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...lectrode-guide
Reply:ZIRCONIATED Tungsten Color Code WHITE or BROWN, are best suited for AC Tig welding applications.Zirconiated, White, AC Welding applications. Better start up than Pure Tungsten, Balls up well and has a more stable arc than Pure Tungsten. Better current carrying capacity and high resistance to contamination during welding.LANTHANATED Tungsten Color Code BLACK, GOLD or BLUE, is suitable for AC & DC welding applications.Lanthanated, Black, AWS Class EWLA-1.5, AC & DC welding applications. Non-Radioactive Good arc characteristics in ac/dc applications. Applications: carbon & stainless steel, nickel alloys and titanium.CERIATED Tungsten Color Code GREY or ORANGE, are best suited for low amperage DC welding applications.Ceriated, Grey, An excellent alternative to Thoriated tungsten especially in low amperage welding. Takes 10% less current to start and has a very stable arc.PURE Tungsten Color Coded GREEN, are best suited for AC Tig welding applications.Pure Tungsten, Green, AWS Class EWP, AC welding applications. Least expensive of all electrodes. Applications: aluminum and magnesium alloys.THORIATED Tungsten Color Code RED, YELLOW, MAUVE or ORANGE, is best suited for DC Tig welding applications.2% Thoriated, Red, AWS Class EWTH-2, DC welding applications. The most common type of electrode used today. Applications: carbon & stainless steel, nickel alloys and titanium.
Reply:The sun is radioactive.AWS certified welding inspectorAWS certified welder
Reply:been using RED for all i do-- fur 20 year and i only glow in the darkwhat works for you  use itidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:I use and love 2% lanthanated, best overall performance for ferrous metals and aluminum with inverter machines when welding at 120+ HZ. I use Zirconiated for transformer based machines when welding aluminum. With your machine, I think you could go for 2% lanthanated and forget all the rest. Although for very low amperages Ceriated has very good arc start characteristics. Check out this vid it has some good info...[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpanERwagaU[/ame]
Reply:WOW!Another TUNGSTEN thread.Do some posters even know what the SEARCH feature is for?Only been discussed about a thousand times in the last six months.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:I usually only do ally or SS no mild steel.I have Thoriated (Red over here) for SS and Lanthanated (white) for Ally thing is I wouldnt bother changing from Red to white if  its in the torch , it self balls and performs fine. I'll usually from White to Red if Im going from Ally to SS only because the white will be balled. I always use White if Im using 1/8 electrode as it seems to consume slower on ally but if I need a 3/32 White or Red on ally is decided by the nearest to hand.I bought White as my old teacher came over to the factory one day and mentioned that all the TAFE Colledges here had gone over to them for everything as the were non radioactive, He mentioned that they worked fine.He thought it was an over reaction to a minimal risk with no hard evidence but conceeded that the Schools did have a duty of care to err on the side of caution.I never bought 1/16 white, wont bother replace the few 3/32's I have left but will stay with the 1/8's for ally over 4mm.If on the rare occasion I need to do mild Red has never given me grief.Thing is they both work fine when your starting as they will out perform a learner.If your welds are not going as well as you would like there are other things to practice and address first.I would recomend try sticking to 3/32 when starting , a bit more forgiving. Originally Posted by SundownIIIWOW!Another TUNGSTEN thread.Do some posters even know what the SEARCH feature is for?Only been discussed about a thousand times in the last six months.
Reply:Originally Posted by BrettGrow up
Reply:Originally Posted by Jay OI seem like people just need to use their brains a little more rather then just depend on a keyboard.
Reply:How the fulk did some of these posters ever learn anything before the advent of the internet?OP has been a member since 2007.  If he hasn't figured out that there's a search feature by now, then he's got bigger problems than what a grey band tungsten is.Oh, and Brett, I DID grow up many years ago.  I also stopped SPOON FEEDING my kids about 30 years ago when they were about 3 years old.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.