Big problem with small inverter Tig-er

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Hi guys, I hope someoane can help.This is the story.- 5 years old 140A DC Tig machine, brand ESSETI , italian made.- has not been used in the last 2 years, worked fine before.- I eliminated any torch/gas problem by switching toches with my other machine and feeding the gas directly to the torch .- High freq start works fineProblem : sparks(lots) and tungsten contamination after 1 second of arc, the first second after HF is fine, I can see a puddle forming then it all starts to boil and spark , it does the same as when going out of gas (but the gas is still flowing)The same torch works just fine on my other machine, i used the same earth cable also.any ideea will be much apreciated .Thank you. Attached Images--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:Could be your polarity switch or connection has been reversed.
Reply:oh, forgot to mention, there is no polarity switch, tig torch is negative, not that i didn't try the other way also...so it's DCEN Also think i should say I weld for a living, been unemployed for a few months, and wanted to sell this old machine to partially fund my new workplace . Love the hollyday season I'm always broke..Thanks for your response weldinglifer, i must hurry a bit before wife gets home and i have to clear the livingroom --------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:Possibly leaking inside at the gas solenoid.
Reply:no, i connected the torch directly to the regulator bypassing the solenoid . All the consumables are brand new gas lens, everything is tight , no leaks First it looked like a gas problem to me also, but I'm 100% sure it's not, and it works ok but only one second, then something is happening.--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:If you switched all the torch and consumables from the good tig, I dunno???Maybe there is a help forum for these on the continent?Is it also Smaw/MMA? Maybe you could take it outside and see if it also fails with an electrode.I agree that if mrs Donoharm sees that set up inside your "time might be UP"! Matt
Reply:esseti don't sell those welders in Holland , I bought it from another country (long story)i don't know about smaw, I have no electrodes at home, think I'm gonna buy some tomorow and see how they go, maybe keep the machine for smaw only..mss complained a litle about the argon bottle , i have till tomorow to remove it --------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:did you try welding that particular piece of metal with the other machine ? may be bad base metal.
Reply:Are you using 100% argon?Ya gotta spend money to make money!
Reply:Originally Posted by Donoharmesseti don't sell those welders in Holland , I bought it from another country (long story)i don't know about smaw, I have no electrodes at home, think I'm gonna buy some tomorow and see how they go, maybe keep the machine for smaw only..mss complained a litle about the argon bottle , i have till tomorow to remove it
Reply:@boatbuoy I did tried , and it welded(the red tiger) fine with all 3 torches i have, it's a piece of  316ss the arc acts almost like it's DCEP , has my machine evolved in an AC machine over the years ?? can this be a capacitor problem? or a machine with dead capacitors will act like this? I believe a trip to a specialized repair shop will cost me more then I could get for this thing..@welderShane it sure is Argon(400bar), as pure as can be found, i welded before with that bottle and .@LarryO  well, welding payed a long time for her stuff so she developed a tolerance for this kind of furniture oh, forgot to mention, opened the machine, there's nothing burned/melted inside, nothing loose ... Attached ImagesLast edited by Donoharm; 12-23-2010 at 05:51 PM.--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:was what I thought too, is ac leakage possible in a dc machine?miller 330a bp TIGmiller dynasty 200DX TIGmillermatic 185 MIGthermal dynamics cutmaster 101 plasma cuttersnap-on YA5550 plasma cutterhypertherm powermax 30 plasma cutterbaileigh CS225 cold sawetc....
Reply:Have you tried that tank with a known good TIG machine? Because the first time I was got a bad tank of Argon I was helping a friend set up a TIG machine that hadn't been used in 4 or 5 years. I was having the EXACT same symptoms as you - exchanged it for another bottle and it welded great.
Reply:It is not a gas problem nor torch or other air contamination, tungsten or bad consumables, the machine goes bad after 1 second of arc time, there are no settings on the machine other then stick/tig and amp pot--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:And, you've tried welding on a different piece of cleaned iron?
Reply:i said before, there's a piece of 316ss , my other machine welds on it just fine , really don't see the point to weld on something else.think i'll go get some mma rods next year , see if that works.--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:I did a little test on some 304 i had laying around, and I found that, using my sync 300, when I switch to AC I get similar results to poor gas shielding. The differences are subtle, but they are there. The puddle did seem to boil as if it had no shielding gas and the tungsten started to burn off, but after I stopped and looked at the results there was no porosity and the usual shiny rainbow colors were there. When I have had shielding gas problems i get a dull grey appearance and the bloated porosity warts. So it seemed to me like you have an AC problem, but then i thought: How the hell could an inverter start making AC by accident? I though inverters were DC by nature and required switching to get AC. So then I tried DC with the polarity reversed. This time I got burned tungsten and black soot over a severely "cleaned" surface (like when you crank the balance when welding AL). With my maxstar it would be very easy to get the polarity switched except for the fact that the gas won't flow when the leads are backwards, so first you notice no gas flow and swap 'em before you could weld reversed. Since you mentioned that you have bypassed your gas solenoid, I'm convinced you are welding with the polarity reversed.Last edited by fortyonethirty; 12-27-2010 at 12:19 PM.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:Originally Posted by fortyonethirty... I'm convinced you are welding with the polarity reversed.