Aluminum TIG welding with a stick box and high freq

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Friend sold me a Miller Thunderbolt XL and a Dayton high freq box.This was a while back so i don't remember what i paid for it.I'm starting to think probably too much, since it doesn't weld aluminum too well.Attempted welding of thin(1/16) aluminum tubing didn't work.Since the box has no foot pedal, amperage is not adjustable.  Low amps, the aluminum would not puddle.  Higher amps would just blow holes in the tubing.I don't think a foot pedal can be adapted.Any way to make this work, or should I just start looking for a real TIG setup?
Reply:Was the machine set to A/C?I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Nice catch.  I see the picture shows DC+, no idea why.  I had it on the lower amp AC scale, 30-170A.Cranked all the way down to 30A, the arc didn't generate any heat.  Turning it up blew holes.  Oxide layer was removed with several methods, we tried a scotch brite pad and clean stainless brush.  Had a guy who does TIG work on the subway trains in NY try, but the same thing happened.  He of course never used a hoaky setup like mine though.
Reply:It's possible to weld alum with a rig like that, but not easy. If you have no experience doing tig, let alone alum tig, I'd say it's close to impossible. You would need a lot of experience to be able to do decent alum tig welds with that set up. A dedicated AC capable tig machine would be a much better choice to learn on. The rig will allow you to do DC tig on steel however with some practice, so all is not lost.Alum you have to have a lot more control over the heat than you do with steel because it is such a good thermal sink. You need a fair amount of heat to get the puddle going, then you need to quickly back down as you go to adjust for the heat building up in the material. With no pedal and only a very course amp adjustment this will not be easy. You need enough amps to get the puddle going fast, but not so much you instantly blow holes. On thin material like 1/16" this will be fairly tough even with a pedal. As soon as the puddle forms, you have to MOVE! The only way you can control the heat with no pedal is to add filler to cool the puddle and to travel faster and faster as you go to out run the heat build up.Depending on where you live, it's possible to get very nice "starter" tig machines used for a good price. Older industrial machines like the Miller 330A/BP, Dialarc HF and so on can often be picked up for $500-900.  The down side of these machines is that they are usually very large and heavy and want a lot of power. That said most are solid industrial machines that could do over 300 amps... Newer machines like Syncrowave 180's and 200's ca be found almost new for $900-1400 if you look. Smaller machines like the Ecconotig/Diversions, sort of fall in between. Many of those are owned by hobbyists who usually want premium money for what is really an underpowered lower end machine compared to the others listed.Personally I'd avoid the cheap imports and stick with the larger brands. Customer service is poor at best with these if you have issues. The companies also have a bad reputation of moving then deleting/editing threads where there are machine issues so that it's tough to get solid info on problems.Good luck..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:Thanks so much for the detailed reply.  Pretty much what I thought.  My aluminum welding experience is limited, so making this thing work would require way too much skill for me.I live in south Fl, and people are pretty proud of their gear- a Syncrowave 200 is going for 2k, a dialarc for 1500, an old Idelarc for 1300...I saw a Lincoln 175 for a grand, but the ad is gone now.guess i'll keep looking.
Reply:If you aren't using a CL aggregator like Searchtempest, Crazedlsit etc, you might want to give one a try. It will expand your search radius and often locate hidden "deals". I usually use "welder" as my search parameter and sort the list manually. Often guys won't list the actual model, but a search like this will pull up hidden gems. I'll usually look out about 50-100 miles unles I'm really serious about locating an individual item.One thing about this economy is that there are a lot of shops that have gone under and heavy duty equipment is out there on the market if you are willing to search and drive a bit. Also it's not uncommon to see hobby guys dumping "toys" as money gets tight, especially around the holidays. I'll agree some people are asking stupid money for used machines. I wouldn't pay more than say 50-60% of new even if the machine has low hours on it, unless it comes with a ton of add ons like cylinders, rod etc.TAke a minute and add your location to your User CP at the top left so we always know where you are..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:You can weld Aluminum fairly easily with that set-up, so long as is a fairly large piece (heat sink). The bigger/thicker the  piece the less your heat will need to be adjusted as you go.Constant Current Weldor.
Reply:Yes, even at my level I was able to weld 1/8in.  wasn't pretty, but structurally sound.Not knowing much about this stuff, i was thinking the true TIG square wave and cleaning was most important, but now i know the foot control is the thing to have for thin alum.  my next machine will have both since my original intention was welding intercooler piping.DSW, thanks for all the info and good advice.  I will look into the search functions and report back.
Reply:I used to have a tombstone and an HF box as my tig setup.  My hf had a pedal to control the hf, so I had a bit more control than you.   Using it was a total exercise in frustration (on Aluminum).  It worked great on steel.When you get a real tig setup, the difference will be night and day.  I'd love to try the setup you have again now that I have more hood time.  I'm still not sure if Aluminum was nearly impossible because of my complete lack of experience or the setup.  Likely a combo of both.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:Exercise in frustration- my experience exactly.  Add to that a flakey auto darkening helmet and a user too dumb to realize it and I'm walking around the shop cursing and seeing sun spots.If you want to try it, come on down to FL, I got some pipe I need welded upOr, if you send me some paper, i'll box it all up and ship it to ya!