Filler rod and bead question

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I'm having a bit of a problem with my  5356 filler rod addition on aluminum.   If I keep it close enough to the puddle to be able to dip it, it tends to melt before dipping.  Then it forms an oxidized ball that's difficult to melt and turns the arc green when over it.  I can dip in the puddle without it happening if I keep the rod at a very tight angle to the work, like 5*.  Man, you guys make tigging look easy.   I never fully appreciated how tough it was to run those nice beads, and as everyone has said, steel is so much easier
Reply:Having too much angle on your torch will push the heat in front of the torch and melt your filler in some cases. Try keeping the torch more vertical if you are doing flat.Knowing the filler size and position would help. Solutions for this when doing flat are different say than if you are doing vertical where feeding the slightly from side might be the answer. Also a bigger filler size might help, or might cause other issues. When asking for help, post up as much info as possible. We have no idea what position, thickness material etc you are working with....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:[attach][/attach]1/4 " aluminum plate in horizontal position.  3/32 Pure Tungsten, 125 amps, ac balance set at 5, 1/16 5356 aluminum filler rod, Ag at 15 cfh.  Held torch at 70* angle, tip extended 1/8" beyond #5 cup with standard collet.Should I use a gas lense?I must note that I am stuck welding outside only and there was a breeze.  I did my best to shield the torch. Attached Images
Reply:Sorry about the poor quality pics.  My kids lost my camera and I was forced to take the pics with my phone.  Thanks DSW for your response.  They are always acurate and to the point.
Reply:What does 'AC balance set at 5' mean? you (usually) always want to run the minimum amount of cleaning required. The welds look dull like you're been running too much cleaning (or maybe you just brushed them). Set it to 30% DCEP, 70% DCEN and clean the metal first with a stainless brush.15cfh is on the low end especially for outdoors, maybe bump it up to 20 or so and see if it helps. Also do not match the torch's angle with the filler rod, a huge amount of heat is reflected at this angle and it'll melt the torch very easily. Run the torch at a slight push angle and bring the rod in low more parallel with the work, this lets you keep your filler it in the argon between dips without it melting.Last edited by MikeGyver; 07-18-2011 at 09:36 AM.Welding/Fab Pics: www.UtahWeld.com
Reply:As always, let me qualify this by saying that I'm no expert but, unless you make some sort of shield to block the wind (or breeze) you are going to have a really tough time TIG welding outdoors, let alone trying to LEARN TIG welding on aluminum. Its a difficult enough process to learn in optimal conditions. Simply turning up the flow rate is probably not going to help and may make the turbulence at the base metal worse.Sorry, no easy shortcuts available on this one that I know of. If you have to weld outside, you picked the wrong process.E
Reply:125 amps is WAY too low for 1/4" alum. You need to be up around 225 amps +. My Syncrowave 200 maxed out will barely do 1/4" alum under the right circumstances. 125 amps is a 1/16" setting. My guess is it took forever to get the beads going, and then you ran the beads one after the other without letting the plate cool. Pumping that much heat into the material acted like you increased the amps, because you heated up the whole plate. Alum is a great heat sink and pulls heat a way from the puddle very quickly. Overheating the plate will give you all sorts of issues in real welding senarios. You can actually weaken the whole unit doing this.With alum you set your max amps above what you need to run a bead and then mash on the pedal to get a bead going quickly. Then you quickly back down and move to keep the puddle going. As the metal heats up you keep backing down the heat to control the puddle and reduce the heat put into the base material..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:Real simple.  Use larger filler rod.At 125 Amps, you should be using 3/32 or 1/8 filler.   Thinner stuff will melt away too quickly.Torch angle has an impact but too thin of a filler will make it impossible.Somewhere around 80 amps you'll find 1/16" is at its limit.  I would suggest sheetmetal work only for 1/16.Con Fuse!Miller Dynasty 350Millermatic 350P-Spoolmatic 30AMiller Multimatic 200Hypertherm PowerMax 1000G3Miller Maxstar 200DX
Reply:Originally Posted by con_fuse9Real simple.  Use larger filler rod.At 125 Amps, you should be using 3/32 or 1/8 filler.   Thinner stuff will melt away too quickly.Torch angle has an impact but too thin of a filler will make it impossible.Somewhere around 80 amps you'll find 1/16" is at its limit.  I would suggest sheetmetal work only for 1/16.
Reply:Yeah you want around 200 amps as per suggested..Nothing wrong with 1/16" filler but as you go you have to feed faster and faster with less and less pedal...It's true but easy once you get the hang of it..But that may take awhile..Don't give up though..You have the start down pretty good.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:My feeling is torch angle. Vertical torch gives you the best opportunity to hit the puddle before your filler melts. This was something I struggled with when I learned to TIG. It's just a hurdle you have to overcome in the learning phase.
Reply:I'm only @ about 14hrs but am outside w/ #10 cup @ 20-23 on the gas(buddy says). Amps about 145-165 on that thickness on my new diversion165. Just like said above it takes a few sec until plate is heated,  then backing down on amps. Will post my aluminum is this weekend.
Reply:Originally Posted by bitchiNweldsI'm only @ about 14hrs but am outside w/ #10 cup @ 20-23 on the gas(buddy says)