Tunsten sizes?

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I'm looking into possibly welding injector bungs in cast aluminum manifolds and I'm looking to get some welding setup opinions. I current have a WP-20 (water cooler, 250A) torch but it can only handle a max tungsten diameter of 1/8" When welding cast aluminum intakes (see picture below) would the setup call for tungsten greater than 1/8"? Also, when welding .090" aluminum outer joints making tanks I'm not sure whether or not I should be using 3/32 or 1/16" tungsten. I've made them with 1/16 tungsten and 1/16 filler rod in the past but I'm wondering if there any benefits to increasing the size of the filler rod and tungsten.Welder - PT375Tungsten - 2% Lanthanated
Reply:I don't think AC tungsten comes in sizes larger than 3.2mm.Tungsten size and wire diameter depends on welding current and plate thickness. It is a matter of personal preference with wire diameter with your application. A general rule of thumb is if your tungsten gets too hot - go up a size. If you are struggling to add enough filler - go up a size.In your application, I believe both 2.4 and 3.2 tungsten or wire would work. In general for manual GTAW, tungsten and wire of the same diameter works better.
Reply:I've been TIG welding for 6 years but I was self taught and wanted to see if any of the welders are using tungsten sizes greater than 1/8" for thick aluminum. The main reason I ask is that I was reading the lincoln and the miller guides for sizing tungsten and they mention that for over 250 amps you want to go with tungsten over 1/8". Now that I think about it I believe they were assuming that pure tungsten was being used which would make sense because they can't handle the heat like 2% can. Originally Posted by chrispc66I don't think AC tungsten comes in sizes larger than 3.2mm.Tungsten size and wire diameter depends on welding current and plate thickness. It is a matter of personal preference with wire diameter with your application. A general rule of thumb is if your tungsten gets too hot - go up a size. If you are struggling to add enough filler - go up a size.In your application, I believe both 2.4 and 3.2 tungsten or wire would work. In general for manual GTAW, tungsten and wire of the same diameter works better.
Reply:im pretty sure you can get tungsten up to 3/8". i think sylavania will make it larger than that for some applications. they make it very short....up to even 18 inches long.only thing worse than an ugly woman is an ugly weld
Reply:You dont need bigger than 1/8.  If thats not doing the trick then you dont need more amps but a preheat in the manifold first.And 3/32 is a good choice for a broad range of aluminum, but for .90 either one would work fine.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:I had heard, but not ever seen, that to repair surface porosity in bronze castings, that a very large tungsten, like 1/4" diameter would be used with DCEP.  DCEP was needed for it's cleaning action, and the large diameter was needed to handle the electrode heating.By the way, the plasma welding torches we used at the auto parts plant used 3/16" tungsten.http://www.arc-zone.com/index.php?ma...=9_440_120_129
Reply:GOOD quality (there is a difference) 1/8" Zirconiated tungsten can handle up to 300amps, that would be my recommendation for you.