🔧 Technical Exploring Reverse Polarity in Tig Welding for Beginners

[sktchy]

I swore we had a welding thread but I can't dig it up for anything. If we do feel free to toss this in there but I have some questions for those of you that are actually good at it.

First off I'm not, I boogered a few things together after buying a cheap DC Tig but I pushed it into the corner in favor of convenience with a 110v flux core booger box (which also sucks but gets the job done.)

But I'd like to be able to do some halfway decent things and dabble in some aluminum. Google and electrical experience tells me that pulling the electricity in reverse is going to bring the heat up and with it any contaminants heavier than the weld material and it would also keep heat down and keep it from burning through? I've tried it normally even on super low amps and it cooks right through charge pipes but drawing the heat to the tip might be enough?

Has anybody tried this? Done this? Have any pointers for somebody with the welding skills of a high school kid? I'm not about to go buy an ac welder but it seems plausible to me in theory so per my usual if I can do it on the cheap by pulling it apart and swapping leads inside of it I'm all for it. Doubt I'm gonna be able to hunt down helium but argon shouldn't be an issue.

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[cap42]

Had this in my view history on youtube. Pretty much exactly what your asking about.

 

[sktchy]

So, it'll work, it's just gonna look like the rest of my welds lol

 

[cap42]

ya it will work, but I wouldn't do it if it were something that needed to be sealed up like a coolant tank or expansion tank. That much junk in the weld your bound to have leaks.

 

[sktchy]

Looks like somethin I'd more wanna do if I had to make some brackets or somethin but at least the option is there.

 

[LikeABauce302]

Just buy an AC/DC capable TIG welder. Sell whatever welder you have to help recoup some of your costs.

There are so many good cheap machines now. The AHP AlphaTig is really nice. I'm using an older one from 2016. For my purposes, it welds just as well as the Miller machines I've played around with. AHP also has great customer support and if I remember correctly, a 5 year warranty.

PrimeWeld machines also have a pretty good reputation and Everlast machines are really nice, although a little more expensive.

 

[Gamble]

Dc aluminum welding is primarily for thick shit

I have a tig welder I’ll let go for $3500 but if you want cheap, ahp or primeweld. Both come from the same factory

I’m in Grayslake if you ever need help or need something welded

 

[sktchy]

Dc aluminum welding is primarily for thick shit

I have a tig welder I’ll let go for $3500 but if you want cheap, ahp or primeweld. Both come from the same factory

I’m in Grayslake if you ever need help or need something welded

I appreciate the offer but it'd be a hell of a drive from Nebraska lol.

I know a guy locally but he's always so busy I hate to bother him. I'm always trying to grow my own skillset so I figured this would be a good thing to start diving into. I'm gonna try and scrap together some exhaust before too long so I'm hoping I can get back into the swing of it without getting annoyed and splattering it all up with the flux core.

 

[LikeABauce302]

It's well worth it to have a TIG welder in the garage. It will get a lot of use once you get comfortable with it.

You can't go wrong with this machine for $775.

AHP Alpha-TIG 225Xi 200 Amp IGBT AC/DC Pulse TIG/Stick Welder 110v/220v Dual Voltage
https://a.co/d/9PiZQRl

 

[sktchy]

That's where I screwed up is I figured my cheap DC would be great for the garage. And it does pretty decent for the skills I have if I sit down and take my time with it. I just didn't wanna have to spend a grand of I don't have to.

Work would probably buy a nicer one for the shop but I'd hate to be that guy when I'd really only have a reason to do aluminum on my own stuff and probably few and far between enough that it's be hard to justify it.

But man if I could stick aluminum together I'd be all sorts of redoing my cold side setup and making shit fit that isn't supposed to

 

[PJx5x]

Good luck welding thin wall stuff with flux core. I predict lots of burn through

 

[sktchy]

Good luck welding thin wall stuff with flux core. I predict lots of burn through

Flux core is really last resort or convenience of being able to just carry it to wherever and melt somethin together. It does indeed suck in every way otherwise and is imo just slightly better than stick.

I'd probably be better off just getting a gas torch with a focused tip and using some filler rod but that's basically just Tig without the electricity

 

[sktchy]

I do believe you guys that mentioned buying a decent welder are on the right track. Having left my flux core at home and needing to stick some stuff together at work today I broke mine out and went at the usual spitter spattering bs it does that makes me think I really just suck at this. Well after a short while it barely wanted to start an arc, then nothing at all. So I redid the connection on the ground wire and it got a little better but was still screwy. So I went through and replaced all the parts in the gun and ground a new tungsten and twisted my torch line around in a different direction. My god if that wasn't the ticket I don't know what is. This thing just lit up this pretty little arc like I was using a gas torch and just melted and pushed everything around anyway I pleased. Literally a night and day difference and it's never done that before. I didn't really do anything but tack a bunch of joints on some galvanized pipe to keep it from spinning so I'm sorry for the lack of a picture to show you guys. But if I can keep it working like that I feel like I might actually be pretty decent when I do get somethin worth showing off.

Think it's worth bothering with a new gun when the rest seems to work fine? Or am I further ahead saving up for a whole unit? I'm probably gonna have to pursue this a little further now.

 

[cap42]

Personally I wouldn't throw money at a machine that is limited and if you really want to weld aluminum you need an AC unit. 110 AC units can be had for $500 (depending on the brand) especially if this isn't for work or side gig where you need to make money reliably. Even a cheap welder can get you started and allow you to learn before you spend good money on a professional unit.

There's already some good suggestions in this thread, primeweld, everlast even the china yes welder will melt aluminum together pretty good.