Dynasty 300 Operation

[imported_sparky]

I am relatively new to TIG welding and just purchased a Dynasty 300. Having never welded with an inverter machine before I am not sure what to expect as far as spark behavior. I have been expirmenting with the pulse function and find that I am getting an exremely bright spark. It is so bright that I am that I can't watch it even when my Speedglass helment set at the darkest setting (it is the low end helment). The helment works fine on my MIG and conventional tig machines. Is this spark intensity normal if not what might be the cause? Are there particular helment requirements for inverter machines?

Thanks for your help.

GREAT SITE !!!

[HAWK]

sparky,

Welcome to the forum! You are not grampa's electrician are you? I am just kidding. It will take some reading to catch that silly remark. It is only in fun.

Again, Welcome aboard.

When using the pulse function you will see the arc change from bright to dim in sync with the set pulse rate. I think we need some more information: What helmet model-9000x, 9000xi, etc? What is your darkest shade setting? Your Speedglass is very capable of handling the inverter arc from what I have read. There are a lot of welders, professional and hobbyist, on this forum that use the Speedglass helmets.

Also what are your machine settings: amperage, pulse rate, background amperage %, peak amperage in % time, polarity, base material, gas mix, arc frequency if AC, etc.

All this info is probably overkill, but may prove helpful if you something really weird going on. It happens.

[H80N]

sparky
why not just grab another hat and see how it looks through that?? if you are like some of the rest of us... you probably have at least one backup... maybe an old fixed shade non-electric???
hope this helps
Heiti

[Bob Sigmon]

Just an observation from a Tig Newbie . . . . I only get flashed like that when I haven't preped the weld area correctly. That flash is really bright and kills being able to see your weld pool for a few minutes. When ever this happens to me, I take the time to go back over the weld area, maybe regrind the tungsten and start over . . . no flash!
Just my observation,

Bob Sigmon

[imported_sparky]

Thanks for the reply guys,

Hawk, here is some info. I was practicing on .115 (12ga?)cold roll. The machine was set as follows: DC, PPS from .8 to 1.2, peak time from 50 to 75%, background amp from 25 to 40%. I am not sure what model of Speedglass helmet I have (it does say speedglass XL on the lens). I have had it for several years and it was the entry level helmet. The max shade setting is 13.

Bob, I preped my metal by sandblasting it to remove the scale. This may not be appropriate any suggestions? The tungsten grind may be an issue. Although the direction of grind is correct the angles are not that consistent

Thanks so much for your input

[Rob]

Sparky,

Since you mentioned that your helmet works well with your conventional TIG machine, it certainly sounds like the helmet is flashing you while on the background portion of the pulse.

Adding more ambiant light might help, though you may need a more sensitive helmet to keep you dark though the entire pulse cycle. I'd try another helmet as others recommended. If you're prep methods haven't changed from those successful with your transformer TIG machine, it's likely just the helmet.

Rob

[HAWK]

sparky,

Take a look at your manual and reset the machine to factory defaults. This is an easy procedure involving turning the machine off and pressing the correct buttons when starting back up.

If all is well with your tungsten grinding, and you are not getting it contaminated by the filler rod or base metal, then I would try without the pulse and see if the helmet straightens up.

Some older model helmets just were not built to handle inverter arcs at all-pulsed or not. If you are interested in a good helmet, do a search and you will find the new Miller Big Window Elite, the Optrel Satellite, and the new Hornell Speedglass helmets all seem to be very nice. I can honestly say the Optrel Satellite and the Big Window Elite by Miller are my 2 favorites. Please read my review of the new Miller Elite.