I need a little help: if possible

[Dan]

To fabricate the handrail on the stairs that Im constructing at work my boss rented me a 120 volt TIG unit. The machine is a Thermal Arc 150 GTS and of course it didn t come with a manual. Can anyone help me out with this machine. It has several controls on the front of it. On the front of the panel there is a 0 to 6 sec. timer knob. There is also a knob that has something to do with controlling frequency. By the way this is a DC inverter. The frequency knob has settings like 0, 15 , 50, 150 , and 500 MHZ. THen the last knob that Im worried about ia for process selection. It has four setting one is a stick electrode. then the next two I have no idea what they are suppose to be, and the final one is a tig torch. So, I assumed I needed to set this on the TIG torch. However with this one set on the torch the only way so far that I ve got the machine to even function is by setting the timer selection to something besides 0. By doing this the arc is on for the length of time that the timer is set at. I tried the two middle settings and I don t understand what the machine was trying to do . Finally I set it to the stick setting. Which worked but I have to scratch start. Nice thing though the foot pedal still functions. However, when I let up of the foot pedal the machine still produces a small arc. So Iend up having to to pull back to brake this arc. Which of course isn t good for the end of the weld.

Now, if the arc quality of this machine is a good representation of Thermal Arcs product, I ll stick with a Miller inverter. The Maxstar 140's arc is far superior. The Maxstar 140's arc is the smoothest DC arc I ve ever seen, not that I ve tried a lot of machines. Also, I like lift arc much better then scratch starting or hi frequency arc starts. Rock if you could help me convince whoever needs to be convince to add a remote foot control to the Maxstar 140 I would buy one for myself, and we would get one for work too.

[morpheus]

out of curiosity Dan. what kind of work hours do you have ? I know you've said you work at night ...

- jack

[Dan]

Originally posted by morpheus
out of curiosity Dan. what kind of work hours do you have ? I know you've said you work at night ...

- jack

Jack

My work schedule is generally Monday thru Thursday 4:30 PM to 1:30 AM, and on Sunday 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM. However, the end of my shift can be later depending on my work load. For example this week I have been working until almost 3:00 AM

[morpheus]

thanks Dan. what kind of sleep schedule do you have ?

- jack

[Mike Sherman]

Dan, it sounds like that machine has a pulse set up. The timer should be the length of time between pulses, the frequency is the cycles per second or Hertz, I need to know what the other two settings on the process selection say.

[Scott V]

Dan,The freq knob must be for pulse,and is there any preflow post flow or slope up 0-6 and maybe x2 slope down.Does it have lift start,and if it does it will only work with a button.Also it might have a spot timer.The four position knob might be stick,lift arc tig,hi freg tig,and maybe scratch tig?the last ones a guess.does it have hot start tig,arc control.just remember not all the controls work with the pedal plugged in.Some need a button.I am going back to the welding store,and I will look,and see they have anything on it.Thermals weld very nice as good as anything else,so something else is up.Is that machine set for 120 or 240 volts?I looked at those machines before,but was a long time ago.

[Hobart Expert Rock]

DAN................CALL 1-800-462-2782 AND SPEAK TO MIKE, BILL OR BILL............. HAVE THEM FAX YOU A COPY OF THE CONTROL PANEL EXPLAINING WHAT EACH KNOB DOES........... I LOOKED AT THEIR WEB SITE BUT DID NOT SEE A PRINT OUT OF THE CONTROL PANEL........NOR AN EXPLANITION................ BY THE WAY I WILL FORWARD A COPY OF YOUR REQUEST TO APPROPRIATE PERSONEL ON FOOT PEDAL FOR MAXSTAR.....................ROBIN AND I WERE DISCUSSING THAT A DAY OR SO AGO...........LAST WEEK I THINK...............HANG IN THERE............................ I DON'T HAVE ONE SETTING HERE AT WORK.................................. ..ROCK
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[Hobart Expert Rock]

DAN.............I CONTACTED ROBIN MERLINE AT TIG.............THE MAXSTR 140 HAS A SLIDE CONTROL AVAILABLE ON THE LATE MODEL ONES WITH 6 PINS FOR CONNECTION.........HE HAS ASSURED ME THAT HE CAN TELL YOU HOW TO ADAPT A FOOT PEDAL 1000 OHM TYPE TO THIS STYLE............... IF YOU NEED HIS PHONE NUMBER IT IS 920-954-3630 AT MILLER ELECTRIC. BE ADVISED YOU MUST HAVE A LATE MODEL UNIT WITH THE 6 PIN CONNECTOR ON THE UNIT......................YOU ASKED.............
ROCK.......................[email protected]

[Dan]

Originally posted by morpheus
thanks Dan. what kind of sleep schedule do you have ?

- jack

Jack

My 6 year old (soon to be 7) son is in the first grade, and the wife works from 6:30 am to 2:30 PM, so I am responsible for getting my son off to school every morning and picking him up in the afternoon. So, this makes for a rather interesting sleep schedule. First of all, I live 20 miles away from my work. So generally during a normal week day by the time I get everything done at work I arrive at home around 2:30 am. So, I end up going to bed somewhere around 3:30AM to 4:00AM and then the alarm clock goes off at 7:00 am for me to get my son up and ready for school. Then after this I go back to bed somewhere between 9:00 am and 10:00 am until the alarm goes off a 1 PM.

[Roger]

One manual covers 130/150/190 S and GTS SM

http://www.thermadyne.com/litrequest.asp?div=tai&CatId=30&Cat=OPERATOR/SERVICE/INSTRUCTION%20MANUALS&mode=1

Try link for P-Wee 130 GTS or P-Wee 190 GTS at this URL

http://www.thermadyne.com/tai/literature/index.asp?div=tai

[Scott V]

Thermal 150 gts

Dan,I picked up a flyer on a 1997 150 gts.It seems different than yours,The one you have must be older.I will tell you what this one looks like.

It has four knobs across the top of the front panel.They are from left to right.pulse frequency two ranges(.5-25 hz)(10-500 hz) next is the current control,then its the hot start-0-100 Amps tig hf and stick,and finally upslope -.5-5 seconds and downslope double that.also spot .5-5 sec.

The next row down is switches the first one from left to right is stick in the up position,middle is lift arc tig down is high freq start tig.the next switch over is pulse, off is the middle spot,up is high pulse,and down is low. the last switch is slope off is middle,on is up,and down is spot timer.it has auto preflow,and postflow is set by current.None of the slope or lift arc work without a button switch.The foot control or unplugging the foot control does not make those things work.Yours must be alot older if different.You also should check the torch if its acting funny.This model is the only one I have seen so thats about it from me.

[Hobart Expert Rock]

HEY DAN.................... ROBIN BROUGHT UP AN INTERESTING POINT ON THE MAXSTAR 140........... WOULDN'T ADDING A FOOT PEDAL ONTO THIS MACHINE... TAKE AWAY IT'S PORTABILITY...... IT IS SMALL AND PORTABLE WITH SLIDE AMP CONTROL ALREADY ATTACHED TO THE TORCH.......... THAT WAS THE THOUGHT HE AND I DISCUSSED..............DID YOU GET THE GTS FIGURED OUT......... I LOCATED ONE AT A LOCAL HOT RODDERS SHOP HERE IN TOWN... IF YOU WANT YOU CAN GIVE HIM A CALL AND HE CAN TELL YOU HOW YOURS WORKS.....................LET ME KNOW................HE DID TELL ME HIS HAS A SLIDE TORCH CONTROL ON IT...............ROCK
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[Dan]

Originally posted by Hobart Expert Rock
HEY DAN.................... ROBIN BROUGHT UP AN INTERESTING POINT ON THE MAXSTAR 140........... WOULDN'T ADDING A FOOT PEDAL ONTO THIS MACHINE... TAKE AWAY IT'S PORTABILITY...... IT IS SMALL AND PORTABLE WITH SLIDE AMP CONTROL ALREADY ATTACHED TO THE TORCH.......... THAT WAS THE THOUGHT HE AND I DISCUSSED..............DID YOU GET THE GTS FIGURED OUT......... I LOCATED ONE AT A LOCAL HOT RODDERS SHOP HERE IN TOWN... IF YOU WANT YOU CAN GIVE HIM A CALL AND HE CAN TELL YOU HOW YOURS WORKS.....................LET ME KNOW................HE DID TELL ME HIS HAS A SLIDE TORCH CONTROL ON IT...............ROCK
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Rock

You are right in assuming that portability is a determining factor in purchasing a Maxstar 140. However, for me the #1 concern first with TIG is how well can I control the welding arc. And with a hand operated remote I have limited control , and too I am limited to certain ways that I can hold the torch and operate the control. Where as with a foot operated control, I can hold the torch any way necessary to complete the joint. Besides the fact that I consider the foot control portable too. A foot control just isn t that much of a physical burden to carry around. After all I am not a feable old man. After all think about it a RFCS-14 foot operated control is about the same size as the average shoe that you or I wear on our foot. To me and probably others a foot control is a portable control, and the most user friendly of the two controls .

Another determining factor in purchasing a machine the size (amperage range) of the Maxstar 140 for a machine at home is the fact that most of my TIG welding is on 1/8" and thinner mild steel and stainless. And the Maxstar 140 goes high enough to weld the 1/8" and low enough to easily weld 20 ga sheet metal. And you get this welding range ability in a small package that falls in the price range that the average married man raising a child, 2 horses, and a cat can afford.

You are truely a good guy. Even when you are off the clock you gather info for us guys and gals here on this site.

By the way, I did finally figure the machine out, but i ll post this info in a different post oriented toward everyone who put in the effort to try and help me.

[cope]

Dan, I have never TIG welded, so I have no personal fell for this, but you are the first person I have seen say that he preferred foot control over torch mount.

[Hobart Expert Rock]

HEY DAN..............NO PROBLEM THAT IS MY JOB..........WELL ONE OF THEM.....NOW THAT YOU KNOW YOU CAN PUT A FOOT PEDAL ON THE MAXSTAR 140 BY CONTACTING ROBIN HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO CALL HIM YET.......................... ..................ROCK[email protected]