Want Better Aluminum Welds? Cup Size & Gas Flow Matter!

Gas lens or standard cup? It's an age-old debate in Aluminum TIG welding. We set out to find some answers and test both in this video on how to get the best possible results in your Aluminum TIG welding.
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#everlastwelders #weldmeanweldgreen #learnwelding

[@everlastgenerator]

Machine Settings on all welds: PowerTIG 255EXT | 121 amps | AC Frequency 121 hz | AC Balance 35% | Advanced Sq Wave

[@rogersam07x]

Max recommended stick out?

[@jovannycosme]

Why are there pinholes in the welds, even the good ones you have? I keep getting them with my 255ext and do fuel transfer/aux tanks, and I am quite frustrated with this machine. Let me know what you think, thanks

[@Wingnut_Stickman]

cup size and gas flow are important considerations when choosing a wife too.

[@jessemccollum]

Haha If I could pin your comment, I would.

[@Wingnut_Stickman]

@@jessemccollum thanks

[@deltathunderfalcon8512]

CK worldwide 17 air cooled tig torch: $125. This comment: PRICELESS 😂😂

[@Wingnut_Stickman]

@@deltathunderfalcon8512 Thanks

[@GregoryJohnston77]

Lmmfao

[@DigitalVideoFromOz]

Message to Everlast: This is the best brand ambassador you have by a long shot. I have more than 30 years in television and television broadcasting as a career. I like Jesse.

[@jessemccollum]

Thats a mighty high compliment ... I appreciate the support! I still feel like I'm just getting my feet under me on this video stuff, still gets my nerves all shaken up haha

[@jonathanwiggill8242]

I learned a lot about gas flow. I never realized how important it is for arc stability. This helps me a whole bunch. Thank you!

[@NKPGarage]

I love seeing all of the side by side comparisons with both cup size and gas flow. That is really helpful to see what the differences actually are with all other things being equal. Thanks for taking the time to put this together and share with us

[@clifferickson7199]

Thank you! I would love to see more videos from this guy! This is one of the more helpful vids I have found! Great job!!

[@JohnChuprun]

Excellent comparison testing, well done and insightful. I appreciate it!

[@michaelscott2381]

As a scwi, I found your comparison very informative. Outstanding!

[@markrich3271]

Something that took me a very long time to figure out with welding aluminum and that goes with the lesson. Tungsten stick out. I used to have my tungsten hanging out there. Mud puddles. Start at a 1/8 inch and adjust .

[@kshofat4]

Very informative video. You're making more sense than anybody else on the Tube. I've ordered the new 255ext. Be here within a week. Coming from a blue box which I ended up despising. Never worked properly. Thank you for sharing.

[@bradyderise8884]

Really helpful Info for someone who is just starting to Tig Weld. Thanks

[@ricardomontes373]

The best vid I've seen in a long time. Very detailed, thanks a lot.

[@metalheartmachine]

Excellent video! These are topics that we discuss all the time with students.

[@ypaulbrown]

out of the hundreds of TIG aluminum videos I have watched, this is by far the best.....Bravo, Paul

[@ronmarshall725]

Thanks for this! Great comparison. Low cfh looks just like failure to clean your material or dirty filler rod. Personally I have gotten such varying results using gass lenses on aluminum that I just don't do it anymore.

[@Mh976]

This video was right on time, thank you

[@outdoorzone]

Great comparison and very helpful!!!

[@brianb5779]

Perfect timing, thank you!!!

[@MotoraxUSA]

Such a great video!! Best explanation i’ve seen to date on the subject.

[@JeffinTD]

A most excellent video. Thanks for taking the time.

[@pierroalino]

Thank you very much for this interesting video 😊 Regards from France

[@littlewarlock9361]

Thank you for that demonstration, it seems that large cups are for dc tig welding and small cups are for ac tig welding where the reaction of aluminum is not as drastic.

[@glenellynrunner]

thanks, Jesse. Good demo

[@flyinpolack6633]

Good breakdown. The same test with some stainless would be cool too

[@ttsupra87]

Thank you for this!

[@HVACtuner]

Thanks very much Gents! Helped me a lot! :):)

I was a welder for years years ago but tig was just high speed production not stacking dimes. Now as a maintenance man I tig and almost always just go to 30CFM because of air drafts in a factory, dirty metal, water vapor, oils. I always used argon but now find helium argon works better as I tend to weld large objects that swallow heat and preheating is for motived people.

[@bluedemon79]

Awesome learning video! Thanks

[@DonnyBwelding1]

I love my everlast machine ..211 si!!!Not to mention customer service is on point!!

[@budmanzoom4441]

Nice demo - thanks!

[@leonardkarran4020]

Great video! Thanks

[@adstaton8461]

When the boss is paying for the gas I turn it up. When I'm at home paying for the gas I turn it down and close all the doors and windows. LoL.

[@jessemccollum]

Id be lying if I said i didn't do the same!!

[@joelyounger]

This guy is my favorite ambassador. He honestly should be a tech school instructor. Super knowledgeable and his ability to convey that knowledge in a way that's simple for guys like me to understand is invaluable.

[@jessemccollum]

Very kind words sir! I appreciate your support than you'll ever know, thanks for checking us out!

[@clifferickson7199]

I totally agree we’ll put!

[@kshofat4]

He makes more sense than anybody on the Tube.

[@jasonvargas4611]

Thanks, this helps a ton as a noob!

[@MrJarrell76]

Nice job jesse it was a great experiment

[@andyb7754]

Thank you for a very interesting video.

[@middleway1885]

Boop... bloody good showing! Cheers!

[@richardfuerst5286]

Great information. 👍

[@juanignaciocaino]

A couple of tips for how to troubleshoot when you're a beginner and your have something off would be super useful. Like, how to tell if your torch/solenoid/argon line is sucking up air, how to tell if you have a contaminated cylinder, how to tell if your consumables are poorly manufactured and have issues. These were the biggest problems I've encountered early in my training and it set me back months and demolished my confidence in the learning process I was onto.

[@kshofat4]

It can get very discouraging sometimes. I gotta set back, drink a beer and tell myself it's not me. But I do like seeing the professionals screw up like I do. Keeps us on the same level.

[@carsonsteinberg6404]

Thats a great video. Great info.

[@siamdarkweldertigwelding5874]

I wanna b the brand ambassador of Everlast , Thailand. We need a good Tig welding machine here. I’ve been watching the Green welding machine since I studied welding class at the US. and love it so much. I came back to my country in 2018 and realized that we need a good tig welding machine for our welders. Thank you

[@mikethecripple]

If you want a good machine I can put you in contact with someone who can sort you out with something truly awesome 😎

[@65BAJA]

Do you have a video on how to select cup size? Like when a #5 would be appropriate and when an 18 would be the better choice?

[@leopantheraleo]

@3:20 Bad start on first run. Did you purge your gas line before starting the weld? Nice video, these are helping me a lot. :)

[@briancatling925]

Great photography

[@rays9033]

I've seen nothing but good things said about glass gas lenses, thank you for the info! This may be off topic, but I posted a similar Everlast question/comment on another channel: I'm just a (software engineer, soon to retire) car/metal fab hobby guy that has been running a Lincoln SP-175+ MIG welder in my garage for the last 25-years. I've been looking at the Everlast TIG welders for the past year in hopes of learning to TIG weld too. Since I have a 240V 40A AC power receptacle that's been my MIG power source (and no real need to TIG using 120V) and have the desire for higher TIG welding duty cycles and the capacity to weld thicker steel and aluminum, would buying the 325-EXT over the 255-EXT be a bad idea? Any drawbacks to the 325-EXT over the 255-EXT (other than $250, which is not huge)?

[@ronhuffman7973]

Thanks for the excellent demonstration it helped a lot. I’m having one problem I can’t completely correct. At the end of an aluminum weld I try to add some rod and

[@ronhuffman7973]

and blend the puddle to prevent a crater. As I back off the peddle I get arcing from the tungsten, almost always 3 times before the arc goes out. This always causes a crater. On dc It works perfect, but ac frustrating. If I almost stick the tungsten in the puddle it may only zap (flash?)once, but it’s unpredictable and always ruins the puddle. 255ext, new. Settings as recomended in the post by Everlast. 3/32 lanthinated tungsten, #5 cup, 10 -12 cfm, tried different tungsten diameter and tapers, 4043 rod welding 5052 .062 thick. Tested

[@takenusername]

The rule of thumb (2x) gas flow to cup size starts to fall apart as the cup size increases. I’ve seen 2.5x cup size as the gas flow recommendation as well.

[@dennisyoung4631]

How thick was the aluminum? Its alloy? (Need to practice on aluminum in the future.)

[@lalonganiza4978]

Yo uso una standar #10 flujo de 35 y va muy bien 👍🏿

[@williebateman3613]

Beautiful 💥💪🏾

[@scottcarr3264]

Thankyou, I have heard that the smaller cups do fine because with Aluminium you are predominantly cooling the Tungsten, and enough gas to protect the bead cleanliness, not like in Steel where cooling the Hot steel is a bit more important. I was surprised the 16 cup did ok, but you needed so much gas, at any lower flow rates it got disastrous.

[@hectorr814]

EXCELENTE VIDEO¡¡ SALUDOS DESDE MEXICO.

[@stevehanwright481]

Nice .. interesting data

[@paulkurilecz4209]

Great video

[@idontstunt2613]

Good video

[@jazzilady]

Thanks💜

[@chriscode1926]

Another great video. Looking for some feedback on different types of tungsten and taper or not to taper that people are using with aluminum, thanks

[@jessemccollum]

I pretty much only use 2% lanthanated these days.... Typically 1/8" on aluminum at 30 degree taper, blunted; and 3/32 on mild steel and stainless at a 30 degree sharp point.

[@romanoschwabel3716]

you may try please standard cup size with 60 cfh to see the difference what tungsten size you use? green marked one? interesting video .thank you 👍

[@prosperohernandez6379]

For tube .5 O.D .03 for x ray what is you seting in the welder machine what is size tusteng and cup leng

[@Cobra427Veight]

Do you run a truncated tungsten, it seems like you run a lot of stick out like you'd use for steel or stainless , what tungsten , your alloy is new but still will have a layer of oxide , maybe why all the starts are a bit dirty till the cleaning happens is that cerated or similar tungsten, I know you can see better , do many use a balled end ziconiated , I use both , love to have adjustable hertz. Cheers good video.

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

Did I miss it? How thick is the plate?

[@turbotrana]

I learnt heaps. I saw one guy weld a cylinder head with an easy beautiful weld. I tried to do the same but couldn't. Pretty sure too much gas. How about doing a heavy casting demo.

[@jw8556]

Yeah nice comparison best lv seen so far less talking more info black and white well done

[@Mengkomnap]

Hello my sir what’s the CHF mean? Thank you for advance

[@Tom-xn7zc]

Come on now, it's 2022! Time to ditch that CFH nonsense and start using L/min. Other than that it's a good informative video, thanks.

[@ronniecenadero5292]

10 to 12 cfh how the setting of amps

[@Goesinya69]

Thank you Just one question! How do I know if my machine is running correctly. Seems kinda loud, but never ran aluminum before,.

[@djmills8929]

The AC noise is much, much louder than it seems on video. At high amps and frequencies you almost need ear protection

[@galvanizedgnome]

I'm gonna sell my esab

[@contractor9391]

What color tungsten do you use for aluminum? Thanks

[@jessemccollum]

Personally, i prefer 1/8" 2% lanthanated for aluminum, i only drop down to 3/32" when i get on material less than .065" in thickness

[@prodzektownia]

try weld aluminium with backpurge

[@jascal8437]

Jesse the man!

[@darrenlafreniere5034]

Thanks for putting this together! I am welding GREEN!

[@dennisyoung4631]

How thick is the aluminum used? Its alloy - 3003? 6061?

[@jessemccollum]

That was .090 5052

[@a.bakker64]

Thanks for this video. Question, do you never remove the oxidation layer on aluminium? Or just clean with acetone?

[@jessemccollum]

Personally.... I don't on most of the stuff i build, but im using new, and clean material for most of my builds. Just a good rub down with Windex if its dusty or acetone or carb and choke cleaner for oil and grease. Ive found on new material trying to remove the oxide layer(which is what balance does anyway) often times introduces more dirt and grime into the base material. On older and dirty material for repairs, I'll usually grind with a flap disc, then hit it with scotchbrite, then wipe down with acetone and weld.

[@rickmantwill8356]

I have a 350 when will cordless pedal Become available?

[@jessemccollum]

Wireless pedals are currently available!

[@dustinwalden7091]

Do all flow meters read the same? Mine says the top of the ball is the reading. It looked like you were using the middle. Camera angle possibly?

[@jessemccollum]

There is definitely a small difference between each one, usually not enough to matter much, even brands of gas lens will flow slightly different and one might need more or less than another

[@wheelspinner20]

Just like thermostats,thermometers, scales and dyno’s, they are all different. Especially off brand stuff. We use one ball float style tool that you put on the gas cup and all regulators can be off a little using the same exact tool to measure flow with.

[@albertocortes1637]

CFH ball reads from bottom of ball, nor the middle or top of the ball.

[@Jursaw]

Now I know why my welds look so contaminated. Thanks for making this video!

[@ralphwaters8905]

Love your demos, Jesse. I don't really like the "double the cup size" rule of thumb because the area of the cup varies with the *square* of the diameter. A #15 cup is 3X the diameter of a #5, but 9X the area. Your 60 CFH flow on the #15 cup still has much lower velocity than 10 CFH thru a #5 cup. Now I will torment you and the Everlast engineers: Did you perhaps have your machine too close to your work table for that last test? The blast of cooling air out the front vents of my PowerTIG 255EXT has given me the vapors at times by disturbing my shield! Why oh why didn't they exhaust it out the BACK??? I would love to reverse that direction of flow. Please ask Everlast if I can just reverse the internal fans or do they need to sell a retrofit baffle kit for this!!!??!!

[@jessemccollum]

Yeahhhhhh its not quite THAT exact... But the old "double the cup" will get ya in the ball park. Regulator to regulator will vary a bit as well, I just thought showing people how too high and too low look might be able to help alittle. As for the last run, the machine was in the same position as the others, as well as the location of the weld... When setting up we had to make some adjustments to the machine position and where I was welding for that reason.

[@carpediemarts705]

Tape a paper/cardboard shroud around the face? Or lay a toolbox in front of the welder? Yes, too much airflow out of the welder to have it directly on the bench pointing at the work.

[@ralphwaters8905]

@@carpediemarts705 - Yes, quite so. My shop is tiny so I don't have a lot of options on placement or raw distance. My machine is on a custom cart I built, with the torch cooler at the bottom and the welder above it. I built a "blast deflector" on the front to direct the discharge down. I love the welder but the location of the gas inlet at the center (of the bottle) and the direction of cooling flow were surprisingly obvious oversights (to me).

[@tomwagemans1872]

I have a unit that is fabricated at the same factory as the everlast machines. I really don't like the cooling direction. Why didn't they reverse the flow? The only good thing about is that you get a cool breeze in the summer.

[@clintonbecker5785]

I put a 90 fitting on my everlast 185, got it from napa in the air brake fittings cabinet.

[@user-lg5iq6zk7e]

I am a very good TIG welder and am looking for a job

[@MechInvent]

Cup size is everything.

[@TinusVilakazi]

If u say cup size an gas flow wat u mean plis help me

[@chrispoynton8642]

Get a mix of argon and helium for tig welding ally much cleaner weld and need less amps using helium. Il show you all how to weld.

[@fkncarl9302]

Low gas flow making the weld look like to much amperage makes sense. The gas does have a cooling effect on the weld.

[@91rss]

is that on 26 or 17 torch BTW

[@jessemccollum]

Thats a 9/20

[@matthewjones7689]

Why not gas lense number 8. I see alot of people use that for aluminum

[@jessemccollum]

Ideally we would have compared a 5-8, but just doing the 5s the video was getting pretty long. The main point was to show what each type of cup does at an improper gas flow. The 18 run was more to show that a properly dialed in, there really isnt much difference in the bead.

[@kevinblackwell4617]

5 or 6 is actually the most common. Gas lens or not.

[@matthewjones7689]

@Kevin Blackwell I used to use the non gas lense number 6. But it didn't fit my needs.nonce I tried the stubby 8, it was much better. For aluminum anyway .

[@kinzieconrad105]

You came make gas lenses with sink aerators screens. Just cut to fit. And then after that you learn if you control room air flow, you can turn your gas flow way down and never use a lens’s again! Ga$ i$ $$$$$$$! Unless someone else is catching the bill. Post flow is more important than duration!

[@brianb5779]

Not hating but man would have been nice to see at 60hz

[@jessemccollum]

I can pretty easily shoot another couple of runs at 60hz and post them to the everlast Facebook group if youd like!

[@brianb5779]

@@jessemccollum Man id really appreciate that brother,,thanks a million and for the reply. I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas. Take care

[@jessemccollum]

@@brianb5779 my pleasure man, I'm off work at the day job between xmas and New Year's so I'll need something to keep me entertained

[@clist9406]

Personally I like C cups

[@olegbykov9102]

Всё понятно даже Английский язык не надо учить 👍

[@diamonddetails9445]

Us ignorant rookies TYVM 💯😎👍👀

[@RickBaconsAdventures]

is somebody burning a bunch of 7018 rods in that skateboard van at 0:55 or does everlast corporate support the use of illegal recreational drugs?

[@Latino47Heat]

Should have used pulse, and higher frequency.

[@jessemccollum]

Pulse really isnt needed for this demo as we werent trying to reduce heat input or avoid warpage..... Same for frequency. I really dont use pulse on aluminum, stainless thats a different story.

[@humourless682]

Its pointless trying to set accurate gas flow using a flow meter on the bottle, as this ISNT the amount of gas coming out of the ceramic! ALWAYS set gas flow using a peashooter on the torch itself.

[@ontariooutdoorsman]

Great video. Thanks !