Ok, lets start out with some sample numbers to make things easier to understand.
For this, we will assume your machine is set to 100 amps. This is called your peak.

Now think of a graph with a straight line, depicting current, going across at -100. Since this is not AC, ALL current will be negative on tig. For these examples, I'll leave off the negative, just for ease of reading.

Now, when thinking about the Lincoln pulser on the PT 185's, the current graph will show ups and downs of amperage. All will still be negative. So it will go from 100 up to what? 50, 20?? I dunno. Whatever it is, you can't change it. Lets assume it's at 50. How long will it be at -100, in relation to the time it's at 50? I dunno...and you can't change it either. Will it spend equal time at 100 and 50? Same thing...you don't know and can't change it.

Now with the Syncrowaves, you can change these variables. You have 3 variables:
1) pulses per second (frequency)
2) % on time
3) background percentage

So, lets use the example numbers again for the Miller pulser variables.
The frequency is variabe with any pulse machine.
With any pulse, you have a high and low that the current bounces back and forth between. The high is called peak and low is the background. If you set the % on time to 50, then it will spend 50% of the time at each. If you set it to 20%, then it will spend 80% of the time at 100 amps, and then 20% of the time at the low point.
Lets say you have your background percentage at 50. This means that if your peak amperage is 100, then your low point of pulse will be 50 amps. If you set the background percentage to 20%, then the amperage will bounce between 100 and 20 amps.

By lowering the peak time (percent on time), you will give the puddle a bit more cooling time between pulses. Likewise, lowering the background amperage will let it cool more. A higher background amperage will increasingly diminish the effect of a pulse. For example, pulsing between 90 and 95 amps will make little effect on the weld.

Sometimes, you can adjust the pulse such that it will go from background to peak, but stay at peak for a very short time. This will give more of an on-off effect, which can give well defined and wide ripples, but help to reduce penetration on thinner materials.

there's many ways to manipulate the pulse and get the most out of this feature...
but if you have a PT185, you can't do anything but change the frequency of the pulse.

I have got to go now, but will check back and maybe add a bit more later, especially if there's any questions.

 

Good info, I always enjoy reading your posts. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of welding and am pretty good at it, but there's always more to learn.

 

well said ..

thats exactlly y i whent with the thermal arc tws185 ... has every thing the more expensive inverters (200dx ext ....) have but runs on 230v not the 230/110 option like millers ...

i can adjust all parapaters of the pulser .

i couldnt be more happier choosing the thermal arc

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbo gli &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... has every thing the more expensive inverters (200dx ext ....) have but runs on 230v not the 230/110 option like millers ...
</TD></TR></TABLE>
The drawback is that having more power input options will increase the selling price if you choose to sell it. For example, if you have a machine that will ONLY run 3phase, it limits the number of people that can use it...thus the numbers that will be interested...and that affects the resale value.
Does your machine allow you to change all the AC wave characteristics like the 200dx?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The drawback is that having more power input options will increase the selling price if you choose to sell it. For example, if you have a machine that will ONLY run 3phase, it limits the number of people that can use it...thus the numbers that will be interested...and that affects the resale value.
Does your machine allow you to change all the AC wave characteristics like the 200dx?</TD></TR></TABLE>

yea i know that aswell .. but i can still sell one of these fast .. b/c its a 230 30amp . most places have a 30 amp breaker .. (dryer) . not everyone has a 60amper that the pt185 utilizes .. the thermal arc is fully adjustable .. ac % and freq . pulse amps,background,%, and freq . o and it does stick ..

the freq adjuster on mine (times it pulses) goes up to 200 .. i tryed it on a flat slab i had and fused the pice looking like a full-race robotic weld .. not a define ripple
it pulsed superfast
y would they have the machine go to 200? or when would u use that much ? .. most ive done is in the 10-30 freq range as u can see the arc pulse very easy on/off/on/off and dab in the on part of the weld .

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbo gli &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> o and it does stick .. </TD></TR></TABLE>
ANY welding machine will weld stick.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbo gli &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">y would they have the machine go to 200? or when would u use that much ? ..</TD></TR></TABLE>
A very fast pulse seems to be more steady when welding with low amperage on thin materials. In other words, the arc doesn't want to wander so badly.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ANY welding machine will weld stick.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i was only kidding about the stick .. i know every machine has that capability

 

I wonder how much interest there would be if "someone" (me) produced a low-cost pulser for the Miller TIG welder. I have no idea what it would cost, but it would be a lot less then what Miller charges.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kb58 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wonder how much interest there would be if "someone" (me) produced a low-cost pulser for the Miller TIG welder. I have no idea what it would cost, but it would be a lot less then what Miller charges.</TD></TR></TABLE>
If you got the "know-how' it shouldn't be too hard to make. Keep in mind that the demand for this as an ***-on is diminishing, since more and more of the machines are comming with it as standard equipment. I know the low end machines don't have it yet, but this half-*** pulser Lincoln put on them is just the first step. I would bet that within 2-3 years the major brands will all have the full featured pulser.

I think retail on the Miller PC-300 is about $600. I lucked up and got one for $175 (new) recently. It was too good of a deal to pass up, especially since my old Sync 350 didn't have it, since it was optional back when bought new.

 

Whoa, I entered into a Lincoln bashing post. I have a PT-185 and I love it, even with its less than fully featured pulser. I have welded with Esab , miller , HTP, even some off brands, and let me tell you there is a difference. Even though the PT-185 has a kinda weak pulser i find that for most of the hobbiest type people on this site the pulser works just fine the way it is. One ****, no nonsense. Most people will end up hating a very/overly featured tig welding machine cause they don't understand exactly what each **** does, and in the end set up the machine to weld and it welds terrible. all because of the incorrect settings. i by no means am trying to undermine your thoughts on this post, but let me ask you to remember the audience in which is reading every one of your posts very carefully. 99% of them/us are not welders or weld for a living, we just want to have fun and fab up a couple of things for our selves and or friends.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fulldragcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Whoa, I entered into a Lincoln bashing post. I have a PT-185 and I love it, even with its less than fully featured pulser. I have welded with Esab , miller , HTP, even some off brands, and let me tell you there is a difference. Even though the PT-185 has a kinda weak pulser i find that for most of the hobbiest type people on this site the pulser works just fine the way it is. One ****, no nonsense. Most people will end up hating a very/overly featured tig welding machine cause they don't understand exactly what each **** does, and in the end set up the machine to weld and it welds terrible. all because of the incorrect settings. i by no means am trying to undermine your thoughts on this post, but let me ask you to remember the audience in which is reading every one of your posts very carefully. 99% of them/us are not welders or weld for a living, we just want to have fun and fab up a couple of things for our selves and or friends.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yea but it takes only acouple of welds and reading and understanding what each adjustment *** does and u got it all figured out , then it isnt so intimidating ..

so your welds will be even better and smoother once u get to know how to set up the machine .. i dont really agree with your post ..

 

I am not asking for a reply nor am i asking for any one to agree or disagree with any and all of my posts. i am merely trying to defend Lincoln Electric products. Everyone learns different, and not everyone has the time or want to know how to set back ground amps, burnback, percent on time, etc...etc.. bla bla. i hear ya MR. Engliod ( spell), and i respect your opinion on the PT 185. I just wanted to tell others that may read this that there are two sides to this story, and that the pt 185 is still My favorite machine. sure if you got the money go and get yourself a dynasty 300dx with all the bells and whistles, but then please post up all of the features that you don't use. The list of used features will be much shorter than the list of unused. so don't feel as though your not getting a quality tig machine unless you spend 3500 or more on a new machine.
i am not trying to be a dick, or make any one reply with a nasty comment. After rereading the above it sounded like i was mad or trying to be a jerk. so you all have my apologies in advance.

 

For the most part, I do agree with you. The average hobby welder will never use the advanced features on the newer inverter machines...but the pulser is an option that can be effectively used by even an amateur with just a little bit of practice and knowledge. My main point is that I think the pulser they put on it is primarily a gimmick that's put on the machine just so they can use as a ploy to compete with the Miller Econotig or SD180.

It's like when I bought my PT175, they boasted about an automatic AC balance control that adjusts, according to amperage, and foot pedal depression... but in the end, I found that I liked controlling it myself...over having no control over it. At that time, this was the gimmick Lincoln used to boast it had a feature over the Miller products in the same price range. I feel that Lincoln has just done this again, but with a crappy pulse feature that gives you ZERO control over the pulsing characteristics, as you can only change the pulse speed.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fulldragcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am not asking for a reply nor am i asking for any one to agree or disagree with any and all of my posts. i am merely trying to defend Lincoln Electric products. Everyone learns different, and not everyone has the time or want to know how to set back ground amps, burnback, percent on time, etc...etc.. bla bla. i hear ya MR. Engliod ( spell), and i respect your opinion on the PT 185. I just wanted to tell others that may read this that there are two sides to this story, and that the pt 185 is still My favorite machine. sure if you got the money go and get yourself a dynasty 300dx with all the bells and whistles, but then please post up all of the features that you don't use. The list of used features will be much shorter than the list of unused. so don't feel as though your not getting a quality tig machine unless you spend 3500 or more on a new machine.
i am not trying to be a dick, or make any one reply with a nasty comment. After rereading the above it sounded like i was mad or trying to be a jerk. so you all have my apologies in advance. </TD></TR></TABLE>


his opinion as you have yours... the pt185 lincoln is actually a good machine. if you want to go factory then get the dynasty10000 or miller 699999 .... with the basline MIller or Lincoln TIG you'll be able to do just about anything in this sportcompactcar sport....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lsvtecpower &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
.... with the basline MIller or Lincoln TIG you'll be able to do just about anything in this sportcompactcar sport.... </TD></TR></TABLE>
Keywords being "just about"... one of the biggest reasons that I wanted a bigger machine than the Lincoln PT175 is because it would have serious problems welding 1/8" aluminum material on AC, for any length of time. By that, I mean that I couldn't weld with it for more than about 5 minutes and it would kick the thermal overload. I have used the Econotig and the PT175 (owned) and would pick the Econotig over the Lincoln. The biggest thing I didn't like about the Econotig is the low end of the amperage range wasn't as low as I'd like.

 

Lincoln's higher end models allow you to adjust all aspects of pulsing. Lincoln probably kept it basic on the low-end model to make it competitive with Miller while still offering brand new technologies.


Modified by backpurge at 9:19 PM 12/27/2004

 

hey guys, real quick. Does any one have any thoughts on the higher end machines, like comparing the syncrowave 350 to the precision tig 375. i am asking this just to be differnent, and we are always comparing the PT-185 to the miller 180 SD.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fulldragcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey guys, real quick. Does any one have any thoughts on the higher end machines, like comparing the syncrowave 350 to the precision tig 375. i am asking this just to be differnent, and we are always comparing the PT-185 to the miller 180 SD.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I know the main reason we chose Lincoln (PT-375) over Miller was because of availability. We needed the machine within a week and the Millers were having a problem with the water pump failing on the water coolers, causing a 3 week + backorder. We ordered the Lincoln that day and it shipped to the local welding supply store by the next day. I haven't had any problems with it and the arc at low amps (&lt; 30) is much smoother than the older Syncrowaves I've tried.

 

sense we are listing the differences list the price difference between the pt185 and the syncrowave with the 3 way adjustability you were talking about, caus ei know the lincoln costs less. and for its price compaired to the "equivalant" miller syncrowave, i think its a pretty good feature. I've never used a miller TIG, only MIG, but i've gotno complaints about either miller nor lincoln (especially sense i own a pt185)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b16hybridsol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sense we are listing the differences list the price difference between the pt185 and the syncrowave with the 3 way adjustability you were talking about, caus ei know the lincoln costs less. and for its price compaired to the "equivalant" miller syncrowave, i think its a pretty good feature. I've never used a miller TIG, only MIG, but i've gotno complaints about either miller nor lincoln (especially sense i own a pt185)</TD></TR></TABLE>
On a quick note, I dont think MR. Engloid is trying to put down lincoln products. He is just trying to inform the members on H-T that may get a welding machine in the near future. And from my previous statements on this post you can see where I stand on this matter. But to answer your post i got my ready to weld package pt-185 shipped to my shop for 1580.00. Now a even more feature full machine would be millers dynasty 200 dx with out a cart will run you 2200-2400 as well as lincolns invertec 205. they both have fully adjustable pulsing features as well as the benifits of being inverter based.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fulldragcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">On a quick note, I dont think MR. Engloid is trying to put down lincoln products. He is just trying to inform the members on H-T that may get a welding machine in the near future. And from my previous statements on this post you can see where I stand on this matter. But to answer your post i got my ready to weld package pt-185 shipped to my shop for1580.00 . Now a even more feature full machine would be millers dynasty 200 dx with out a cart will run you 2200-2400 as well as lincolns invertec 205. they both have fully adjustable pulsing features as well as the benifits of being inverter based.</TD></TR></TABLE>

no one here likes the thermal arc .. i got it 1650 shipped ready to weld onlything needed was gas .. thats only 80$ more then the pt and is a better machine .. inverter,smaller 40lbs, fully adjustable paramiters ie a/c d/c , pulse ,ext ext .. i dont get it

 

i wasn't trying to make it out to look like he was badmouthing lincoln, i just wanted to point out that the pulse feature is as low tech as it is because of the price range of the machine.

 

i think what Engloid is doing is comparing the pt185 to welders in its class , like the 180sd mostly , cus the big sales point for the pt185 seams to be the pulser , and the pulser realy is not that good when compared to a more advanced pulser , so i think this will make people think more befor they buy a pt185 for its pulser feature , i know i did , thanks Engloid , i like they way you tell thinks you dont take sides and you tell it like it is

 

i have a pt185.. this welder isnt aimed at someone looking for high end super adjustible features.. i know when i started the pulser helped me to see the rythm required and kept me from burning through the first few things i worked on.. it helped me learn. now i dont use it at all and i can weld better and faster w/o it. i think thats why lincoln included this weak pulser.. to help you learn, if you are advanced enough w/the welding to know how to set the pulser, etc.. then the pt185 isnt for you. imo, this is a hobbiest-mild duty fab machine.. not a hardcore professional machine

 

can someone point me where to find out what "pulse feature " is..

i am lost.