Kevin is holding the small connector he needed to replace the larger connector to hook up the TIG torch on the Longevity ProMTS 252i. The manufacturers in China put the connectors on for the smaller size, but the torches came with connectors for the larger size. Longevity sent Kevin the smaller connector to convert his torch so he could run this multipurpose welder as a TIG machine.
This welder is the big brother to the 200 multiprocess machine that Kevin says was a nice welder. Now Longevity improved some of the technology inside, made the welder a little more robust, and increased the duty cycle of this MIG / TIG / stick machine.
When the welder is set up for MIG welding, you have the ground on the negative side, the MIG “gun” is hooked up to its own connector, and there’s a pigtail that you put into the positive side just to complete the circuit.
To change it to TIG, you just take out the pigtail and the ground, and put the ground on the positive side. Then you hook up the connector for the TIG torch. Of course, you already have the electrical connection for the TIG torch and your gas line is already hooked up.
If he’s just going to use TIG for a while, Kevin likes to unhook the torch cable assembly, coil it up, and put it below on the cart or hang it on the hanger to get it out of the way – and reduce the weight on the connector or the gas line.
If you’re going to be switching back and forth between MIG and TIG, though, you can just leave the torch cable assembly hooked up. Kevin says you might drape the cable over the cart or the machine and clamp it to reduce the weight, though.
To continue your switch over from MIG to TIG, on the panel, flip on the welder and let it boot up. Kevin says one nice thing about this machine is that the fan comes on and then shuts off. It’s an “on command” fan, so you don’t have to listen to it when you are adjusting the controls and getting set up. When you’re welding, the fan will run, then shut off when the machine has cooled down. Then the lights on the welder let you know it’s on.
With the controls, you switch the selector from MIG to TIG, then select 2T or 4T, depending upon your preference (Kevin likes 4T). Once you are set up for TIG, the first dial becomes Welding Current and the second Downslope. The third dial is for Wave Control, which doesn’t function in TIG mode.
On the switches, turn off the spool gun, and make sure you change your Remote Control switch to “on” because that enables the control on the TIG torch itself. The last toggle feeds a little wire when it’s in MIG, and also handles Gas Check so you can purge your line for TIG or MIG.
The TIG torch – which some guys call “the club” because it’s pretty big – fits Kevin’s big hands, and it has a flex head so you can adjust it however you want. It has an on / off button and a rotary amperage control built right into the handle.
Kevin likes to adjust the control by setting the welder itself to maximum amperage, then using the scrolling rotary control to increase and decrease the amperage on the fly.
Kevin reminds viewers that this welder uses a lift start, so you have to touch the tungsten to the metal, touch your button, then pick up the torch to start your arc. To turn it off, you just touch the button again.
It’s time to make some sparks! Kevin grabs his welding helmet and a section of steel box tubing and tests the torch, turning the amperage as low and as high as it will go.
The only thing missing on this torch is the panic button that was on the older welding torches. That came in handy when you were welding and saw you were about to burn through. You could just touch that button one time and the amperage would drop to half. Touch it again, and it went back up to where you were. With this version, you just dial it down a bit.
As with any torch, you want to get used to how to it so you can work all the buttons with your eyes closed.
“It’s a nice machine,” says Kevin.
At the end, Kevin recites the relevant parts of the alphabet, but not without a little cheating …..