Everlast’s PowerARC 140ST comes with a TIG torch with a small knob on it. The knob controls gas flow. Unlike most TIG welders, the gas actually hooks up right to the flowmeter and you control it with the knob.
On the front of the machine, to set up for TIG, shift the selector toggle switch under the amperage knob to TIG. For the connectors, plug the ground connector into the positive side and plug the torch connector, with its gasline hooked up to the bottle, into the negative side.
One warning with this machine: because there’s no trigger or foot pedal for the TIG torch, when you have the machine set up for TIG and turn on the welder, the electrode in the torch is hot electrically. Don’t set down the TIG torch anywhere! Put it in a holder or hold it in your hand because the minute you touch metal, it wants to get to work.
Kevin has his flowmeter set to about 10 liters per minute – he can control the gas with the knob on the TIG torch.
To start the arc, Kevin said in his previous how-to video about this welder that it was a scratch start. It is actually a lift start. To start the arc, just put the torch cup on the metal surface at an angle, rock it over until your electrode touches, then lift it up. It starts, and then you can hold your arc. When you want to stop welding, just pull the electrode away, or rock it to the side and pull it away, whatever works best for you.
Kevin grabs his helmet and gloves and makes some sparks. He runs a nice bead – until he is ready to finish welding. The little bobble at the end happened because he started to pull the TIG torch away and hit the knob at the same time and shut the gas off by mistake. “Unfamiliar equipment!” he says, urging viewers to practice, practice, practice.
A close up of the weld shows where he forgot to turn the gas on in the beginning, then there’s a nice “stack of dimes,” before he made that last goof.
The machine was set at about 90 amps, and he was using a 3/32 Quad 4 tungsten from HTP Weld. He had the welder plugged into 220 and was welding on a scrap of 1/8″ steel plate.
Kevin says he can really see a use for the machine. You can use the stick welder outside, with the welder slung over your shoulder, drag an extension cord with you to, say, build a fence. You can’t really do that with the TIG because you’d have to drag a bottle of gas with you, too, but it’s definitely a nice machine.
Or you can take an extra moment to see Kevin try to catch himself on a flub ….