TIG makes my fluorescent lights flicker...

I've recently wired up my shop for my Miller Sync 180SD and several other tools... I've noticed that when I start welding, the lights (cheapy 4' fluorescents from Home Depot) flicker??? Is this normal? Is something wrong with my wiring? High frequency? Also, my MIG welder and my 240V mill don't cause any flickering, which would cause me to believe that it's not the wiring but something with the TIG welder. Any thoughts/advice?

Thanks.

Reply to
stag5353
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How about a solid ground to the frame ?

I know it would not do that to my lights, but a ground fault unit

10 feet from me always went down.

Never got that to work - now the shop doesn't have GFI in it at the new house.

Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

stag5353 wrote:

Reply to
Martin H. Eastburn

it is the high freq. my flourescent lights go super dim when I forget to attach ground to the table. only on the TIG.

Reply to
acrobat ants

Yeah, I was just out there welding and I pointed the torch at a piece of scrap and hit the pedal while looking the other way... the lights went out completely until I moved the tungsten in and established an arc. Voila. Kind of funny cause I could never tell if they were out the whole time I was welding...

yep, only the TIG. Seems to be the HF (High Frequency, not Harbor Freight, ha ha). I wonder what causes this in the lights???

Reply to
stag5353

Sounds like a bad ground path/ground loop. Ground the welder body and the bench if you have one.

Gunner

Reply to
Gunner

Here's a similar but different issue I have.

I recently bought a Lincoln Precision TIG 185. To get going I bought a cheapo auto-darkening helmet on eBay. When I tried welding, I found that the helmet would go dark as soon as I hit the foot pedal -- before I started the arc. Seems to kind of defeat the advantage of having auto-darkening.

I guess the HF is messing with the circuits in the helmet. Safe this way but I don't think this feature is intentional.

Been thinking I should get a better helmet.

Reply to
Rex

There is one brand of helmet that uses both the current flow and or the arc to initiate the auto darkening feature.

A nice feature if you happen to cover the light sensor

John Noon

Reply to
John Noon

when you hit the pedal you are ready to weld, if your helmet darkens you are in good shape. I am not saying it should darken from the HF, but the purpose of the auto darkening helmet is that you can positon your self your electrode or mig gun to the work with out flipping your helmet back and forth. also you can stop look at your work and restart without ever lifting a helmet, i amnot in favor of checp helmets when it comes to protecting your eyes and vision, but you already bought this helmet, so if it works keep it

Reply to
acrobat ants

I had a problem with the voltage dipping everytime I kick on the Miller

330A/BP for TIG. I also had problems starting an arc.

It turns out I had Al wire into the plug and it was corroded. My father put the outlet in for a compressor back in 1970 and it had gotten to the bad point and the welder showed me the problem. The compressor worked just fine.

I put a new outlet in and will be putting a full sub panel and copper wire in the garage in the near future.

Reply to
DellDude

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