Finger vs Foot

[SignWave]

SignWave; I went to a finger control that is a slider and it just clips onto the torch handle. The reason that I decided to go to one is that there are alot of times that you can get out of position that the foot pedal is almost a major problem to use such as laying unneath a pontoon boat or working on stainless sinks at restraunts. The finger control is like anything else that you have to get use to in using. Mine has an off position and amps increase with the movement of the slider. I've also used the knob control too and it does the same thing. Most the time you only have to use your thumb to move the knob or slider but again it because of bad postioning and portability that made me decide to change. Seldom use the foot control because that's two pieces that needs to be moved on location instead of one. I must say here also that I also went with a Dynasty 200dx for the portability also so it all depends on your needs.

I like the idea of a slider. that sounds like the ticket. I know that the foot pedal is a lunky floor wieght that resembles a boat anchor. It even has comes with some rode to sink it... Thanks for all the great replies and advices.

I checked ou tall the ebay Items too but the photos dont show a whole lot. I am going to go into the local welders supply shops and start looking around. and see whats out there. thanks again guys

[BillyGoat123]

I may be wrong, as most of my TIG work is done on a bench, but I was under the impression that in the hard to reach areas where a pedal is not accessible that the machine should have the remote amperage and remote starts simply shut off, and have the amperage adjusted to where it needs to be directly at the machine? Is this not the case?

[Black Wolf]

I was under the impression that in the hard to reach areas where a pedal is not accessible that the machine should have the remote amperage and remote starts simply shut off.

If you remove or disable the amphenol (hand or foot) then you default to the Amperage on the face of the machine when the arc is established with an On/Off momentary switch to begin & end the arc. If you remove the "remote start" (No momentary switch) it would still work with Scratch start, but how would you initiate Hi-Frequency???

Later,
Jason

[2much2do]

I use a Lincoln square wave 175 (work bought it, If it were up to me It would be blue.) but since I have to use the tig in a different spot every time, I use a slider thumb control. It uses velcro straps, but I found zip ties work better. I have it set up so I can use it with my index finger. I've been doing it that way for over a year and it works great.

[BillyGoat123]

If you remove or disable the amphenol (hand or foot) then you default to the Amperage on the face of the machine when the arc is established with an On/Off momentary switch to begin & end the arc. If you remove the "remote start" (No momentary switch) it would still work with Scratch start, but how would you initiate Hi-Frequency???

Later,
Jason

Right, I knew you'd then be relying on the amperage wherever its dialed in at on the machine (Makes you be a lot more careful where you put it at I'd imagine) But I've never tried to run Hi-Freq with a scratch start, so I don't know? It won't work? I guess I'll have to try it this afternoon.

[safetydave]

Hey signwave, just thought i would give some info on this.

I have used both and i do prefer the on-off switch much better, the reason is for better control of the torch for out of position welds and if your doing alot of fine quality welds you would want this type all it is a (kisser butten) that goes right below the head of your torch you can velcro it or tape it on and also when you set your heat on the machine to what your welding and leave it unless your welding thicker or thinner depending on work your doing, so when you start to weld just push the button and start welding, I'm useing this set-up with a syncrowave 250 and like i said i love this set-up, but we also have syncrowave 300 at work and all of them have the thumb roller switch and foot pedal depending on machine thats in the department,and with this set-up you would again set your max heat on the main source and use the thumb roller to adjust your heat at the torch head when your welding, the more heat you need the more you roll the switch till your at max heat and when done welding roll it back to off position, it's nice for straight position welds but not good for out of positons and the other thing is it's bulky if your not use to this type of set-up. I hope this helps you get a better idea of what you might decide for your set-up.