I have a snap on mig with a tig conversion for it. I have had it 3 years but have not used it much. I tried welding some 20 gauge on the lowest setting (50amps) and it burned through it. If I get a foot pedal will that allow me to lower the amperage for welding thinner metals like 22 or 24 gauge?
Foot Pedal for TIG
- Thread starter 94BULLITT
- Start date
Shield Arc
Super Member
A foot pedal will only give you a range of amps to work with. If the welder will not go lower than 50-amps, a foot pedal isn't going to help you go lower than the out out of the welder.
Shield Arc
Super Member
I think it varies with different brands, and models.
Shield Arc
Super Member
I just looked through the manual for my Miller Dynasty 300 Tig welder. I couldn't find an amperage range for the foot pedal!
k0ua
Epic Contributor
94 what does your manual have to say about even adding afoot pedal to you rig? Is it even possible?
50 amps seems like a lot. Many of my TIG projects are around 20 to 25 amps. A foot pedal usually gives you control from near zero amps to the maximum that the main current control is set for but the machine has to be set up for it. What I'm saying is that a foot pedal is nothing more than a small variable resistor. But your machine must be set to make utilization of this varying resistor to vary the large amount of current that your machine will put out. The foot pedal is not something you just buy and stick on any machine to control the current level. It must be designed to work with that machine as a control device. I hope this helped.
50 amps seems like a lot. Many of my TIG projects are around 20 to 25 amps. A foot pedal usually gives you control from near zero amps to the maximum that the main current control is set for but the machine has to be set up for it. What I'm saying is that a foot pedal is nothing more than a small variable resistor. But your machine must be set to make utilization of this varying resistor to vary the large amount of current that your machine will put out. The foot pedal is not something you just buy and stick on any machine to control the current level. It must be designed to work with that machine as a control device. I hope this helped.
k0ua
Epic Contributor
I may not have made myself all that clear in the above post. As to what I said above as an example if your main current control was a set for 200 amps the foot pedal would likely provide control of the current from 0 to 200 amps but again the current is not flowing through the foot pedal the foot pedal is just telling the main control on the machine what to do.
The manual does not say anything about adding a foot pedal so it may not be possible. The connector for a Miller is the same. I could call the manufacturer and see what they say but I don't think a foot pedal would be good for what I want to do. Since I can only go down to 50 amps and I need 20ish, a small movement of the foot pedal would increase or decrease the amps a good bit. I read that you should set the welder for 20% more amps than you need. Thanks for the help