TIG critique and advice

[tkr]

alright i've been playing with the tig trying to get somewhat proficient at it....

here's the deal i feel like i can do okay with bigger stock 1/8 and 1/4, but when i go down to smaller it looks rough and wavey.....i am using 3/32 tungsten THOR
and 1/16 filler...

here are some pics.....


my welder set up
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1153.jpg
my torch
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1152.jpg
my welds on thicker stock-----this is 1/4 to 1/8
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1154.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1158.jpg
here is welding onto 1/16 (the little gusset)
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1160.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1157.jpg
here is a little gusset i welded to strengthen the hole (how do you get rid of the stop/start marks????-obviously no filler)
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1159.jpg

i'm thinking i need to drop down on my tungsten and filler because it either seems like the filler cools it down to fast and makes it lumpy or i end up with a big weld and warping the other side......
also when you plan on welding on both sides of a gusset, what do you do to keep the shell/flake from occurring on the other side of your weld?????
any advice would be appreciated....

[JR]

I'm not a pro but here's my observation.

Tungsten is out too far for a non gas lens, don't know if you weld with it that way or if it was just for picture purposes.
Way too much heat for the thinner stuff.
Blending in a start is not that hard, just takes practice. The end seems to always leave a little...disk mark. I just try to end in a strategic place that is not so obvious.

IMO, it looks good. Inside corners are the easiest to make look good though.

[suprdave737]

Jeez it looks great to me, way nicer than i do. Are you wanting to get a job welding up nuclear subs or what are you worried about?

[THachiya]

May be a case of the blind leading the blind, but, I agree with JR above and suggest that you ease off of the pedal at the end of your runs. Try different stopping techniques to see what I mean. Fast/hard stops lead to very distinct craters.

Your consistency is good, so you're already well ahead of the game.

Good luck.

[tkr]

I'm not a pro but here's my observation.

Tungsten is out too far for a non gas lens, don't know if you weld with it that way or if it was just for picture purposes.
Way too much heat for the thinner stuff.
Blending in a start is not that hard, just takes practice. The end seems to always leave a little...disk mark. I just try to end in a strategic place that is not so obvious.

IMO, it looks good. Inside corners are the easiest to make look good though.

i do weld with it that far out for inside corners-what is a gas lens????
yes they are easier to make good looking-
now do i need to drop tungsten size??? filler size???? or what to keep the heat down....

[Static-XJ]

Way too much heat for the 16ga. Try knocking your amperage in half for that.

General rule of thumb is to keep your tungsten stickout to not more than the diameter of the nozzle unless using a gas lens. A gas lens evens the gas flow out, allowing you better gas coverage and a longer stickout, or less gas usage. Pic of a gas lens assembly on a #20 torch:
http://www.arc-zone.com/images/wp20_small.jpg

I use 3/32 2% thoriated for pretty much everything.

And like was mentioned, you need to back off the current slowly at the end of a weld. Lift off the pedal slowly, add some filler as the puddle shrinks. Those dimple looking craters are caused by rapid cooling of the puddle. The metal shrinks as it cools.

[tkr]

Way too much heat for the 16ga. Try knocking your amperage in half for that.

General rule of thumb is to keep your tungsten stickout to not more than the diameter of the nozzle unless using a gas lens. A gas lens evens the gas flow out, allowing you better gas coverage and a longer stickout, or less gas usage. Pic of a gas lens assembly on a #20 torch:
http://www.arc-zone.com/images/wp20_small.jpg

I use 3/32 2% thoriated for pretty much everything.

And like was mentioned, you need to back off the current slowly at the end of a weld. Lift off the pedal slowly, add some filler as the puddle shrinks. Those dimple looking craters are caused by rapid cooling of the puddle. The metal shrinks as it cools.


what size filler do you use for 16ga???? thanks so far guys....i need all the help i can get:D:smokin:

[Static-XJ]

what size filler do you use for 16ga???? thanks so far guys....i need all the help i can get:D:smokin:

1/16th would be my first choice.

[jeep_87_cherokee]

first i'd try to get my ripples closer together, so it looks like the edges of dimes right next to each other in an overlapping manner. thats what i see from your 4th pic.

on your gussest it looks like you had your torch angles to much toward your thinner material, that seems to be the gusset. i good rule of thumb is to have your tungsten pointed more toward the thick material to evenly spread the heat, a thinner piece we heat up quicker than a thicker piece. also on the top of the gusset in the 6th photo you melted away some of your base metal on the gusset, prolly due to too much heat and had torch angled to much on the thinner piece.

i'll also say that yea you do have your tungsten stick out to far, and what i prefer is sharpening it with more with a taper, if you dont know what i mean, yours in the pic looks like a fatty mark point and how i sharpen ot looks like a sewing needle.

on thing i learned from a EXPERT chromo chassis welder is when you finish your weld, dont quickly pull away your torch to look at what you done, this is where your postflow come into play- when you finish your weld, let off the petal and keep the torch in the same spot, and just relax till your postflow(flow of gas coming out of nosvel when not arced) quits. What this does is that the gases shield the weld you have just made till it "cools".

sorry if it sounds like bitching, but i have been there and learned the hard way, will the easy way saying that i didnt pay out the ass to go to a WELDO school.

heres mine on some .25" to .50" mild steel
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii69/jeep_87_cherokee/floorplate4.jpgand i LIKE IT HOT :flipoff2:

[tkr]

first i'd try to get my ripples closer together, so it looks like the edges of dimes right next to each other in an overlapping manner. thats what i see from your 4th pic.

on your gussest it looks like you had your torch angles to much toward your thinner material, that seems to be the gusset. i good rule of thumb is to have your tungsten pointed more toward the thick material to evenly spread the heat, a thinner piece we heat up quicker than a thicker piece. also on the top of the gusset in the 6th photo you melted away some of your base metal on the gusset, prolly due to too much heat and had torch angled to much on the thinner piece.

i'll also say that yea you do have your tungsten stick out to far, and what i prefer is sharpening it with more with a taper, if you dont know what i mean, yours in the pic looks like a fatty mark point and how i sharpen ot looks like a sewing needle.

on thing i learned from a EXPERT chromo chassis welder is when you finish your weld, dont quickly pull away your torch to look at what you done, this is where your postflow come into play- when you finish your weld, let off the petal and keep the torch in the same spot, and just relax till your postflow(flow of gas coming out of nosvel when not arced) quits. What this does is that the gases shield the weld you have just made till it "cools".

sorry if it sounds like bitching, but i have been there and learned the hard way, will the easy way saying that i didnt pay out the ass to go to a WELDO school.

heres mine on some .25" to .50" mild steel
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii69/jeep_87_cherokee/floorplate4.jpgand i LIKE IT HOT :flipoff2:


this is exactly what i need so i can get an idea of what direction i need to go....it's all constructive to me......keep it coming:D

[StinkBug]

General rule of thumb is to keep your tungsten stickout to not more than the diameter of the nozzle unless using a gas lens. A gas lens evens the gas flow out, allowing you better gas coverage and a longer stickout, or less gas usage. Pic of a gas lens assembly on a #20 torch:
http://www.arc-zone.com/images/wp20_small.jpg


I was just about to post up a thread asking about gas lenses. The TIG I just picked up came with a crapload of lenses, and associated cups and I was wondering how they worked different from a normal collet. Have any setup tips for using a gas lens? I've never used one before.

[JR]

Go to your local welding shop and buy a gas lens and cup. They're cheap around 20 something bucks. You can stick the electrode out 1/2" no problem if needed and welds always look better.
I like to run 105~115 amps for .120" to 1/8".
Keep the filler rod in the shielding gas also after you are done welding.

[DSW]

The rule of thumb I was taught is 1 amp per .001" of material in mild steel. Don't set you amps up super high for light material. If you set it at 200 amps and try to run 100 you only have a very small portion of the petal to play with. If you set it at 115 instead you will have more than you need (assuming you want 100) and better fine control. BTW I just did a 1/8" T joint for someone elses post on another forum and I could do it at 100 amps with a slight weave. It wanted a tad bit more heat so I would say 115-130 would be a better setting for 1/8". I'll see if I have any 1/16" laying around and play a bit.

I agree that I would pick 1/16" filler. I have tried to use mig wire but the bends are a PITA. Anyone who knows a good way to straighten out mig wire, I'm all ears. I have a ton of SS and alum 1/16" mig wire and would love to use it.

The scale on the back is from to muck heat. You can actually pull this thru the steel and into your bead if you arn't carefull. Been there done that.

Starts and stops have pretty well been covered by others.

As far as stick out, I will agree and disagree. It looks like you are getting enough gas coverage on your welds, but corners tend to concentrate gas. Also I dont know what the setting is on the reg. I have even seen stick out that was eevn farther. My instructor had me do some welds with the tungston stupid far out just to prove it can be done. Dosen't mean you should, just that if you need to you can get away with it out farther than most people think. That said the gas lens is the way to go.


For those interested in Gas lenses here are the picts of my WP17 with the std parts and the gas lens parts. The 20 parts should be some what similar.

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=20799

They also have a post on gas lenses on water cooled torches.

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=20828

[DHONDAGOD]

Nothing much to add here other than I set my amperage to where I can weld wide open on my pedal. Keep dropping the amperage on the machine untill you can do this. Gives better control of the temp with the pedal.

I agree the tungsten is too far out for my taste. I couldnt keep the tip out of the puddle to save my life with it that far out.

Im a self-taught TIG welder so take it for what its worth. You might try posting over on the Miller site. Theres alot of good info/help there.


Chris:cool2:

[BumpyDodge]

All the cup sizes equate to 1/16"s of orifice size. For example: a number 6 cup has a 6/16" (3/8") orifice so 3/8" would be your max stickout with a #6 cup. A number 7 cup would be 7/16" - you get the idea.

You can get away with a little beyond max stickout if you're on an inside corner because the material itself will help "aim" the argon towards the weld puddle.

To completely prevent any oxide scale from forming on the backside of the weld you have to use a a shielding gas on the backside also (they do make a flux for backing stainless, but I've never tried it). To backpurge the weld you need two cylinders or a regulator with dual flowmeters. One flowmeter is for the torch, and one for is for the purge. It's not really a big deal unless you're doing something very high tolerance or a piece of stainless tubing, but a dual flowmeter looks like this->
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d82/TJshare/PBB/DSC01021.jpg

Regarding your question on gas lenses, they look like this->
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d82/TJshare/PBB/DSC00876.jpg
Both are #6 size, you can see the gas lens on the right is fatter than a regular collet body & cup. Pink arrows indicate direction of gas flow. With a gas lens the stickout you're currently running would be no prob. *Note* if you swith from a cup to a gas lens turn down your argon or it will blow the puddle.

The only two mistakes I can see are where you have is where you "lost" your shielding gas at the top of that little gusset and the crater at 5:30 clock position on the fusion weld. 175 amps really isn't all that high if you're welding at half pedal. It's easier just to drop your amps at the machine so you can floor it and go on the thin stuff. I'd also space your filler rod dips closer together for a smoother appearance.

Edit: Noticed you have a 20 series torch, the collets pictured above are much lager than what you have, but they work on the same principle.

[tkr]

bumpy dodge--thanks for the insight and advice....now i don't know anything about torches....is the one i have adequate??? or should i be looking into a different one??? i want to be able to do aluminum also....i bought the whole set up with cooler awhile back...i will look into the lens if it only 20 bucks

also my gas is at 12


again thanks everyone....i appreciate all comments...it gives me a direction to go.....looks like i got some practicing to do


one more thing...a guy told me to use stainless rod on mild steel....is this true or a bad idea????

[BumpyDodge]

bumpy dodge--thanks for the insight and advice....now i don't know anything about torches....is the one i have adequate??? or should i be looking into a different one??? i want to be able to do aluminum also....i bought the whole set up with cooler awhile back...i will look into the lens if it only 20 bucks

also my gas is at 12


again thanks everyone....i appreciate all comments...it gives me a direction to go.....looks like i got some practicing to do


one more thing...a guy told me to use stainless rod on mild steel....is this true or a bad idea????

A water cooled 20 series is rated for 250 amps. Is that a synchrowave 250 you have? As long as your water cooler's working you should be A-OK.

The torches are usually numbered by the old Linde system.
9 is a small 125 amp air cooled, sometimes pencil-style - uses small collets
17 is 150 amp air cooled is what most people use for small stuff - uses Big collets
20 is a 250 amp water cooled - Most common water cooled torch. uses small collets
There's about a dozen others, but those are the most common torches under 250 amps. Your 20 should probably cover everything you need. It's a nice light torch.

Most common fillers for mild steel are ER70S6 or S2. (Same as MIG filler, just bigger and cut into 36" pieces).

[tkr]

Most common fillers for mild steel are ER70S6 or S2. (Same as MIG filler, just bigger and cut into 36" pieces).

now is it bad to use ss rod??? i do have some er70s6 i was just told ss is stronger.....

[JR]

now is it bad to use ss rod??? i do have some er70s6 i was just told ss is stronger.....

Best to stay with similar metals because of the difference in the cooling contraction rate.
Er70 is the one you want, it's plenty strong.

[Scout Dude]

Anyone who knows a good way to straighten out mig wire, I'm all ears.

Put the wire in the vice and the other in a drill and then slowly rotate while pulling on it. I wouldn't rotate stainless too much though.

[Scout Dude]

Best to stay with similar metals because of the difference in the cooling contraction rate.
Er70 is the one you want, it's plenty strong.

Doesn't matter too much as Stainless filler has a decent amount of nickel content which allows it to deal with the different cooling rates. We used SS all the time in my TIG class as it's much easier to weld with. However, using dissimilar metals can cause issues with rust due to galvanic something or other.

[Pin Head]

Not much to add.

Your "hand" looks pretty good. The bead shap on the last picture looks a little concave and maybe even undercut in some places. Dip more filler more often.

[Bigger Valves]

now is it bad to use ss rod??? i do have some er70s6 i was just told ss is stronger.....

Yes, and you were told wrong. No reason to use ss on any normal steel application. Save the money and make a better weld at the same time. It's a win/win!

Your fillets look underfilled.. Tighten up ripples and strive for that flat to convex fillet profile. Makes a difference for ultimate life and strength of the joint.

Backpurging is always an option, or spend time cleaning between the welds that go on opposite sides of a small piece.

Keep shielding to a maximum, always. Look into gas lenses and the best advice in this thread is to remain stone solid like a statue until your post flow is finished. Not only does it shield the end of the weld, but also shields your tungsten until it has cooled sufficiently.

Don't get into the habit of autogenous welds (no filler). They may look pretty and be easy, but they are substandard in the strength and longevity department. They are also more susceptible to cold-cracking and such. Only weld with no filler when the job specific welding procedure calls for it and I'm guessing this doesn't apply to your project. The filler is important for cleaning impurities that may arise, diluting the parent material, and adding reinforcement to the joint. All three of these are extremely important to have in almost all cases.

[tkr]

Yes, and you were told wrong. No reason to use ss on any normal steel application. Save the money and make a better weld at the same time. It's a win/win!

Your fillets look underfilled.. Tighten up ripples and strive for that flat to convex fillet profile. Makes a difference for ultimate life and strength of the joint.

Backpurging is always an option, or spend time cleaning between the welds that go on opposite sides of a small piece.

Keep shielding to a maximum, always. Look into gas lenses and the best advice in this thread is to remain stone solid like a statue until your post flow is finished. Not only does it shield the end of the weld, but also shields your tungsten until it has cooled sufficiently.

Don't get into the habit of autogenous welds (no filler). They may look pretty and be easy, but they are substandard in the strength and longevity department. They are also more susceptible to cold-cracking and such. Only weld with no filler when the job specific welding procedure calls for it and I'm guessing this doesn't apply to your project. The filler is important for cleaning impurities that may arise, diluting the parent material, and adding reinforcement to the joint. All three of these are extremely important to have in almost all cases.

first-i always thought they were supposed to be slightly concaved ??? i guess i was misinformed again

second-what should i run the regulator at???? i'm at 12 now...

third-how long do you recommend?

fourth-i only do it on pieces that are stacked-like pictured-is that still not acceptable????

again thanks and i will keep practicing...

[Zukiford87]

Yeah deal with the tungsten stick out. If you're doing some really thin stuff and the machine just wants to zap zap zap and not start the arc until you're flooring the pedal and the arc starts at way to hot and you blow the corner off of something it may be time to switch to a smaller tungsten. I had to run 80 amps through some .040 tungsten when I was welding some support to part of the body of my samurai, it was delicate joining the .025 steel of the body with the 1/2" round stock. The 43" of weld under the door took about 6 or 7 hours.

At work we covet scrap aluminum and copper/brass to use as backing plates on some of the finer stainless and aluminum that can't have any discontinuities on the opposite side of the weld. It's not perfect but it does help some.

[tkr]

had to run 80 amps through some .040 tungsten when I was welding some support to part of the body of my samurai, it was delicate joining the .025 steel of the body with the 1/2" round stock. The 43" of weld under the door took about 6 or 7 hours.

can i see pics??? i do want to learn as much as possible...i wish i knew a tigger so i could learn faster.......here's a quick question when you TIG do you normally travel with the tungsten at a steady pace and dip accordingly or do you run in a back and forth motion while dipping????

[Zukiford87]

I try to stay at as steady of a pace as possible and dipping consistently. now steady doesn't mean a death grip on the torch, that will just make things worse. I mean is the work situated at a proper height to see clearly, are your arms supported in a manner that is comfortable, does the chair (if you're sitting)have wheels or adjustable backs or seat height all these little things for comfort will help you relax and find a rhythm and TIG welding is all about consistent rhythms and finesse.

when I started I would have to have both hands planted fairly close to the area that I was welding and I could only weld about 3" before I had to stop and move my hands down the seam to continue the weld. This helped me quite a bit in the beginning. You can also adjust your tungsten stick out so that when the gas cup is set on the lower part of the work piece and the tungsten is pointed at the joint with enough room for the filler and all you will have to do is pull the torch in a straight line keeping a consistent speed and addition of filler. you still have to maintain proper torch angles but you shouldn't have to worry about arc length too much if you can decipher this correctly.

This resting of the cup on the work is a crutch that can help you in the beginning; however don't become reliant on it because there wont always be a spot to rest it. And try some joints set up vertically or at 45 degrees or some butt welds and outside corners or with your non dominant hand (after you are good with your dominant hand) and other stuff that may be hard, but then the easy stuff is cake.

I don't have any pics now but I will take some soon if someone can post them for me. Also don't try all these suggestions at once, work on one thing at a time. A metronome would have been handy for learning timing if I had known about them sooner. Good luck and have fun.

[g-wizz]

dont know if anyone has said this... but to practice your heat controll use stainless rod. if the beads looks good colors blue gold or even clear your doing good. dont use it on shit that your actually welding, just stuff to practice on. also practice on thin jive. if your welding 1/4 your probably just better off with mig. if you really want the tig look you could just pulse over the mig but ya. more heat on heat probably not to good.

EDIT.. ALSO TAKE your time. its pretty easy to put alot of heat into thick pieces with tig. try using temp sticks to show you when your to hot, or a damp sponge near where your welding but out of your HAF to suck out heat.

[g-wizz]

can i see pics??? i do want to learn as much as possible...i wish i knew a tigger so i could learn faster.......here's a quick question when you TIG do you normally travel with the tungsten at a steady pace and dip accordingly or do you run in a back and forth motion while dipping????

your constainly pulling pushing the puddle with your torch depending on how hot or happy your metal is. when its not happy your puddle will be all swirling and shit when it is it will be stagnant, your tungsin tip can determine that to.
trigger is the same as the foot pedal... just on you hand and bulkyier.

[g-wizz]

for your tip you want it to be sharpend to 1 1/2 times the thickness of the tungsten... sure you could make it sharper but youll errode the tungstin cause the thinner it is the hotter it gets. also you want a little flat tip so you can direct torch easier.

[DSW]

can i see pics??? i do want to learn as much as possible...i wish i knew a tigger so i could learn faster..

I know I'll get jumped all over for this statement but here goes. If I was you I would look into a nite welding class at you local CC or votc school.

Mine for tig cost me $250 this past term. Since I already have a machine to practice on, I can skip most of the tedious class practice and concentrate on learning new skills and moving forward. I practice at home between classes and even show up on the nights my instructor has his stick class, before it starts. I bring in my practice pieces and have him critique them. Since I show an honest interest in learning he is more than happy to help. Guess I'm better than his day kids who would rather be sleeeping or chasing a$$. I went from never using tig, to horizontal welds in 2 classes, about 25hrs+ of home practice. Vertical 2 weeks later. I'd been playing at home but just couldn't get it quite right. I'm now doing alum in less than 10 weeks. Probably some of the best money for classes I have spent.

If you don't already go to Millers forum
http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/communities/mboard/index.php

Or the welding web forum
http://weldingweb.com/

and post some of your picts of welds and questions. Most of the guys there are glad to help out. That how I ended up here at this site.

[Zukiford87]

[QUOTE=DSW;8175537]I know I'll get jumped all over for this statement but here goes. If I was you I would look into a nite welding class at you local CC or votc school.

This is a great piece of advice.

What I meant by steady was that I don't try to get the shape of the weld by moving the the torch like some people move a MIG to get a pretty pattern. You will have to make subtle changes to heat, torch angle, travel speed, and all the other little things.

[StinkBug]

Ok here's another question for you guys. How do you figure out what cup size to use? I've done a lot of TIG welding, but always either in class where they just gave everyone the same cup, collet, tungsten, or on other peoples machines where I was just running whatever they had set up at the time. I've gotten pretty good at working with what I've got, but now that I have my own machine and a good selection of cups, tungsten, etc. I'd like to do things the right way.

[DSW]

Not to be a smart ass, but the answer is to use the biggest cup that you can, to reach the area you need get to and still get enough gas coverage. I find that even with my #8 on my gas lense I can do almost any corner that I have needed to so far. If I was trying to do a set of headers and get in between the pipes I coud see using a very long thin gas cup.

[tkr]

don't know if you guys care but here is the project i was toying with....still not a 100% done but good enough to show

pieces for the arm
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1164.jpg
welded to the hauler
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1175.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1177.jpg
and the final
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1181.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1180.jpg
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/tkrrox/DSCN1179.jpg

i still have to make a latch for the lid and make a way to lock it in transport position......


thanks again for advice and i will keep keepin on

[Gaummy]

Thanks for all the tips guys, I've been reading and trying to pick up some tips from all the great advice. I just picked up Giant Tech welder and learning as I go and all the advice help a noob like me. I'll toss up some picture for critique after I put down some better looking welds.

[DSW]

tkr, very nice work. That gas line looks a bit short to reach a bottle. Are you planning on a longer hose or are you going to make a bracket to hang the bottle? I'll send this to a friend who loves to cook and camp. He'll probably have me make him one also. Nice idea.

[tkr]

tkr, very nice work. That gas line looks a bit short to reach a bottle. Are you planning on a longer hose or are you going to make a bracket to hang the bottle? I'll send this to a friend who loves to cook and camp. He'll probably have me make him one also. Nice idea.

i haven't decided if i should tie in before the trailer regulator or get rid of the BBQ regulator....i have a T right under the front rail that i was planning on tying into...i will have to see how it lays out.....also if you look at the 3rd & 2nd to last pic-at the elbow there is a piece that is at the very bottom...this is going to be a plate/tray/utensil holder.....

thanks again guys....also i can jack knife the trailer and not hit the BBQ:D

[DHONDAGOD]

Ok, thats cool right there... :smokin:



Hmmmmmm..... Just what I need, another project......:shaking:



Chris:cool2:

[Wyoming9]

I may have missed it somewhere if I did I am sorry.

Now if that picture of what looks like a older Syncrowave.

The high Frequency switch is set to on. for steel and stainless steel DCEN or Straight polarity you only need it for start. unless you are using AC but that only really needs to be used for Aluminum.

I am sure you know that the upper limit of your remote control is set by your panel output adjust ment.