I have some flat aluminum sheet that I have been toying with, in hopes of being able to understand different settings so that when the time comes I can choose the proper frequency/balance to do a job. Unfortunately Going back and forth with different settings I am not seeing any relation how they work or do anything differently.

Machine I am using is a TA185 with a 3/32 thoriated tungsten, no pulse, machine set to 140A max.

I first set the machine to 70hz, 20% balance
- I was able to lay a decent looking bead that flowed nicely, seemed to require lots of heat to get started.

Second setting, 70hz, 65%
- Could not even make a puddle, my tungsten balled up until it was inside the cup, this happened pretty quickly.

Third setting, 130hz, 65%
- Same thing, could not create a puddle no matter how much heat I put into the piece, tungsten just balled up into the cup fairly fast

Fourth setting, 130hz, 35%
- Was able to lay a decent bead, could not really tell any different between this and the first setting besides the higher frequency noise the machine makes.

Am I doing something wrong, that the tungsten melts at 65% balance no matter the frequency?

What effect does frequency have on the weld I keep bouncing around with different settings but can't understand the relation. I find can do fairly nice welds with the balance anywhere below 50%, anything above that and magic doesn't happen.