Hello, I recently knocked off the dust from an old scratch start air cooled tig rig and starting running some practice beads. , (still learning) but I've often wondered what the max amp I can run without melting the rig. Or even how long can I expect to weld. I guess the obvious answer is, if it's hot stop $$$ . But I wonder what an input some one with generally hours if not years would say?
I running a 17FV and occasionally a SV17 off the esab rebel.

you can run higher amperage like 200 for short periods but anything over 150 will most likely heat up your torch to the point where its uncomfortable. I ran an air cooled 9 on a dynasty 200 for quite a while and it would get really hot when I pushed it but I had parts to weld and I liked the torch. I eventually wore it and the silicone rubber broke down and I went water cooled at that point. The cable usually holds up longer than the torch head and the torch heat itself is fairly cheap and easy to replace. Also different brand torches hold up differently. My Esab tig torch on a rebel 205 is a 17 style but it heats up a lot quicker than a CK 17.
hope this helps,
Jody

At work we had a hot batch of 1/4" aluminum parts come through that absolutely had to be done and I had to run our 200 amp machine maxed out with helium and preheated parts. That poor 17 CK torch got so flippin hot I had to double glove and hang on to the very back edge of the handle. I made the mistake of leaving the torch cable coiled and it melted together after an hour. After I uncoiled the cable it held up just fine. It was not much fun, but it did the job and the torch held up WAY longer than I thought it would (and longer than I told my boss it would). I ran that torch for another 6 months until I left that shop. Running DC at under 150 amps it took a very long time to get uncomfortable to hold.

So 200 amp lock out my esab rebel on 110 v , but 145 to 150 did just what I wanted. Flat wide bead, but is is supposed to grey?