Hi. I recently bought a funny old TIG welder on craigslist. It is a
small AC buzzbox connected to a Power Kraft arc starter (made by 21st
Century). I tried it out, and it kind of works, but it creates a lot
of interference.

I figured that it might be bad for TV watching or radio reception, but
it is much worse. If it is plugged into a GFI outlet, the GFI trips
after a few seconds of operation. If it is plugged into a non-GFI
outlet, it makes any fluorescent lights plugged into that outlet flash
and flicker. Also, it will still trip the GFI outlet, if there is a
power cord plugged into it (doesn't have to be on). Now I can
understand why they don't let you plug unknown loads into hospital
outlets. Too risky with the nuisance trips.

I tried installing a line filter between the line and the HV
transformer in the arc starter box, and it does not help. Does this
mean that the arc starter is radiating power from the leads? I also
tried grounding my welding table, but this does not seem to help
either. I guess it is possible to use the non-GFI outlet, but then
lighting is a problem.

Any way around the pesky GFI trips and light flashing problems? Would
it be better to put chokes on the HV side?