Help. I am thinking about getting a tig

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Thoro

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I've been proficient with mig for quite some time and am thinking about venturing into tig. As this is still a hobby for me, I cannot justify thousands of dollars for a welder.... I am considering these units that show up on cl posted by these so called dealers..... They seem like ok units, but is it all just sales pitch bs? . Here is what I am considering.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/tld/4788044835.html

I spoke with the gentleman who sells these units. He seems like a straight shooter, but still hard to tell. Says he spend a few hours with each new customer teaching them how to set up and use the welder.

I'd appreciate any feedback.

Thanks in advance
 
I don't see the duty cycle for the machine. They have them on amazon for 750$ with free shipping and that includes the regulator which is a 100$ add on for the cregs list one. Its is less than half what I paid for my Lincoln 225 TIG. Never used one so can't add much more than that.

Jeff
 
A great forum to find out if they are good is:
http://forum.weldingtipsandtricks.com/

They are just like this forum, friendly and helpful.

I have a Lincoln Squarwave 175 Tig and love it. I've also owned an HTP Invertig 200 and loved it. The lincoln was $2100 with undercarriage. The Invertig was $5500 with cart and water cooler. Just to give you a real world price comparison. These are new machine prices. If you are lucky, you can find used Miller or Lincoln machines that may be in your price range. Sometimes you can get great deals at the local welding supply.
I have seen some good reviews on the Alpha Tig but have not used one. Don't forget that you need an argon cylinder of at least 120CF and other supplies(tungstens, cups, Colett's, gas lens and welding rod).
 
Be sure to get high frequency start. Got several tig machines,
prefer hf start, other is lift start.

Used for steel only.

my two cents

Charl


 
Make sure you get an AC achine with HF start if you want to do Alli. I am a retired welder and jodies site is a great source of info too. what is your max budget? The reason I ask is the Everlast machines have come a long long way in quality and durability and may fit into your budget and get you started with a reasonably powerful machine that you only need a bottle of Argon to go to work. Originally they were pretty junky, but they have kept up with upgrades and engineering and have a fairly decent product now for about a grand out the door. Worth looking at anyway I think it is the 256 or something like that now.

Bob
 
Hi
Just a quick few things to think about. Take a class at a VoTech school, or community college. There is a lot to learn about a TIG. You need to think about 3 things for the welder. Amps, Voltage and Duty cycle, get the max for all of them you can afford. Like everyone says if your going to well Alu you you will need AC and Hi Freq. Will want to get a water cooled torch ASAP, Alu needs lots of heat. You will need an Argon tank, gage and flow meter, TIGs suck down the gas. Large argon tank is about 300.00 for a 5 yr lease. I would go for a min 180-200 amps 16v, 30v is better, and at least 35-40% duty cycle. Miller and Lincoln have copper transformers. Chinese use Alu wire in the transformers. You'll be lucky if they last to the end of the warranty. Figure about $2500-3000 for good used more for new.:bitingnails: Ask me how know all this:thumbsup2: as I look over at the Miller 220v 320 amp and my new water cooled torch.
Good luck. This is the one I bought from the school where I took my course. Nice old welder.
CH

Miller 320a BP.jpg
 
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My best advice is to Google the brand and model #, and add the word "reviews" to the search. What you want is to find out if there are any problems with the brand or model. Reviews are the only way to find out if it is a good machine or a bad experience waiting to happen. I'm not familiar with the brand personally.

I had a hard time wading through all the advertising and lack of *real* information when I was shopping for my TIG machine. The professional weldors generally don't use these machines, and unless it's red or blue, won't offer a constructive opinion.

Jody at weldingtipsandtricks.com has hundreds of good videos, and is testing some similar inverter machines right now. They may help you form an opinion. Another source is Mr. TIG at weld.com. He even rates machines as "Mr TIG Approved". :biggrin:

GG
 
I would be very very careful about buying an inverter TIG welder as a beginner. If you do any surfing on the large welding websites, there are a lot of sad stories. They go a lot like this: do lots of research, get lots of abuse on website for asking newbie questions, start a flame war about import versus US made, buy welder, BANG! (semiconductor failure), whine, "I told you so." Note that this story does not contain the brand of the welder in question. Anybody can go bang.

After looking at these kind of sad stories for too long, I sat down for a while and tried to think of a way to avoid this situation. Too much fake brand loyalty out there (the "loyalists" fade away after the first sign of smoke). There is a shared maker space here called Techshop. They had a new inverter welder (HTP, I think) and I figured out that I could sign up for a month or so and use that welder really hard to see what was up. Then if it went BANG, I would be just out some membership $$$ and I could use their lathe instead. Before I had the chance, there were only Lincoln Precision TIG transformer machines there. Probably, BANG, before I got there :angry:

A lot of other blacksmiths use the old transformer machines. They are not afraid of weight, and they don't do a lot of aluminum. I recently got a Miller Maxstar, and it is just great.
 
I've got an Everlast 250ex tig welder and I've had absolutely no problems with it. As a matter of fact, I love it! Jody at weldingtipsandtricks.com did quite a few videos on that same Everlast. He's on you tube too. I can't speak on the welder that you posted.
 
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