Help me spend my money on a TIG welder!

[Dabbler]

'Snow' is the form water comes in naturally. Sometimes gets converted to 'water', but not often.

 

[stioc]

I just got the PrimeWeld TIG 225 and as promised here're my initial thoughts. It's a big boy. Had to modify the HF cart and it just *barely* fits. That's a 80cf Argon tank to give you an idea of the scale.

I've only had about 10 mins with it to test the functionality to make sure it wasn't damaged or DOA. FedEx isn't known to baby these 90lbs packages and it had it's share of bruises and tears on the box but it was packed very well inside. Love the real CK torch. Hook up etc was pretty intuitive. The foot pedal moves around on the floor but that can remedied. The arc is nice and smooth.
For stick welding disconnect the "control lead" or it'll wait for you to use that to supply currently to the stinger lol
It's very loud and the fans are on all the time and the air blows from the front and sides.

I haven't dealt with their support so couldn't say how good they are. I did send them a question via email prior to the purchase asking if it can do lift/scratch arc but I never did get a reply but could be different if I called them instead...I hope so lol All in all it's the best TIG I could find for the money!

 

[Dabbler]

Let us know when you are melting steel, and how it works for you!

 

[Mauser lover]

Wow... that thing's a monster!

 

[stioc]

It's a tad lighter than the Hobart but it's definitely longer and taller. The cart's a bit too small for it but I had already bought it in anticipation of the welder so I modified it a bit to make it work.

 

[Aaron_W]

Here's a long thread on the Prime Weld TIG along with a video and experiences from the welding web forum https://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?700179-Primeweld-AC-DC-Tig-225X

That is an interesting thread, particularly the discussion about the proliferation of capable low budget welders and how that will shake out long term.

It seems like Lincoln and Miller are addressing the home welder market with more expensive, but also more user friendly machines that have smart settings, Miller 215, 220, Lincoln 210 which provide the recommended settings for you based on the size and material type that you are welding.


As an inexperienced welder I look at that Primeweld with all those knobs and switches and it reminds me of the flight engineers console of a B36. That is a lot of moving parts, although I'm sure not as complicated as it looks once you become familiar with it.

 

[MikeInOr]

That is an interesting thread, particularly the discussion about the proliferation of capable low budget welders and how that will shake out long term.

It seems like Lincoln and Miller are addressing the home welder market with more expensive, but also more user friendly machines that have smart settings, Miller 215, 220, Lincoln 210 which provide the recommended settings for you based on the size and material type that you are welding.


As an inexperienced welder I look at that Primeweld with all those knobs and switches and it reminds me of the flight engineers console of a B36. That is a lot of moving parts, although I'm sure not as complicated as it looks once you become familiar with it.



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I thought all those knobs on the Primeweld looked a little intimidating too... but if you actually look at a closeup of the control panel they make perfect sense and are layed out very logically. My understanding is that many of the controls are only used when you are not using the pedal to set ramp in ramp out settings.

 

[Aaron_W]

I thought all those knobs on the Primeweld looked a little intimidating too... but if you actually look at a closeup of the control panel they make perfect sense and are layed out very logically. My understanding is that many of the controls are only used when you are not using the pedal to set ramp in ramp out settings.

Yeah, I watched the video posted up thread and agree that many look like something you would only occasionally need to adjust once you set it up the way you like it. I'm guessing in reality it probably isn't much different than any other TIG machine, just that the others hide those adjustments within their digital interface instead of having a knob for each one. Maybe the welding version of change gears vs QCGB.

 

[stioc]

My previous TIG was a scratch tig with an add on gas torch to an old Lincoln ac/dc stick welder. So I too was a bit confused when I first saw all those knobs but as @MikeInOr said they're actually pretty logical and for the most part fairly easy to understand. Don't let that discourage you. More knobs means more control as you get experienced.

 

[Aaron_W]

My previous TIG was a scratch tig with an add on gas torch to an old Lincoln ac/dc stick welder. So I too was a bit confused when I first saw all those knobs but as @MikeInOr said they're actually pretty logical and for the most part fairly easy to understand. Don't let that discourage you. More knobs means more control as you get experienced.

I ended up getting a Miller Multimatic 220. I really liked the auto set and quick tech (instant switch between functions) features and with my limited space I really like having MIG, TIG and Stick in one machine. It was a lot more than I planned to spend, but hopefully it will be the first and last welder that I buy.