Help me spend my money on a TIG welder!

I welded all kinds of materials with a cheap, 110V "Clarke weld" welder for 10 years before I could afford an industrial machine. It did the job, and I was grateful for being able to weld within my budget.

Now I can weld with more punch, but I still own that little s***box. Why? because it welds aluminum without a spool gun - the lead in from the welding box is about 4 feet, which if I keep straight, produces no cobbles in thousands of hours of welding.

There is room for consumer welders and professional welders. I took a risk on a consumer welder, and I was lucky - it paid off. If it dies, it's garbage. If my Millermatic 250 dies, I know it is fixable - there's the difference.

I want to emphasize: even though I use blue, I have found no material difference between red and blue in their professional lines.

But beware of the up-and-coming off brands. They are getting a fantastic rep, but I know of an ESAB and a Everlast that are gathering dust because the control board died. The EASB is supposed to be fixable, but no board for 5 months so far... The Everlast was fixed after a year of not working, and now the guy is afraid it will die again.
 
I'll add my thoughts on the AHP Alpha Tig 200. Had mine for a couple years also. Love it. Don't think you can find a better AC/DC TIG welder with it's options and ability for the money. Not cheesy by any means. Only thing I did was replace the foot pedal with a better one from SSC Controls and got another smaller torch. Much smoother pedal operation than the stock one that comes with the machine. Of course there are consumables that can add up, but Amazon is your friend for those.
 
Don't want to hijack this thread buy has anyone purchased an Everlast TIG? . I'm looking at a power TIG 200DV
 
aliva said:
Don't want to hijack this thread buy has anyone purchased an Everlast TIG? . I'm looking at a power TIG 200DV
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I had an Everlast 160STH and it was a nice machine for me at the time because I taught myself how to TIG with a very small entry fee, but the machine wasn't great quality every part of it broke or fell apart, I sold it for $50 and a big piece of bronze recently....
 
Well, there ya go Aliva. EVERY part broke on it. Wrong color too.
 
I'd like to hear from others concerning Everlast before I make any decisions. Thanks for the reply, certainly something to consider
 
I think the consumer tig welders in all flavours are spendy if you compare buying a lease return industrial welder. The nominal cost for a lease return after 1 or 2 year lease is about 1/4 of retail. I paid $800 for my Millermatic 250 because the original user upgraded to the electronic version (17 years ago).
 
Dabbler said:
I think the consumer tig welders in all flavours are spendy if you compare buying a lease return industrial welder. The nominal cost for a lease return after 1 or 2 year lease is about 1/4 of retail. I paid $800 for my Millermatic 250 because the original user upgraded to the electronic version (17 years ago).
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Where do you go to find these lease returns? I have never heard of our local Praxair mentioning anything about that. Maybe Airgas? I also have a Mississippi Welders store not too far away.
 
I bought mine at Air Liquide, before Linde bought them out in Alberta. Every industrial place that sells is a candidate for lease returns. You might be able to find out who leases welders using bank leases from the suppliers if you are careful and ask the right way. Most lease terms are 2-3 years, and then the unit has zero accouting value at the end.
 
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