Hitbox AC/DC welder from Amazon - Worth a try?

Should I get one of these on Prime or save up 10x as much before starting to learn TIG?

  • Sure, why not. What do you have to loose

    Votes: 7 63.6%

  • Maybe, but it'll probaly be a boondogle

    Votes: 2 18.2%

  • Forget it, just junk that'll waste your time

    Votes: 2 18.2%
  • Total voters
    11
markba633csi said:
The AHP alphatig can vary the amps with the foot pedal. I don't know if the Hitbox can do that. The AHP manual is very well written
and I give them points for that. Course it costs more but you get the regulator and a foot pedal. 225 amps. Multiple knobs. Yah baby
The bonus for me is they are right up the peninsula if I needed to get it fixed I could just drive it over
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Is that what you’re using now? Definitely attractive at $750 but still almost twice what this unit is on sale.

I figure if it’s only just good enough to not send it back I can always customize the graphics with an “S”….

John
 
markba633csi said:
The Hitbox looks like it might work well, but the membrane buttons/menus might be a pain to use. They save money there instead of multiple knobs. But hey they are getting cheaper all the time so for 300 bucks it's probably for real. I'd like to see what the reviews are like after a while
They don't give you much in the way of accessories- no gas regulator, no footpedal. Probably cheap, short and thin cables. 200 amps is a bit limiting. The AHP unit was/is 225@35% duty cycle
Cheap-o torch you'd want to replace
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Yeah, not many reviews yet. One said it’s “Basically an everlast clone”

Who knows if that’s correct but we all know how things work in Shenzhen….

John
 
matthewsx said:
My thought is the cheapest thing that even claims to do this is 3 times more.

www.harborfreight.com

TIG 200™ Professional AC/DC TIG Welder with 120/240V Input

Amazing deals on this Tig 200 Inverter Tig Welder at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com www.harborfreight.com

And Amazon returns....

If it gets me through the project I have in mind then great. If not I return it and have my buddy do the welds.

John
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That is very cheap for what they are advertising. HF has a Vulcan 220 at right around 1000.00, My brother bought one of those and says it is very good; but I know nothing about this Amazonian Hitbox which is acclaimed to be the same at 1/3rd the price.... Keep in mind I am the same guy that is debating a CME chuck from Amazon..... :rolleyes:
 
If I was buying an affordable AC TIG it would be the Primeweld TIG225X with the CK worldwide torch included. 3 year warranty and that includes shipping both ways. They still have darn near perfect feedback I mean how many times do you see an amazon 4.8 feedback with Over 1200 reviews
The weld quality that some guys get out of it is amazing.

My problem with the HF welders is the warranty.
90 days on something simple is one thing, a high current switch mode power supply is another thing if a problem develops out of the 90 day warranty.


Maybe some day for a new AC TIG, I am still using a refrigerator sized Ancient Lincoln Idealarc TIG 300 300 for AC TIG, even though it is only a sine wave machine she can sure crank out the amps.
 
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John: I don't have a tig yet but the AHP and the Primeweld are both on my list
I can't believe how many cheap inverter welders there are now- probably junk for the most part and little to no support
Disposable goods
Take me to the pilot (or landfill)
 
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I bought the Everlast 200DV, A/C and DC, and like it. Good product support. I like the pulse feature.
 
I bought one of the cheap inverter welders. It will lay down a good bead, even with my skills, after I hooked it up to 220V.

The thing to keep in mind is that these are disposable. SCRs, which these are based on, are a life-limited electronic component. You can maybe replace them when they wear out, assuming you can source them; but, even then it would be cheaper to get a new unit. If you think you're going to run it hard, day-in 'til day-out, then this is chasing unicorns. If, like me, it is a hobby machine (I've used mine only 3 or 4 times in the year I've had it), then the person that gets it at your estate sale will hopefully make good use of the remaining life.
 
Asm109 said:
Find out how much the foot control pedal is. You will be a very unhappy camper without it. Especially on aluminum.
Also need a regulator for the argon bottle.
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Wide range of foot pedal prices. Figure I’ll wait till it arrives and get what’s needed.

Have the regulator on order.

John
 
Actually most of them use IGBTs now (insulated gate bipolar transistor) but the real problem is they don't overrate them enough
They cheap out; rated properly and conservatively (with adequate heatsinks) they should last for decades
The big storage capacitors are another weak link for the same reasons
 
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