Ive been searching ebay for the last few weeks for a decent TIG welder local(dont want to pay $500 to ship) and Ive seen no Syncrowave 180s(top choice), a few Syncrowave 250/350s out of my price range/area, and not even a tigmate/econotig but one welder that pops up that is moderately priced and quite powerful is the old Miller 330. I welded with one once at my welding class at the tech school and it was beat to hell. It welded the mild steel project i was working on that day pretty easily and nicely but the AL stuff was very iffy. Now this machine was pretty beat, gas would post flow forever and im not sure if it was actually the machine I didnt like or the fact the machine was poorly maintained and thus not welding really great.

For obvious reasons as a hobbiest I would prefer the Syncrowave 180 because ive used the 250 numerous times and over all thought it worked extremely well, but basically my question is, Miller 330, worth purchasing or hold out for a used 180? Any personal stories would be great aswell

 

http://www.millermotorsports.c...=2083

try that guy 180sd for 1000

 

To ship the unit it will cost $300 atleast(crating costs $100+atleast $200 to ship). Saving only $150 to inherit others problems doesnt seem worth it to me.

Thanks for the link though, i appreciate the help.

 

I don't remember the 330. If you can find a pic, I may have had some experience with it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't remember the 330. If you can find a pic, I may have had some experience with it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o340j_mil.pdf

I have the opportunity to pick one of these up for about $800-1000 delivered to my door minus a foot pedal with the torch and all the various conections and a water cooler so I figured that might beat the syncrowave 180.

 

Bump, final price shipped would be $775

I figured foot pedal and tank with argon will run about $250-300, various accessories and leather will run $100, and $20-250 for a helmet.

Still comes in below a brand new 180SD.....

 

That machine is a classic!! We had one of those when I was in high school welding class...and it was a few years old, even then. It's probably about 20-24 years old. I've used them off and on for years. They are great machines, but they do have drawbacks. The cord you will need to hook a foot pedal to it is different from the newer style connector. I don't know if it will be available or if there's an adapter you can buy. Also, if this machine fails, you may as well throw it away. You can no longer get parts for this machine...they have been discontinued by Miller.

Also, when tapering down your heat, it will cut off at about 20 amps...which is not very good for thin tubing applications. It will want to leave a fisheye. You will have to give it a couple bumps of amperage on the crater after stopping. This will let the puddle cool in stages and close up the fisheye. If you don't have a foot pedal or finger controller for amperage, this will be difficult.

Really, the only advantage that this machine will have over the Syncrowave 180SD is that it will have a lot more amperage. I'm not sure what its max is, but it's easily more than 180.

So in short, I'll say that it's a great machine, limited on its low end range of amperage, and parts are obsolete. If it fails within a month, you're going to be out about $800.

If you have the money for a 180SD, I'd suggest putting that much into a newer used machine that will have better abilities, rather than take a chance on that one.

 

thats exactly what i needed to hear. I knew the line was discontinued, but I thought Miller still had various parts available for service, but if they dont obviously this would be a terrible choice to make.

I guess I'll just keep my eyes open for a 180SD for a decent price.

 

Why not keep an eye out for a used Syncrowave 250 or 350?

 

Engloid is right , you are allready looking at a larger machine , so y look for a smaller one , i was going to get a bigger unit like the 250 or 350 but right now i dont need that kinda machine so i got the 180sd for now and i like it a lot , but if you need the power by all means look in to the older syncrowaves , they are one hell of a machine and for the price you can pick one up for you cant go wrong.