Hi whats up guys. Well I'm looking to buy my first tig welder soon. Which tig welder do you guys recommend. I'm looking for something that runs on 115 volts and that does AC and DC. Thanks.

 

Miller Dynasty 200DX, but its probably way more than you want to spend. I'd suggest taking a TIG class first, then look at buying a welder.

 

buy the most expensive one you can afford my first tig welder with a new helmet lease on a bottle tungsten grinder etc cost me about 4k

BTW I bought a Lincoln Precision TIG 275 with the water cooler and advanced control panel for pulsing etc

 

Is there a such a thing as a 110/220 AC/DC TIG that is... Affordable? Portable?

I am in the market for a TIG welder, too. Unless someone knows of a miracle welder, though, I think I have given up on the idea of being able to TIG aluminum.

I like the look of this one. It takes 110/220 and is a touch start. 100% duty at 100 amps and 14v operating on a 110v circuit is what impressed me. No weldy aluminum, though. Less than a grand.

I have also heard a lot of people talking about the Econotig, and it is on sale for less than $1300, but I don't know if I am ready for a 140-pound machine in my place, and I can't be sure that I will have 220v wherever I move.

Hmm. May have answered my own question. What is wrong with the Dynasty 200 SD? It only weighs 45 pounds, it is a 120-460v AC/DC TIG, and it is pretty reasonable at $2264.

 

the dx has the built in pulser

 

Hmm. Can I justify spending $2500 on a welder? I'll have to think on that one.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beepy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hmm. Can I justify spending $2500 on a welder? I'll have to think on that one.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Lol. Thats exactly what went through my mind when I was looking into the Dynasty. Fortunetly, I am in a situation where I need to build my credit so I decided to put down the 1500 on the maxstar on my card. If I can sell just a couple manifolds to help me pay it off, I am all set.

 

Another question while we are on this subject.

Comparing these two welders, which would you choose?

1) Miller Syncrowave 200
$1697.00
Square wave AC/DC 150 amp 40% duty
torch, pedal, regulator
238 pounds

2) Thermal Arc Pro-Wave 185TSW
$1669.89
Square wave AC/DC 185 amp 30% duty 160 amp 40% duty
Unsure of what accessories it comes with
42 pounds!

Both welders seem to have full control over AC balance. The Syncrowave says it has a pulser and postflow, while the Pro-wave doesn't say this.

I am just dumbfounded that there exists a AC/DC invertor welder for that price. Is there something wrong with the Thermal Arc unit?


Actually, reading the manual:

http://www.thermadyne.com/uplF...3.pdf

It does have a pulse function. As well as spot weld, crater fill, pre-flow and post-flow. Hmmm.

Also check out that manual on page 38 on for some knowledge. Thoriated tungstens aren't recommended for aluminum welding? Good to know.


Modified by beepy at 10:42 PM 2/1/2006

 

thermal arc comes with everything here...

 

The thermal arc comes with a c-k number 17 torch and consumable kit, foot pedal, regulator, ground clamp and stick cable/clamp.
All you need is 220 and a bottle of argon and your ready.
I've had mine for about 6 months now and love it. It was my first tig machine and found it very easy to use.
It does have full control over the AC balance and does have adjustable pulse and postflow.

Later
Randy

 

Thank you.

Well, unless anybody has some dissenting facts, the Pro-Wave 185 looks like the welder for me. At 42 pounds it weighs less than my Clarke MIG130EN.

 

1 more vote for the Thermal Arc Pro-Wave 185.

It's a great welder. I've used them and I love them. I'll take it over a Syncrowave any day of the week.

Soroush

 

are the thermal arc numbers really what they sell them to be? has anyone reading this used the thermal intensively and could vouch it being a good machine?

looks good, but then again...who knows.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dfoxengr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">are the thermal arc numbers really what they sell them to be? has anyone reading this used the thermal intensively and could vouch it being a good machine?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I vouch for them. I used to use them twice a week for 4-5 hour periods. They're great machines. I've switched to a Syncrowave 350 recently (just to get to learn the machine), and to be honest, I like the little Thermal Arcs better over the gigantic Syncrowave. If I didn't have the priorities I have now, I would buy one in heart beat.

Soroush

 

If you dont need it to be portable.. I would have to say get the miller syncrowave 200. 15 extra amps for pretty much the same price(the 15 extra amps will come in handy when youre welding 1/4" aluminum) . and its a Miller, you know its going to last.

 

I don't know why they call it the 200. It is only rated at 150 amps. Pro-Wave is 185, according to Thermal Arc at least.

 

it will put out 200amp 150 is just where they decided to do the rating. its rated at 150A 40% duty cycle the higher you go up in the amperage range the the lower % duty cycle. if you rate it at 200 it will probably only be 200A 15-25% duty cycle

don't let the 150A 40% duty cycle fool you. this machine will out power the thermal arc 185 any day of the week.

thats why I said If you're not planning on moving the machine around(loading it up in your car and bringing it to different places).

you definately want the miller sync 200

 

Well, the Thermal arc is rated at 160 amps at 40% duty, while the syncorwave is rated at 150 amps for 40% duty. Same duty, higher amperage. The Pro-Wave must be more powerful.

 

that is still incorrect. the duty cycle is not what makes it more "powerful"

it is the range. the miller has a higher one so it is the more powerful of the two.


you can keep arguing since it seems like you like to...just take someones advice since you dont really know 100% about what youre saying.

 

People buy Miller for the name. They are good machines but you spend A LOT for the name. They still use the old transformer technology which makes them weigh a ton and far less efficient than inverter technology(suck amps down, lower efficiency rating, lower duty cycle). With that said, pound for pound the thermal arc will beat the Syncrowave 180/200. Thermal arc has more features, better AC control, and overall is just a better machine for the dollar. As far as duty cycle goes, the definition is basically the amount of time you can weld in 10 minutes. So with the Thermal Arc at 160A you can weld for 4 minutes out of 10. So most likely you can weld with the Syncrowave 200 for about 2-3minutes out of 10 at 200A. The extra 15A does not warrant the increased price. Also, by the way your pricing is a bit off. I'll go by ebay pricing(basically as cheap as you can get it, atleast within $100).

Thermal Arc: $1,728.87
Syncrowave 200: $1,779.87

On a side note: Ive been doing some research on some inexpensive AC/DC TIG welders and I came across a chinese inverter similiar to the following machines. Significantly less money. Obviously you dont get the warranties and such, but for $800+ savings it seems worth it to me. Comes with a year warranty. Pretty decent package overall, higher duty cycle than the miller and thermal arc. You can find them on ebay every so often. They go for about $800+$50 shipping. Plus you have to pay another $75 I believe for a foot pedal. I'm in contact with the company as we speak finding out info in regards to the machine. I figure a TIG welder cant be that much more complicated then the rest of the electronics work they do.

Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...:US:1

 

damnt tig welders cost to damn much anyone besides CCFAB use the smiley tools welder?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by grubere &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">People buy Miller for the name. They are good machines but you spend A LOT for the name. They still use the old transformer technology which makes them weigh a ton and far less efficient than inverter technology(suck amps down, lower efficiency rating, lower duty cycle). With that said, pound for pound the thermal arc will beat the Syncrowave 180/200. Thermal arc has more features, better AC control, and overall is just a better machine for the dollar. As far as duty cycle goes, the definition is basically the amount of time you can weld in 10 minutes. So with the Thermal Arc at 160A you can weld for 4 minutes out of 10. So most likely you can weld with the Syncrowave 200 for about 2-3minutes out of 10 at 200A. The extra 15A does not warrant the increased price. Also, by the way your pricing is a bit off. I'll go by ebay pricing(basically as cheap as you can get it, atleast within $100).

Thermal Arc: $1,728.87
Syncrowave 200: $1,779.87

On a side note: Ive been doing some research on some inexpensive AC/DC TIG welders and I came across a chinese inverter similiar to the following machines. Significantly less money. Obviously you dont get the warranties and such, but for $800+ savings it seems worth it to me. Comes with a year warranty. Pretty decent package overall, higher duty cycle than the miller and thermal arc. You can find them on ebay every so often. They go for about $800+$50 shipping. Plus you have to pay another $75 I believe for a foot pedal. I'm in contact with the company as we speak finding out info in regards to the machine. I figure a TIG welder cant be that much more complicated then the rest of the electronics work they do.

Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...:US:1
</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

I'm not trying to argue. I just don't believe that a welder which is rated higher is actually lower. If the Miller is "rated" at 150 but can actually do 200, then surely the one "rated" at 185 can do more, at the same reduced duty cycle.

These ratings are standardized, right?

I also looked at that Smiley Tools number. But the amp rating is 20-200. There is no bottom-end on the thing so no welding thin stuff.

 

what are you going to be welding?
do you need this machine to be portable?
how much are you going to use the machine?

 

Those specs arent exactly accurate. I have the specs from the actual manufacturer. It welds from 10-200A. If you want to weld thin stuff, I dont think Id recommend any of these welders. Welding thin stuff requires basically the best welders money can buy. Dynasty Series would definitely be suggested. In reality though, how thin are you going to go? 16 gauge welds at about 50-60A. You really think you are going to need to weld something in the 10A range?

Also, you are still confused on the amperage ratings. The Syncrowave 200, does weld at 200A. Duty cycle doesnt dictate the amperage, it simple means how long you can weld at that amperage in 10 minutes. So with a Syncrowave 200, you can weld at 200 amps. Its just going to have a low duty cycle at 200amps. So you can weld for maybe 2 minutes out of 10 at 200amps. To put things in perspective, with 1/8" Aluminum I generally found myself at around 125-150A. That means you can weld that material for about 4 minutes out of 10 minute period with the Syncrowave 200 and about 4.5minutes out of a 10 minute period with the TA185. The syncrowave 200 will still be able to weld thicker material(given its 200A vs 185A) but at 185A you will be able to weld for longer periods of time with the TA185 vs the Syncrowave 200.

My honest opinion from all that ive read is the TA185 is the best out of the ~$1600-1800 welders. Ive yet to read a complaint. Ive never seen one person say they wish they had a big heavy Syncrowave(other than if they want more amps). The company has been around for a while and they are a relatively known name. If you are looking for a lower demand welder(welding every once in a while) I think Id go with the chinese TIG. I'm going to be buying one very shortly after I get a few more pieces of info from the wholesaler. From there I will give my honest opinion. One more thing to remember is, if you dont like it, you can always sell it and take a $50 hit. In that same time you could weld something that saves you $200 so really you are making $150.