I had myself talked into the syncrowave 200 for replacing small rusted areas on my car, building cages and bumpers for my truck. I searched, and now I am thinking of an inverter type. I am willing to spend $2000.00. Are these small, 14-20 pound machines that great? I have 50amp breaker setup for it. I don't mean to whip a dead horse, I just want a good machine. Feel free to talk to me like a five year old. thanks. robert

 

i have a precision tig 275 for home use but that doesnt help you much

 

Check out the Thermal Arc TA185ACDC or whatever they call it these days. Its an inverter, 185amps, and will do just about anything you ask. I think the new name might be the ArcMaster 190 or something. It runs about $2100 with everything you need. If you look online, you might be able to find it cheaper.

 

Rob, I'm in the same boat where you are regarding the purchase of a TIG. However, my two choices are the Synchrowave 250 and the Dynasty 200DX. I've just sold my old Millermatic 175 and I've just purchased a Millermatic Passport. I needed a welder with portability. So I went that route. Comparing the Synchrowave 200 to the Dynasty 200DX is a no brainer but the price of the Dynasty makes it comparable to the mid level Synchrowave. I know that a lot of guys would now be asking why would I sell a MIG and get another MIG if I'm planning on purchasing a TIG. The thing is that there are a lot of stuff I might be repairing that would get the use of a TIG or simply the precision of a TIG would be overkill like repairing a broken bumper mount. And the consumables cost a whole lot more with a TIG vs a MIG. The Dynasty's portability seems like a bonus for me. If my car ever gets completed I'm predicting that I would find the this portability as a bonus and may come in very handy especially at the track. So far I'm thinking that the Dynasty is looking better in every aspect, however, I'm concerned about the long term dependability of the unit. I'm a sucker for having the best of older technology that has been perfected over the years rather than investing into the latest technology with undetermined problems to arrise. I guess thats why I purchased my Pioneer Elite CRT rear projection when everyone had DLP rear projection out and now none of those DLP rear projection units are working when my Elite still has a perfect picture.

If the inverter technology from Miller's machines prooves promising in the dependability department I'm planning on purchasing the Dynasty 200DX and eventually the Spectrum 375 X-treme plasma cutter and all my welding equipment will be inverter based.

I'd like to hear what other experienced welders (like Tony Palo) would like to say about it. I'm also wondering about the contractor kit that is a separate purchase with the Dynasty 200DX. Would it be worth investing into or would I be better off making my own Tig torch, regulator and pedal set/thumb wheel trigger setup piece by piece?

-Joe


Modified by carchitect at 5:38 AM 7/9/2007

 

The Dynasty welders are awesome, and without question is the welder of choice when space is a concern.

For me, space not being an issue, the additional power the 250 has over the dynasty 200 is more important. A lot of times doing big aluminum stuff you'll find that 200amps isn't quite enough. All depends what you're going to be doing with the welder.

For home use, the Dynasty 200 really shines in power consumption, the syncrowave 250 draws nearly 100amps at full power, most people don't even have that available at their house, think the Dynasty 200 draws about a third of that.

Or, you can save your pennies and have the best of both worlds with the Dynasty 300, i love that welder!!!

 

Thanks for your input on this Tony. Unfortunately, the Dynasty 300 was replaced with the 350 and that bad boy is quite a lot more pennies than I would like to spend. The other features that the Dynasty 200DX has is also what interests me. It can work AC tig off 110 V input and it also has HF start and Lift-arc start. The synchrowave units have only Lift- arc start. But your right about the power for dollar spent you get the most out of the Synchrowave units. As far as the contractor kit that comes with the Dynasty 200DX is it worth the investment or would you get the items from another TIG equipment source like Arc-Zone?

 

Both my synrowave 180 and 250 have HF start, and the 250 has both lift arc and HF.

I've also heard that you can only use about half of the machine on 110v, since you can only get so much current through it. For aluminum, you'd probably be pretty limited on 110v.

Not sure on the contractor kits, never tried to price them individually and compare them. I bought both of my welders used and complete with everything.

The coolest thing about the inverters is the adjustable frequency on AC, you can turn the frequency way up and get a real sharp focused arc on aluminum that you can't do on a non inverter machine. How often that will matter, i don't know, i don't have it. lol I seem to get by ok on my fixed 60hz machines.

 

i remember reading on MILLER forums that that inverter welders leave a grainy dull bead when welding aluminum, is this still an issue with the newer machines?

 

I have the syncrowave 200, and it's great. Only problem I have is the amp draw. When welding aluminum, it becomes a pin,as the machine draws 56 amps, and easily blows a 50 amp breaker.
For this reason aloe, i wish I had stepped up to an inverter, as the power draw is much less, never mind the size.

 

I have a 200DX and love it. I originally purchased it before I had a shop and when I used to do a lot of stuff at other people's houses and such. I would load up the TIG and drive across town and install a cage at their house. Worked awesome for that. If you have a 20 amp 110v dedicated circuit, you can use about 130 amps for a long duration and 160ish for shorter periods...

 

After searcing some welding forums, and taking all info with a grain of salt, I think I will go with the ArcMaster 185. The money I save I'll put towards a plasma cutter. Thanks for everyones input, and i will keep you posted. thanks again. robert

 

anyone got pictures of aluminum welds done with a dynasty 200dx?

 

http://www.dallas-powerhouse.com/tig.html

I have a couple there...

 

Drool! Nice Welds.

 

thanks for posting thats some clean work Sims , do you have a picture where the weld is not cleaned over?


Modified by ROTARY at 5:53 PM 7/11/2007


Modified by ROTARY at 5:54 PM 7/11/2007

 

It looks a little dirty because it is a coated piece of cheap flat stock from home depot, no matter how you clean it off it never welds clean. Probably some cheap al alloy actually.






Modified by Sims at 4:44 PM 7/12/2007

 

just trying to gather some info because im going to buy a dynasty 200dx within the next two weeks.

thanks for posting the pictures Sims.

 

I bought the HTP 201 Invertig welder it's about 60lbs and it works very well, Im not a profesional welder yet but im learning. I have a couple of freinds who own shops and have the same welder for their business and performs good.
Here a pic of my Tig welder

Don't pay no mind to my old ssauto manifold it broke so I have been welding on it.





Modified by eddie_ek at 9:00 AM 7/14/2007

 

I have the syncrowave 200 at home, pretty big and heavy, wish I had bought the dynasty

 

I have the syncrowave 200 and have no regrets. Yes its a little big but I don't move it anywhere so its all good.

If space is a concern then you should look at a smaller welder.