I had a lincoln 175 square wave in the past. What would be a good step up if I were to get another. Obviously the Miller dynasty 200dx is nice, but a bit too pricey. Are the maxstars or older syncrowave's worth a crap? What's the best bang for the buck when it comes to typical automotive fabrication?

 

I bought a htp invertig 221 a month and a half ago. Look into to them great welder for the price.

 

yeah, I did some research on the HTP 221 and it looks like a solid machine. AMS in Chicago has about 5 of them. One of the guys that used to work there said the only time one would kick off would be after welding intercoolers literally all day into the afternoon in 95* heat. Plus it looks like you can't go wrong with the product support/service and warranty.

 

I love mine and for the price you can't beat it.

 

Really? Wow thats pretty wild. That speaks a lot for the machine because they put out some quality work, on high end stuff, and if they trust it I know I would.

 

Love my syncrowave 200, love everything about it.

 

Syncrowave 250 DX is still one of my all time favorite welders, only out placed by the Dynasty 300DX then 350.

 

The maxstars dont have ac so you cant weld aluminum. How did that lincoln 175 treat you? Im lookin for an inverter machine ac/dc for $1000-1500 and it seems like the diversion is the only way to go unless I find a beter deal used. Although with the diversion you dont really have any options to fine tune anything.

 

I bought a miller diversion for personal use. For cages and turbo kits it has worked like a charm. It's not as fancy as the dynasty I have at work, but for an inexpensive ac/dc welder it gets the job done.

Another reason I got the diversion over a used sync is because of its size. It's really nice to toss in the trunk and take it over to a buddys house. Not to mention some of my friends don't have 220.

 

It was ok. It got the job done. I just couldn't ever get super professional welds out of it. Good enough for my own stuff, but not good enough to sell stuff. A lot of that was probably because of lack of skill though.

 

I was looking through the most recent miller catalog and I could have sworn there is supposed to be a new maxstar 280 and dynasty 280 this year. Might be something to consider. The maxstar's weld phenomenally, just no AC.

 

I own A Miller syncrowave 250, and a recent additon was a maxstar- both you cant beat with a bat-

The maxstar I purchase a special TIG hook up. Its like the WP 20 style torch, (same one i have used for years on syncrowave watercool) but this is a air cool torch and has a valve.

I have not used a torch with a valve for gas much so IDK im still praticeing when I can. I went to school for 4 years for welding, and never used a machine ever with a valve torch until a large navy job I was pressed to do. My maxstar also has a 110 230 hook up which is un-real.

Here is the Weld-tec Watercooled Wp-20 flex head next to the Simmilar Wp-9 air cooled flex head with valve. The valve is a Pain in the A$$ to turn off at end of weld pool for perfect welds.

Weld-tec is far superior than the Simmilar Look alike But both are made in USA.

The thing about weld tec is the Knurls on handle, Compared to the corn cob handle