Well I just picked up a miller diversion 165 as well, I was loving the price tag. I'm pretty much in the same boat as toxicfab....Here are some pictures of the exhaust I made. Its T304SS. What do you guys think? I just jumped in, this is like a few hours of tig welding experience.

I noticed if you really want to get color on SS, jack up the gas and use the biggest gas lense you can fit. I'm using a jumbo gas lense, #10 nozzle, and 30CFH this is like the only way I can get a nice color. What size nozzles, flow rates etc. are you guys using??

 

some more pics

 

looks good for just starting wish i had the money for a tig how much did you send to get everything.

 

This entire setup cost me like over $2000.

 

i also have the miller diversion 165! how are you liking it? im loving mine! your doing really good man! check my thread out

 

Very nice.

 

Not bad for a beginner. Just because you get that certain color doesnt mean its going well (in your case cold welds). Try getting a good bead going then work on the color or whatever you want out of it. Also try placing your hand on something so it doesnt move as much. So more heat and steady hand. You are on a very good track.

 

same, i have well over 2700$ into all my stuff. well worth the money!

 

holy ****! i spent that much for my syncrowave 200 with a 128cf bottle filled, with gas lenses and everything..

where are you guys getting your ****?

 

ya i spent 1975.00 brand new for my sync 200 gas lense was 14.00 and i already had a bottle

 

2700 is expensive


Nice exhaust btw what size filler are u using?

 

with foot switch 1410$ this is all including the miller elite hood, new gloves, work bench, filler rods, 2 argon bottles, 230volt to be run.. well you get the point. it all adds up. if i could go back, i would have got the syc 200 lol

 

You would have paid even more for elec service then

 

would be very worth it lol oh well this is a great machine to learn on. next time

 

looks nice, work on consistency when adding filler and moving the torch and your dimes will be the same size throughout the bead.
p.s. i love my digital elite hood too :D

 

One of the reasons I got the TA185 at the time. If I were in the same spot now, I would have probably gotten the Diversion.

 

1/16 ER308L, on some of the wider joints that didn’t fit perfect I found myself pushing the rod in much faster, I should probably use 3/32 for those....

 

(off topic) what gas do you guys use to mig weld Stainless?

 

mostly pure argon.

 

Not bad for your first tig project. I'm sure it will work great for you. Your welds look too cold, or you're moving too fast or a combination of the two. your gas coverage looks good for the most part.

 

I did have the welder set kinda low, around 50 amps, I didnt want the metal to start melting through and leave hugh globs of metal on the inside.

 

Ok thank you sicones

 

blackcat

there is a special gas for mig welding stainless you can ask for it at the welding shop.its call stainless mix.i cant remember what all is in it.i think its 75%argon the other gasses i cant recall.used alot of it welding stainless hand rail a few years ago.

 

did you get the foot switch? i have it for mine and love it! ive been a tattoo artist for 5 years and am very use to using a foot switch lol. if you did all that with the finger switch thats great. i hate the finger switch and never use it. if you dont have it, get it. by the way i use 100% pure argon for all my welds

 

how heavy is the material you're welding? I'm assuming the pipe is a little less than 1/16. try running around 60-65 Amps.. You may have to move a little faster than what you're used to.. You're just starting out so cheat any way you can.. Rest your elbow or hand on something... You've got the general idea you just need to be more consistant. You can do things like pulling your arm into your chest to keep your hand steady.. I always run though the pass i'm about to make before i strike an arc to make sure i'm comfortable. watch the puddle, you'll get a feel for when you need to add more filler.. Once the metal gets hot you'll need to at the filler to a Rhythm to keep it consistant.