Look to buy Tig welder- Opinions!!
 

I have a mig welder and it sucks,I am tired of it. I want to get into tig welding, I have read that the better tig welders are 220V or above but i am limited to 110V. I wanted to get some opinions on what my options are for a decent 110V Tig welder..

I have a friend that has a Miller Diversion 180 that he runs off 110V. It's OK for thin stuff, like most things you would use on a car but the duty cycle can cause issues if you really get going.

He wimpers a little when he gets to use my Syncrowave 300 and I curse when I use his 180 but then I think about what I'm able to plug it into. Its a good machine and it will run on 230 if you have that in the future.

Depends what you want to weld. One of my machines is a ThermalArc inverter box and will run 110 or 220. It's great for small stuff like exhaust, but when welding thicker stuff, is typically pull out the mig.

Tig welding is nice, but it is slow. Mig welding is great for certain things, and it's hard not to find a way to use both machines. The biggest thing is make sure you're not using flux core wire. That stuff can make anyone hate welding.

I have the Miller Diversion 180. I love it! :)

Syncrowave 250.

crispy

man,,,...thats like $6000 bucks.he want a manchine just to work on the car....your best bet is running a new 220 line to the garage..http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us...roduct=K1478-5

Sorry to thread jack, but I am in the same predicament. What do you guys think about the info below.

here is the information on the front of the welder
ac-5-310,dc-5-250.dc pos,dc strait and hi frequence,for welding aluminum.
single phase 200,230,460 volts,,this unit is set at 460 and needs to be changed back to 230.
the welder comes with the pedal witch you need for tig welding..
the cooling unit is 400 amp rated and runs on 110 ac just plug it in to the welder and go.
it comes with a water cooled tig torch, almost new and is also rated 400 amp,you should have no problem welding up to 1 inch material.

It is a Hobart 300 i think, but i is an older machine. The guy only wants 500 for everything.

Eastwood has a tig that can run on 110 and 220, and its $800 with free shipping!!

http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-s-a...00-welder.html

I paid $1800 off eBay from a guy in Chicago. The synchrowave machines are built like tanks and quite reliable so buying used shouldn't be a worry.
FWIW,
Crispy

If you had the option of getting 220 for your welder do it. you can find older tig units for much less than the new ones

I bought an older syncrowave a few years ago for just over 1.5k. Thing has welded everything ive ever tried, including 2" thick steel, and 1.5, yes one and a half inch thick, aluminum


here is a pic of when i bought it
https://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a...l/DSC02056.jpg

thread of when i bought it here https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=tig


Jacob

I have a Thermal Arc GTSW185 and it is great. Better welder than I am. I need to have a notebook to remember what settings to use on different materials. Stainless to 4130 and all aluminums, it's great. Up to .250.

It's an inverter machine so it's adjustable and economical. Any transformer machine eats electricity even whe idle. We have an old Airco 300 and it eats 85 amps just sitting. My 185 uses less than 10 amps idle.

GD

i thik you guys are aiming a bit high, most hobbyists don't need to weld 2" plates.

more so for the OP, what's a better entry level welding unit these days?

Honestly, a 10 year old unit designed for an industrial atmosphere.

They are the same if not half the price of the 1/4 sized 1/2 as powerfull inverter style, you just dont get digital settings, pulse etc.

While i agree, just about nobody on this forum has any need to weld 2" thick plate, i was just saying thats the power thats availabe with something like i bought

Before i bought the miller 250, i searched high and low for an insexpensive unit, aiming for something that can run off 110, and in retrospect im glad i didnt, Sure a 110 unit can do 180 amps, but for how long? not long enough your going to weld anything in one sitting that needs that much power

My honest, slightly biased position is to search for an older 220/460 transformer type, howveer if thats just to large, or 220+ is out of the question, i would say any newer miller inverter type, if you can, get something with a pulse setting.

Miller's tech support has been nothing but helpfull to me. My welder has gone down a few times and they take time to help diagnose my problem and point me where to get the parts i need, all free. Ive had one tech help me ring out the entire front board on the 250 trying to figure out whats wrong, deff a good company to buy from

-Jacob

I have to second Crackheadmel's post 110%. I was a red welder fan until I bought my Syncrowave 300 used. Yes, it's as big as a fridge with the freezer removed and it weighs a few hundred pounds but I'll bet my son will be using it 30 years from now.

Find and older unit that doesn't have all the circuit boards. Even the guys at the Miller dealer told me that. One of those boards gets fried and you might as well get a new welder for the money you'll have to pay.

Get the biggest older unit you can fit in your shop and that you can feed power to and be done. In fact, spend the money you save on the used welder to get the power you need.

i don't really have any tig welding experience but i figured it seemed like overkill, my 110 mig can take care of anything from welding up rips in sheet metal to welding brackets onto the frame of a car. not a single thing on a car that needs anything more, but i could foresee it being necessary if you plan on making aluminum intake manifolds.

i weld with fluxcore like a boss... but seriously just get a good mig and it can do pretty much anything a tig can

not really but ok.

all my research has been miller so i can only help a bit. depends on your budget,the diversion and the dynasty are both dual power supply inverter type. small packaging and high frequency start. the dynasty does have balance and frequency control which in my limited experience is nice but is the cause of the almost 2k price increase. i use a dynasty 200 in school and would love to have one of my own but thats alot of fd money....

I have owned a few Miller Tig welders, I suggest a Econotig for entry level, You should be able to find one around a $1,000

I have a Lincoln Square Wave 175 that I love. It is supposed to be really good for learning on as well. I'm not an expert by any means, but I taught myself on this welder and I think it is fairly easy now. As far as the 110v goes, I wouldn't do it. Spend a little extra and have 220 put in.

I love my dynasty 350, if you can find a used dynasty 200dx that would be a good investment. Or if you can get 220v power then pick up a synchrowave 200 or a precision tig 185.

mobeoner i have a thermal arc 300gtsw, a syncrowave 300, and a syncrowave 250 and you don't need anything near those welders. I definitely don't advise you to get a Chicago electric or any of that crap stick to the good names like miller Lincoln and thermal arc. I would look into getting a used dynasty 200 or thermal arc 185 just check the hr meters and the arc starts. Or you just can always get a friend with a tig and trade him if he a real friend he wont charge anything.

i may catch some hell but due to budget constraints i bought a everlast 225lx. only got a bit of time on the machine but so far i am very happy. has full features like balance and frequency control, pulse and up/down slope. 100% duty at 175 amps! the included pedal is soso but at a retail of 1375$ it seems hard to beat. it is chinese made but the guts are siemens.

probably similar to the eastwood unit. i'm sure they work but getting replacement parts may be a little more challenging and they will break more often.

i doubt they're horrible units and should be fine for entry level welders who don't use their welder everyday and haven't had luck finding a syncrowave 150+ used for a decent price.

actually i can use common torches and easily adapt pedals if needed. the torch from a dynasty is a direct fit. and the eastwood inverters are mosfet style this is a igbt.
this is the style used in most others i believe. time will tell. i do plan to put some serious hours on it. i would have bought a synchrowave but they are so damned big and power thirsty. i do not have a lot of space at my disposal. and transformer machines cannot vary frequency. hopefully it does not fail but if it eventually does it has a 5 year parts and labor.