Which Welder??

By TOmass Date 08-15-2008 08:58

Gday Everyone
Was wondering if any of you's could give ur opinion of which welder i should get, I previously had a migomag 220 ac/dc tig welder(i dont think any of u's would know this brand as im from australia) anyways my machine got stolen and now i need to replace it and would rather not buy that welder again as it broke down three times in one year with very little use... So here are the welders its come down to:

Miller dynasty 200 dx
Cigweld transtig 200 ac/dc
EWM hightec triton 220 ac/dc Powersinus
kemppi mastertig mls 2300 acdc

The cigweld is by far the cheapest however im unsure of quality of thier machine, is it going to be worth the extra money for one of the other brands?? also im familar with the miller brand but unsure of the others are they anygood?? Will the 200 amp machines be enough to weld 6mm alloy with ease?? ANy opinions would be greatly apprecitated.

By rhorton Date 08-15-2008 13:09

You might want to look into a Fronius digital welder. They are made in Austria.
We are currently using around 30 of the TransPulse Synergic (TPS) 4000 machines.
They come with pre-loaded wave forms for various materials, mild steel, aluminum, silicon and aluminum bronze, stainless steel...etc. You can program up to 99 different job settings for pulse MIG, CV MIG, stick and TIG welding. They are small and compact and relatively easy to use.

I can keep track of all of the job programs I have on the shop floor on my laptop computer. I can upload and download any program and even change a program on a specific machine on the floor from my desk.

This may be a bit more than you need, but it is an awesome piece of equipment.

By awill4x4 (**)

Date 08-16-2008 04:53

TOmass, I'm in Australia as well and was in the same predicament as you about 15 months ago regarding what welder to buy. In the end I bought the Kemppi MLS 2300 and it is one hell of a machine. I do some welding after hours for a friend and he has both the MLS 2300 and the previous Mastertig 2000 and the new one is streets ahead in the quality of the arc.
I was also looking at Fronius and Miller Dynasty but for value for dollar the Kemppi beats them both. I've recently seen the brochures for the EWM Triton 220 amp machine and the specs look very interesting especially the triangular waveform but I would have to question about support for them if anything goes wrong.
Miller and Kemppi are both factory supported here in Australia and Fronius are supported by an agent and tend not to carry much in the way of spares compared to Miller and Kemppi.
I firmly believe we are being royally screwed by Miller here especially when you see the prices charged in the USA compared to what we are being ripped off. Get onto Ebay USA and see the prices they get them for compared to what WIA (a wholly owned subsidiary of ITW, Miller's parent company) the national distributor is trying to get us to pay.
There is new Dynasty 200 coming out now with some new features but Miller are keeping it pretty hush, hush so as not to devalue their older models in stock.
Fronius are an excellent machine but very expensive and the Tig torch parts are Fronius exclusive and are costed accordingly (expensive).
I don't know much about the Cig machine so I can't comment about it.
I don't where you are based, but if you are in Melbourne eastern suburbs you would be most welcome to check out either mine or my friends MLS 2300 and try it out if you like.
Kemppi are aggressively pushing the MLS in the market to catch up on lost market share and targeting potential Fronius buyers and they are around $1000 plus cheaper with all the features and more of the Fronius.
Regards Andrew (also from Oz)