What is a good Tig Machine to buy?

Date 02-24-2006 05:25

Hello Chris, the Miller Dynasty 200 DX is certainly a fine machine for just about any sort of welding that you would want to do, the Thermal Arc GTSW machines are also fine machines that would accomodate you well, I am not familiar enough with the ESAB version of these types of machines to comment on them. You may or not have seen the posts concerning the Lincoln line of inverter type AC/DC tig welding machines, there have been some issues with these that would make me want to shy away from them until Lincoln resolves the bugs. I would tend to shy away from any sort of off brand machine unless you have reliable information regarding their performance, dependability, and availability of service and parts. The tig machine is a great way to go when you are considering roll cage work and bike building endeavors, as far as boats go you may want to tend more towards a wire feed system of some sort, typically boat building requires a considerable amount more welding and tig is not generally the most economically suited to this task, that is not to say that it can't be done or that portions of the boat couldn't benefit from the tig process. Personally, I would not opt for the Econotig or a Lincoln Squarewave 175 if I had the finances to afford the Miller 200 Dynasty or a like machine, in my opinion the additional features and capabilities of the inverters far outweighs the financial difference. One way to look at this is to consider that the Econotig and the Squarewave 175 are pretty much entry level type machines, the Dynasty and other inverter types are upper end machines with plenty of room for you to expand your skills and capabilities without having to buy a new machine. Hope this helps. Regards, aevald

By chris2698 (****)

Date 02-24-2006 06:17

Thanks aevald,
I would mostly want it for rollcages and that sort of stuff. From what I have read about the dynasty series it looks like you can upgrade them from air cooled to water cooled which is pretty cool. I have heard nothing but good things about Miller welders in general and Lincoln. I will probally be going with Miller dynasty but would like to get as much info as I can before I buy. I always like to really research stuff out before I buy. Do you know of any other websites that will tell me a little more about different tig welders and such I haven't been able to find any kinda website online to ask other welders? Thanks again

Chris

By aevald

Date 02-24-2006 07:01

Hello again Chris, I believe that I read in your original post that you are currently in school. What types of machines are they using at your school? and have you asked your instructor(s) as to their preferences and opinions concerning machine brands and types. I would venture to guess that you have welding supply stores in your area, many of these will possibly allow you to demo the machine at their facilities and if they won't, consider approaching your instructor to make arrangements to have the machine demonstrated at your school. Many distributors look forward to the opportunity to show off their wares in this manner. You also mentioned looking at possibly adding a cooler to the tig unit, if you plan to do a considerable amount of non-stop welding this would certainly be a good idea or if you are trying to use a very small bodied tig torch to be able to get into tight places then the cooler might be a nice addition to the system (a water-cooled torch can be smaller than an equally rated air-cooled torch). Once again though the cooler will cost you a considerable amount more to add and with it comes additional maintenance considerations, so unless it is really needed I wouldn't invest the additional money. Back to your question concerning web sites for opinions, suggestions, I don't know of any right off hand. I would suggest that you consider going to the welding supply store(s) in your area and inquiring about who in the area possibly uses the type of machine you are interested in and if you can find out their names and locations take a trip by and see if they will talk to you about how they like the machine and see if they have any tips for you. You never know this might also open the doors for some future employment opportunities. Good Luck and Regards, aevald

By sundown Date 03-02-2006 15:10

Chris,

If you want more information on the Thermal Arc 185TSW go to the Hobart web site and use the "Weld Talk" link, do a search for "TA 185TSW" or use the full name and I think you find lots of information on this machine. It costs just over half of the price of a fully equipted Miller Dynasty 200DX and has almost the same features. There are some pros and cons with either machine but there is enough information that you should be able to sort it out. As far as a cooler goes, you won't need one for most things as has been stated, however you can build one with no problem ... information to do that is also located on the Miller "ask Andy" forum, the Miller "Projects" forum, and the Hobart "weld Talk - Projects" forum. This is my first post here and I hope I havn't stepped on anyone's toes, just wanted to provide some information.

By tcseacliff Date 02-25-2006 21:31

hey chris, i too am still in school myself and have been already looking around the web. millers website is very informative reagarding their products,and from what i see , their machines seem to be the best in reliability and product awareness. although at this point budget concerns fro me are formost, i probably will go with a miller myself with the idea of uprgradeability in the future, which to me makes the miller systems more attractive even though upfront more costly but not in the long run . good luck!!