I'm looking at getting a tig welder and was just woundering what other people are using. I'll mostly be doing sheet metal and chassis building with it, nothing thicker than 1/4" in most cases. Any advice and suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks, Lee
I like my Lincoln 175 (185?) Square Wave. So far the thinnest material we have used it on is a condenser line that cracked on a GM A/C unit.
I've got my eye on this one after spending a few years with a water cooled syncrowave 250. I don't think we have ever turned it up beyond 150 amps and we've done everything from full on off-road chassis and promods to aluminum cages on R/C cars. This should do enough for my needs. http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/diversion_165/
the new miller diversion 165 looks cool and it's relatively inexpensive. i've used anything from an old school industrial 400 amp watercooled linde tig to a miller econo-tig and have had great results (i'm just learning). watercooled is nice but a full outfit is usually expensive. rule of thumb (afaik) is you need an amp per .001" of material so something like chassis work where you're using .120" means you need something that puts out at least 120 amps. a 200 amp unit will weld anything i ever mess with.
I'm running a Miller SR-150-32 . Snagged it off of that nasty auction site for $400, ready to weld, needs nothing but a bottle, 100 percent complete, DC with high freq unit, new water cooled torch, nice cart but it is a 3 phase unit. Roto phase converters are cheap. $
I have a HTP invertig 200. I love mine, it has the water cooled torch that also controls the power/no foot control. Very handy once you get the hang of it. Check this unit out also.--TV
Best TIG welder hands down Lincoln 300/300. The early upright model. Ive owned a dozen of these over the last 30 years. every time I sold one to have the latest welder I ended buying another one. Don't bother with the laydown 300/300 it has aluminum windings. I've owned Hobart Cybertig, Lincoln squarewave, Miller squarewave. The Hobart Cybertig would be my second choice. All I do all day long is build chassis and suspensions, the Licoln 300/300 works excellent. They rarely break down. And you can run them off of 50-60 amp breaker unless your going to do alot of aluminum welding. You'll need a biger breaker. This machine was so good it almost put Lincoln out of buisness. Once you bought one you never needed another one!!!
I found out a couple nights ago that ESAB makes a TIG/MIG combo machine, don't know anything about the price or all that....
If your shoping used - look for a Miller HF200 Or HFP200 With a nice Rad, you can weld your brains out - mine has been kicking ass for over 25 years. Even older & more powerfull, any of the 330 uprights are old school killer. If you buying new, the Dynasty line is Ausome. When in doubt - buy the bigger machine. And spend the money on a H2O Torch.
Another vote for the 300/300 Lincoln. It's a rugged old warhorse that will do anything a car crafter could resonably need. Frank
i have a dynasty 200 and i love it. it's a bit pricey but i believe you get what you pay for. if you want all around you need both AC and DC so you can do steel and aluminum. later jim
Last august I bought a lincoln precision-tig 225 and I love it! I'll probably never use my mig welder again.
Thanks, for all the info, I like the o'l lincoln 300/300 as well, I could have bought one a few years back for $800 but it wouldnt fit in the trunk of my 55 pontiac for the 1700 mile drive home. I've researched quite a bit and was leaning towards the diversion 165, however like alot of people have said, but bigger than you need, then you dont have to worry about it. So after all that I think I'm gonna go with a miller Dynasty 200. Thanks again.
I have a Lincoln Squarewave 250/250 and really like it. I have been welding for 25 years and not many days go by that I don't weld on something from .015 thick stainless trim to a pontoon boat that has a rotten place in the aluminum and have no complaints with this machine. I have the watercooled torch with the swivel head to get those hard to reach spots. A little pricey if you don't use it alot, but worth the money if it makes you money..
I have the Miller Dynasty 200 DX. Great machine and will tackle any job on a hot rod project. One of the best features for me is that it will plug into any power source and fire right up, single or 3 phase, 120 to 460.
I have a Lincoln 175 square wave and I love it but Im no welder so Im sure if I bought a Miller I would love it to. My brother who is a boiler maker told me I've never heard of anyone not liking Red or Blue, it's like ford vs chevy
Lincoln or Miller I've used both and had no complaints. My advice is buy the machine with the higher amp output and longer duty cycle. It's better to have the amps and not need them to need them and... well you know. I'd buy a water cooled torch as well you'll thank yourself many times over. PK
I just placed the order today, Miller Dynasty 200DX with a water cooled torch, Now I have to wait 2-3 weeks for it to arrive, Living in the middle of nowhere sucks sometimes haha
Where did you order it from that it is going to take that long? Usually I can get stuff in a week max.
I see you bought a Dynasty...Good Choice. I've been using a ancient Miiler 330 A/BP TIG for years...These old machines suck power,but are virtually indestructible. If you got the power(100A Circuit) to run them you can buy them cheap.
I got it from Air Liquide, off 99st. Ackalnds was the only ones who had one in stock but they were the most expensive, Air Liquide was the cheapest out of everyone in the city.
I have a lincon ideal arc 300 tig and a 300 syncrowave.The lincon i have had for 18 years and the miller for 8.I bought bolth used and have had to buy meanial stuff for bolth.The lincon is a great machine but the miller beats it hands down.The miller came with a power factor that cuts down the needed input amperage.A 60 amp single phase input will allow me to weld 375 output.The one thing you will be happy with is millers customer service.5 days for anypart,anywhere,lincon....not so good. They all melt metal,some a little better than others but the end results are really in the operator
Wow! I have always found Aklands the cheapest on Miller. I shopped around for my Mig ,my Tig and my plasma cutter and they were a couple hundred bucks less than anyone on all three. I never buy from them as I have not been impressed with their service but usually use their price to get better pricing elsewhere. They must be having to pay for all those new buildings
Acklands wanted $4100 for the 200DX, machine only, Linde Canada wanted $3780 for a base model 200 (didnt have a deluxe) and Air Liquide wanted $3794 for the deluxe model. However with the water cooled torch, foot pedal, cart, and coolant it set me back $5900, however I belive with welders you get what you pay for, My mig is a miller, I've had it almost 6 years, 2 years ago I had buy a new trigger for it (Backed a car over it) other than that it hasnt skipped a beat, and it gets used almost all day everyday.
Well there you go. It's crazy how much the pricing varies from one place to another. I found the same thing when I bought my stuff just different results. None of it seems to make sense to me. I love my miller stuff as well. Doesn't get used nearly as much as yours but it always works and you definitely get what you pay for. Where do you get you gas? Have you found anyone cheaper than anyone else on that? I don't use alot so I haven't really shopped around for it but it really seems to have gone up over the last year so I have been thinking of looking around.
I havent found anyone cheaper, I already gave Air Liquide a deposit so I kinda stopped looking. I usually get my gas at OxyPro on 156st, I dont know if their the cheapest or not, but their only a few blocks from the shop so i mostly go there for the convience factor.
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