TIG welder question

Can anyone out there give me tips on which TIG welder is the best for the money ,the Lincoln Precision 225 or the Miller Syncrowave 200 ? Any advice would be helpful ,Thanks

 

Most larger welding supply shops will have demo units set up for you to try out. They want you to be happy and buy from them, so ask questions. Remember you get what you pay for. Go for the highest quality name brand you budget will allow.

 

Quality isnt always in a name...
First how much do you plan on using it, and are you proficent using tig.
If you can gas weld, tig is a minor step, if your a mig guy, take a course or find someone who has one before you start forking out your pretty pennies.
With usage comes knowledge, and with knowledge comes the experiance to see what you want from a machine. Hence finding what fits your lifestyle best.

 

I did a considerable amount of research on this subject before I jumped. I had very little tig expeirence when I bought mine (I am still no expert). I went with the Thermal arc 185. It is comparable to millers dynasty 200 (from what I read I never used a Dynasty) It is small and doesn't need a lot of power. The transformer machines you are looking at need a more juice to run. That was an issue for me. I have 220 in my garage ,but I couldn't dedicate that many amps to the welder. Plus the Thermal arc is pretty small. That is just how I went, but do yoyre research . I am sure the Miller and Lincoln are excellent machines. They were just to big for me and the dynasty was way out of my price range. Just my 2 cents

 

Any of the big brands have good stuff: Miller, Lincoln, ESAB, etc. For TiG, lots of guys ar going for inverter machines because they have some nice features. But most of those are for aluminum (A/C) and don't offer much benefit to typical DC stuff. Several things to keep in mind about inverters are: 1) initial cost is usually significantly more for comparable size welder, 2) durability is not even close to transformer machine, and 3) energy savings are not quite what they mby appear to be. On the other hand, inverters provide: 1) greater portability, 2) flexibility with input power, and 3) more control over wave patterns (if that's something you're interested in messing with). I gave it a lot of consideration and went with a Miller Synchrowave 250. It will probably last longer than I do.

 

I'd go for the largest machine I could afford. No matter how big a machine you get there will be a time you will need more. I may be wrong but it seems machines with more headroom hold a much more consistent arc and are more stable in extended use such as frame boxing and ch***is fabrication. I was used to huge industrial machines at work but my first Tig was a Miller Econotig. Totally useless for anything except the lightest work.
Also

 

Try to get a machine with square wave capability and high freq start. Major pain without it. I ended up with a large single phase industrial Airco that you could build ships with. It's perfect. (sorry about the screwed up post, secretary I'm not)

 

Thanks guys ! I was doing some research but the only comparisons i could find were from Lincoln and Miller kind of biased .I realized this would be the best place to ask.I'm new and can't type so thanks for your patience!

 

I have a Lincoln 185 at home. But at work i run on a HTP 201 invertig it's a very nice welder.

 

I was given a crash course again after quite a few years by a friend who retired as a trades welder and now owns a ch***is/rod shop using his Airco . He sparked my interest after having me practice on my new 32 ch***is ,told me I'd learn from my mistakes quicker

 

Either will do the the job for you. Miller has much better waranty service service if you ever need it. Otherwise you like Bud or Coors kinda deal. Personal machine the Miller Syncrowave 200. Have had it 2 years now and no problems of any kind.

 

Its a wash,i went with the precision tig 225 and love it,2 1/2 years of trouble free welding,sometimes i wish id have got the water cooler when doing long runs of aluminum but it allows me to take a break and enjoy a refreshment when the torch heats up.When and if this one dies ill look into another Lincoln, its been a damn good machine and is user friendly.One thing id recommend when ordering is to subs***ute the supplied foot amptrol for the hand amptrol on purchase,you'll be glad you did.

 

Thanks man-a-fre I just sold my first car I bought when I was 15 ,my 66 fairlane and thought I'd invest some of the money into something useful. It was a tig or a mower I think I'll enjoy the welder more ,even though the mower has a beer holder