Thinking about a new TIG welder ...

patooyee · Dec 2, 2015

As many may already know, a year or two ago I bought an older Miller Synchrowave 350.
http://www.hardlinecrawlers.com/forums/index.php?topic=31849.0

I have really enjoyed this machine and am still having fun learning to become a better TIG-er. However, due to complications establishing a reliable power source for such a large machine in the very old building that my shop is in I am considering selling it in favor of a smaller inverter machine. I will never use all of the power this machine has.

I would love another Miller but the fact of the matter is that I just can't afford a used Miller inverter. I was considering one of the upper-level Everlasts. I was wondering if anyone else had any experience with them or had any other suggestions? I would like to be able to have the ability to do up to 3/8 aluminum single pass.

croes · Dec 2, 2015

A buddy of mine that welds for a living has a Longevity pulse tig for a portable machine. I was impressed with the welds he put down with it repairing a pontoon. He also repaired the ripped off tow points that were at least 1/4" and the welds looked damn good.

I checked out the new Dynasty 210 at Fabtech and they said $5500 with water cooler. I'll stick with my old Miller Gold Star for awhile longer.

jccarter1 · Dec 2, 2015

Alpha tig 200 got it off amazon very good reviews I have had it for 6 months welds great

croes · Dec 2, 2015

jccarter1 said:
Alpha tig 200 got it off amazon very good reviews I have had it for 6 months welds great

Wow, I'm tempted to ditch my monster old school Miller and get one of these.

ranger11 · Dec 2, 2015

Re:

I have the Eastwood 200 tig. It's still working fine after 6 or 8 months.

patooyee · Dec 2, 2015

I have this tiny little portable DC machine that I use for repairing SS at my restaurants.

http://www.everlastgenerators.com/product/tig-stick/powerarc-160sth

It has been a decent little machine but I don't use it often. Of the Chinese brands Everlast seems to have the best internet reputation.

patooyee · Dec 2, 2015

This is the one I am thinking about replacing my 350 with:

http://www.everlastgenerators.com/product/tig-stick/powertig-250ex

al1tonyota · Dec 2, 2015

Just curious are you going to be tigging aluminum or just steel?
Edit went back and read original post

patooyee · Dec 2, 2015

Both.

r47 · Dec 2, 2015

I bought the 2015 version Alphatig 200 and it's been solid so far for figuring out wth I'm doing. The new 2016 version has high freq pulse on DC fwiw...

mac5005 · Dec 2, 2015

Re:

After welding on dynasty 350s daily, and then trying out an everlast, I will buy an everlast. For the price difference I would rather buy and weld with the everlast any day, especially considering you won't be using it 30-40 hrs a week every week. Everlast has better warranty and you can buy several for the price of a dynasty.

The newer miller's just don't cut it for the price.

Most newer stuff all has cheap, low quality solder inside due to the ROHS standards. This is why the older stuff generally has a longer life expectancy than the newer stuff.

If you were a professional welder, whose I income depended on that machine, I would buy 1 dynasty, or 2 everlasts.

Buying miller usually means your machine gets fixed first at the repairs shops.

vidio1 · Dec 2, 2015

Have you ever watched this guys videos? You can sign up for weekly videos with links to several things welding related on those pages, here's an example: http://welding-tv.com/?s=everlast

5onrocks · Dec 3, 2015

I just purchased a water cooled Dynasty 210 for work last week. I needed it quick and we had a large aluminum piping job that we had to work on over the holidays. The price was right at $5k out the door. My welders swear by it now and love the machine. It's also made average welders work look badass. I believe it's a little over priced but so far I am really happy with the machine.

croes · Dec 3, 2015

That Everlast is tempting too, I've read good things about them as a company for the past couple years. Anyone have thoughts on pros/cons of the Everlast versus the Alphatig?

Neal3000 · Dec 3, 2015

For occassional AL sheet metal work would a spoolgun be an ok solution?

patooyee · Dec 3, 2015

5onrocks said:
I just purchased a water cooled Dynasty 210 for work last week. I needed it quick and we had a large aluminum piping job that we had to work on over the holidays. The price was right at $5k out the door. My welders swear by it now and love the machine. It's also made average welders work look badass. I believe it's a little over priced but so far I am really happy with the machine.

I would love to have a Dynasty. My buddy just got a really high-end one, I think he paid like $8000 for it. It is like pure welding sex. That's about $5000 - $6000 out of my budget though and would be dumb for a hobby-ist.

Neal3000 said:
For occassional AL sheet metal work would a spoolgun be an ok solution?

I tried a spool gun before I got my 350. It was WHY I got my 350 if that tells you anything.

I can weld sheet aluminum all day long now wit the 350. Still can't lay a single inch of decent bead with the spool gun.

croes · Dec 3, 2015

Neal3000 said:
For occassional AL sheet metal work would a spoolgun be an ok solution?

Last time I mig'd aluminum was 13 years ago or so. I think I was repairing a kicker plate for a JD baler. Mig aluminum is super picky to get good bite and a decent bead, it burns back really easy. Your gun angle, offset, travel and machine settings are super particular, and that is why we had a Hobart mig that was specifically setup for it. I would never consider using a mig unless you are running production with a lot to do and its not a high end product.

patooyee · Dec 3, 2015

croes said:
Last time I mig'd aluminum was 13 years ago or so. I think I was repairing a kicker plate for a JD baler. Mig aluminum is super picky to get good bite and a decent bead, it burns back really easy. Your gun angle, offset, travel and machine settings are super particular, and that is why we had a Hobart mig that was specifically setup for it. I would never consider using a mig unless you are running production with a lot to do and its not a high end product.

x2, EXACTLY my experience.

blacksheep10 · Dec 3, 2015

croes said:
Last time I mig'd aluminum was 13 years ago or so. I think I was repairing a kicker plate for a JD baler. Mig aluminum is super picky to get good bite and a decent bead, it burns back really easy. Your gun angle, offset, travel and machine settings are super particular, and that is why we had a Hobart mig that was specifically setup for it. I would never consider using a mig unless you are running production with a lot to do and its not a high end product.

I've had excellent luck with my spool gun on my miller 211, it was only $260. Worth the gamble. I had to cuss, scream, threaten to break it into a million pieces, change ****, **** with it, etc before I got there, but I like it not for stuff heavier than 1/8" . Any thinner stuff, get out the tig.

Any of you guys use pulse tig on dc? Buddy has a pulse board in his synchrowave and the dynasty's all have them to my knowledge. He has a 200 and 350. You can straight rock and roll down some sheet metal with pulse after some practice. Less base metal heat, lots of fusion. No idea how it is looked upon in the structural industry, this is all pneumatic conveying stainless stuff and you can cover some ground with pulse on.

Welderd · Dec 4, 2015

I've had a Alphatig 200 for a few months now and love it

I recently blew up on me and I had to send it back under warranty. turns out my shop never had the ground rod installed in the ground!!
this played hell with the high freq start and fried it.
had it repaired and back over the thanksgiving break - about 7days door to door
the support has been great so far

the machine is 200amp and comes with a 150amp torch though but it's cheap enough you can get another torch