- Dec 19, 2010
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Progress Thread Tannerc91gt’s Build(s) Thread
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Mine was $280. Add another $120 for the bottle and you'll be in business.
Mehhhh,.....You build enough stuff that you should consider Raggedy's suggestion. I have the version of that Lotos Tig that is AC, and only welds steel, only mine is made by a different Chinee company (Longevity).
I've probably already said it here, but for the price of the Chinee piece VS a reputable US brand, you cannot afford not to get the bigger machine. I've had my machine since 08, It welds and cuts steel up to 1/2" thick, and I paid a little over 500.00 for it.
The 220v Lotos Mig has a spool gun, and it's what I use to weld aluminum. 1/8" thick aluminum can be done nicely in a fraction of the time that it takes to TIG that junk. It doesn't look as beautiful as a tigged joint, but it's passable, and I'm always about getting stuff to the 80% "passing by Mike's standard". The spool gun hits that mark for the once in a blue moon I weld aluminum.
The way the Chinee machines start the arc is different than a typical DC sq wave TIG. It's more abrupt, and not as "soft" of a start, but you adapt fairly quickly. I have found that it's better to have that thing sitting around rarely used, that not having it and needing it one time.
You really need to go out in your back yard and look under some rocks........You'll be kicking yourself when you buy the basic "TIG only" box for 300.00 when you needed this, and it only costs 162.00 more:
View: https://www.amazon.com/Lotos-CT520D-Welding-Machine-Voltage/dp/B004ZZNL8Y
This is the Lotos version of what I've had sitting in my garage for almost 10 years now.
I've probably already said it here, but for the price of the Chinee piece VS a reputable US brand, you cannot afford not to get the bigger machine. I've had my machine since 08, It welds and cuts steel up to 1/2" thick, and I paid a little over 500.00 for it.
The 220v Lotos Mig has a spool gun, and it's what I use to weld aluminum. 1/8" thick aluminum can be done nicely in a fraction of the time that it takes to TIG that junk. It doesn't look as beautiful as a tigged joint, but it's passable, and I'm always about getting stuff to the 80% "passing by Mike's standard". The spool gun hits that mark for the once in a blue moon I weld aluminum.
The way the Chinee machines start the arc is different than a typical DC sq wave TIG. It's more abrupt, and not as "soft" of a start, but you adapt fairly quickly. I have found that it's better to have that thing sitting around rarely used, that not having it and needing it one time.
You really need to go out in your back yard and look under some rocks........You'll be kicking yourself when you buy the basic "TIG only" box for 300.00 when you needed this, and it only costs 162.00 more:
View: https://www.amazon.com/Lotos-CT520D-Welding-Machine-Voltage/dp/B004ZZNL8Y
This is the Lotos version of what I've had sitting in my garage for almost 10 years now.
- Dec 19, 2010
- 5,719
- 4,238
- 224
Spool guns are nice, but their downfall is cold lapping joints. This makes itty bitty holes in the weld, and if you are building something that's supposed to hold fluid, or pressurized air, it'll leak. Something you don't want on the racecar. Is there a Chinee tig with high freq that'll do aluminum? If so, that's the one to buy...
Well I did a thing. Ended up going with an AC/DC machine like everyone was trying to tell me to. It has some nice features for not a whole hell of a lot. It's a China machine but has a pretty good reputation. I watched a ton of review videos on a handful of them which kept me up until 2am.
Won't be here for a few weeks which sucks but I'm pumped to get back into TIG welding. Will be able to do some cool stuff now without relying on someone else's time and hourly rate
Won't be here for a few weeks which sucks but I'm pumped to get back into TIG welding. Will be able to do some cool stuff now without relying on someone else's time and hourly rate
which china machine?.....seems to me you'd be posting a pic of your newly acquired path to shocking the sht out of yourself for the rest of us to see.
AHP AlphaTIG 200
(Not mine obviously)
Does TIG and stick, 110/220 so I can use it while I procrastinate the 220 wiring in the garage. 2016 model comes with a flex head torch and a foot pedal. I learned on a foot pedal so I'm more comfortable with it than the hand control for now. Has pulse settings for the AC. They're $800, found one on sale for $670 so I pulled the trigger
- Dec 19, 2010
- 5,719
- 4,238
- 224
AHP AlphaTIG 200
(Not mine obviously)
Does TIG and stick, 110/220 so I can use it while I procrastinate the 220 wiring in the garage. 2016 model comes with a flex head torch and a foot pedal. I learned on a foot pedal so I'm more comfortable with it than the hand control for now. Has pulse settings for the AC. They're $800, found one on sale for $670 so I pulled the trigger
Dude. That is a smokin deal on a very capable machine! Pulse settings, foot pedal, ac/dc. Sweet! You can weld anything you want now, literally.
I'm jealous! Congrats!
I'm really looking forward to it. I look back on my TIG experience like most do high school sports lol. Your memory leads you to believe you were a lot better than you were. It was a good deal for sure, and I picked up an assortment of filler rods and tungsten. I'll have to "rent" an argon tank in the next week or two as well.
Safe to say I know what my Christmas/birthday/anniversary/stpatricks day present for the coming year was lol
Safe to say I know what my Christmas/birthday/anniversary/stpatricks day present for the coming year was lol
That does look like decent stuff. When I bought mine I had to add things like a foot pedal to the basic deal. Although I have everything, and everything works like it's 'sposed to, there is a definite "cheapness to some of the things. The foot pedal being one of them, and the negative connecting cable being the other. In a heavily used scenario, I'm sure that sht would've failed because of it. But looking at your pics, it appears that the accessories are more robust than mine.
So,..gotta say,..good deal. Congrats on your purchase.
Jesus. It's like a triceratops of awesomeness
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Looks just f***ing bad***!
Please please see this car through to completion. I want to see it run/make some passes.
Please please see this car through to completion. I want to see it run/make some passes.
According to face book you need to scrap this for a simple 306 that will run 10.50s . That is all . It's that easy .
That group is out of control. Bunch of real winners in there
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That guy said he could build an all Ford motor that would be faster and then bragged about mid 10s. I can't express all the various ways that I don't care lol
