New welder time

[68torinogt]

what kind of tig would you buy? i am thinking a nice esab or miller. it has to be somewhat portable( just not over like 50 lbs and 2 foot accross,lol

it will need to be able to weld 3\16 and possibly slightly bigger

 

[bynummustang]

I only know about ARC. sowwy,

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

I use a Miller mig welder Love it!!

 

[BlooDReigN]

Miller has a very nice light weight tig machine that I used to use at work all the time. Weighs maybe 15-20lb's and it's small, yet can still do up to like 1/4" I believe. Very nice unit, but I think it was around 2,000 CAD

 

[87Mustang351]

miller or lincon are the 2 best brands

 

[68torinogt]

what about hobart? or esab? i like the miller and will prolly buy one but just looking at the options

 

[68torinogt]

i have lots of experience with a miller mig and love it.

 

[87Mustang351]

never heard of the other brands lol , maybe its because im in canada, not to sure i think horbart is a heliarc welder....u can use helium to tig with, im not to sure tho been a while sence i was in theory class lol

 

[68torinogt]

whats the diff between heliarc and tig?

 

[87Mustang351]

heliarc is a type of tig welding, but when u heliarc weld its using helium itstead of the usual argon, and heliarc is better for welding alunium

 

[68torinogt]

o so its the same but you just change the bottle right, i read up and didnt see or read any diff in the machines but you just use the diff gas bottle, i am going to a local weld supply and see what they offer tomarrow

 

[87Mustang351]

i'd go miller or lincon cant go wrong with either i've used both and there pretty simular.!

 

[68torinogt]

i'd go miller or lincon cant go wrong with either i've used both and there pretty simular.!

miller is most likely gonna be the choice but esab is looking good.

 

[millhouse]

Hobart is owned by Miller…and uses most if not all the same components (guns, drives etc.). I picked up a HH180 a few years ago for a GREAT deal and fabbed up my turbo kit with it. It works flawlessly for what I need it for. It's my understanding the new lines from Hobart are even better…and I've heard many pro's actually preferring some of the Hobart models over their comparable Miller counterpart. Anyways, there seems to be some good unbiased info over on weldtalk ( http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/ ).

 

[bloopbloob]

Miller FTW,
lincoln is good too but there are some lemon models but i can't remember what ones ....

 

[68torinogt]

im going with a miller econotig or a esab

 

[BlooDReigN]

Lincoln is junk. The only reason I have one is because it was free, lol.

Miller all the way

 

[68torinogt]

i figured with all the thousands of people on here there would be a few more fabricators using a tig.


and i have heard you have to be careful where you buy a miller for they use cheaper parts for certian sales places. ie home depot

 

[bluevenom867]

Lincoln is junk. The only reason I have one is because it was free, lol.

Miller all the way

I'll take a Lincoln over a Miller TIG all else being equal,Ive used both brands of machines numerious times,and the Lincoln is much smoother and seems to start the arc more "gently".

I just recently got a new Lincoln 225 TIG,cant wait to try it out.It looks almost just like the older 275 machine I was used to.