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Lets talk about TIG welders.

Im looking at AC/DC Dual Voltage Welder 110/220. Reason being is my garage is only wired for 110 20amp and its a rental so I cant change any wiring. I know with any welder aluminum material thickness will be limited, I'm ok with that for now. I do plan on having my own house with a 220 in the garage some day, just not sure when.

I have yet to weld anything over an 1/8" at the house. Most Locost stuff is just that so it works out good for me. Granted control arms may be thicker but Ill cross that bridge when I arrive at it. I mainly do exhaust work for people and really want to make some good looking exhaust.

I've been reading do research all day long and I've compiled a list of welders. I'd like to stay under $1000. Im really trying to figure out if I want to fork out the extra $$ for the miller.

First is the Miller Diversion 180. Im sure most of you know this welder. Cheapest I found it is $1899
http://www.weldersupply.com/P/371/Mille ... n180ACDCTi

Second is the Eastwood TIG 200 at $799
http://www.eastwood.com/tig-welders-eas ... elder.html

Third is the Longevity 160ex at $715
http://www.longevity-inc.com/tig-welders/tigweld-160sx

These 2 are basically the same welder. I've read that they could be even made in the same factory in China. Both these companies seem to have great customer service and support.

Was curious if any of you could give me a good enough reason to HAVE to fork out the extra grand for the miller unit.

Thanks gents.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…

If I was buying with a firm cap on budget I think I would rather buy a second hand Miller than a shiny new Chinese machine. I purchased a Miller 300amp ac/dc tig some 15 years ago along with an Esab mig and neither have missed a beat. I am not knocking the cheap imports but they do tend to flood the markets with gear using the consumer as a guinea pig. I always like my warranty to live in the same country I purchased the machine even if its made elsewhere, at least then if it all goes squiffy you can throw it back on someones desk .

Bob

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Build Log viewtopic.php?f=35&t=16640&p=187700#p187700

Mancave http://s1116.photobucket.com/user/mypic ... ow/mancave

there's a Miller Diversion on Craigslist just up the road from you in Shelby. I'd scoop that one up today if I were you

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Too much week, not enough weekend.

OOPS I did it again
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=17496

Blood Sweat and Beers
http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=15216

Hey Briggs,
those are good points that Bob makes, but other factors come into play too. For me to look at something used is usually a 3 hour drive, one way. So I have become pretty reliant on buying stuff online. I just bought the Eastwood 200 on Ebay, where it was only $699 plus $50 for shipping. Pretty hard to beat. It has generally good reviews, and I'm quite sure that for a hobbyist, like most of us, it will do fine. All their parts are industry standard, so it is pretty easy to get the consumables locally, like here at NAPA.
I run my Lincoln MIG 180 off 220V, so I'm not too sure how you'll do with a 110V, but the TIG might give you better results than a MIG running on 110V.
I used the Eastwood tubing notcher for my roll cage, and although it looked dinky at first, it worked flawlessly. It will do another project easily. Now that I have two welders, I can't just have one project.

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Martin


My build log:
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14520&start=0
My build video:
https://vimeo.com/143524140 password "matovid"

I'm an amateur welder, Joshua, and there are some guys on here who are true experts, but here's my 2 cents worth.

Buy a quality welder if you possibly can. I've read some good reviews about the Longevity and would consider it myself, but if you can afford the Miller, then buy it. If you ever sell it you'll get most of your money back and they're darn good, reliable machines.

There is also a Miller MIG machine with an attachable spool gun for Aluminum. I've seen it demo'ed, but never used it. For the limited amount of aluminum work you'll do on a Locost it might be sufficient. It will be less than the Diversion 180 TIG machine.

I started out TIG welding my chassis, but switched to MIG. I had a HF MIG/Fluc Core welder that was 220V, but dumped it for a Miller 115V MIG. The TIG welder was too slow and out-of-position welding is a challenge for amateurs. MIG is much, much easier and you'll likely do a better job. It is considerably faster too.

I've welded some 5/16ths stuff with my 115V Miller. I just prepped the joint properly (good tapered 'V" with some depth) and tacked it well and did a nice slow weave and it worked fine. There's not much you'll ever have to do that's thicker than that.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

This is one of those choices that you don't really know until after you do it, maybe evan a couple of years later.

The cheaper welder can help you out a couple of ways. It leaves you money for the things you probably aren't counting in the budget, various supplies, consumables, practice stock etc. When your trying to get your foot in the door so to speak, even if you buy a better one in a year or two, this money might not be wasted. What if you decide you also want a MIG for instance, then you need two tanks with different mixes, maybe you want a flowmeter, maybe, maybe it goes on.

It would leave you money to make an extension cord for the 220V from somewhere in your house that has it, like a clothes dryer or stove. That could cost a couple of hundred dollars, but would come in handy if you want to do work on site somewhere. Evan if your house doesn't have a 220V outlet, maybe we could make one with an extension cord.

The Eastwood has a deal where you can also get a plasma torch for $999 with the TIG.

So I would vote whatever looks cheaper and at least workable. Your going to spend a lot of money on a lot of things coming up and it's easy ( probably evan a little helpful ) to not think about all the little stuff.

Good luck and don't look back too much. There will be upsides in any choice you make.The downsides, just leave those behind ( don't look down! ). ( well maybe when you are parachuting, you should look down )

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

+1 on the Craig's List comment. I've purchased a nice Miller Mig and a Hypertherm plasma cutter that way. You usually get accessories and consumables thrown in on the deal that saves more money down the line. For new stuff, call some of the professional welding supply venders that advertise on eBay. Some pretty good discounts available.

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Cheers, Tom

My Car9 build: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14613
"It's the construction of the car-the sheer lunacy and joy of making diverse parts come together and work as one-that counts."
Ultima Spyder, Northstar 4.0, Porsche G50/52

Good point, I doubt the one on craigslist will last long. I wish I had the money to throw at it right now. Ill be getting a bonus next month and thats when I was looking at making the purchase. Ill give a look on craigslist when that time comes to see if I can find a used miller unit. I really don't want to spend that kind of money if I don't have too on a new unit. They are getting hard to find used.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…

How often have you used the Eastwood 200? If it wasn't for the reviews online and the customer service I've read about the company I wouldn't consider that unit.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…

Ive been welding for about 3 years. I have a little 110 northern tool MIG that I've used for a little over a year. I know how to TIG as well. Im not getting this unit to learn how to TIG only to get better. I wont MIG aluminum, which is the reason for me wanting an AC/DC TIG. Im ok with my little MIG I have. It does what I need it to.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…

Luckily I already have 2 150 tanks, one for mixed and another for argon.

No more jumping out of planes for me, at least not till I want to go skydiving.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…

Check out everlast welders made in China but come with a real 5 year warrenty and I have heard good things about there customer service. I ran some of there machines at a trade show and they welded nice. If you look at some of the photos of there factory you can see them making thermal arc machines in the background. I would buy an Everlast before a diversion anyday way more features for less money and better warrenty, and I spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in miller machines at work every year.

http://www.everlastgenerators.com

Just a note on buying 2nd hand if it breaks your out of pocket. If you buy new especially from a big retailer you can just take it back and get another one. I know a welder should last a life time so not as important in this case. But drills and grinders, I put years of wear on them in weeks building a car. Its nice to take it back after a month and get it replaced if it breaks.

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2015 & 2016 EMod Florida State Autocross Champion
2013 & 2014 DSP Florida State Autocross Champion

Scrap Metal Build Log viewtopic.php?f=35&t=14558

WelderLee has a good pointer there. The fact he has used one counts for a lot too.

The thing I noticed is that the Everlast uses IGBT transistors which are very heavy duty by nature. The Eastwood unit uses MOSFETs, which are cool transistors too, but probably less reliable. I've seen this difference in transistors to be an explanation for the higher cost and more reliable domestic units. Mind you there is no saying how conservative these designs are and that could make difference too, but the 5 year warranty should say something and it should be useful if you ever have a problem.

If you go to the Everlast site you need to scroll down aways in the TIG section to find the AC/DC with offset and square wave settings or aluminum. They sell a 180 for 240 and a 180 for 120/240. They are $850 and $899.

WelderLee did you try the 180 size Everlast or something fancier and more expensive?

So here you have a unit with good transistors, a good warranty and a real welder that has used it.

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

Thank you WelderLee for the info!! Do you have any issues worth mentioning about this welder?

Good timing Marcus. I also noticed they use the IGBT inverters as well, I was just on their site. Thats good to know. Foot Pedal is $109 extra, not sure why it doesn't come with the kit. They also sell a AMP controlled Torch as well for just shy of $300. That 5 year warranty is nice too!!

What I also like is weldingtipsandtricks.com did a review on both the miller diversion and that everlast unit. Had nothing but good things to say about both. He did say the everlast unit was a little harder to run on really low AMPS on carbon stuff but did great on aluminum. Only bad thing he mentioned was the TIG Torch was a little on the large size. I may call them and see 1 if they offer any kind of military discounts and 2 if they can throw in a smaller TIG torch, it did look pretty large in the video compared to the miller one. Also will need a foot pedal.

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30 years old, not sure what I want to be when I grow up…