To TIG or not to TIG? (up date its here.)

[iburke]

Well after months of looking, pricing ,reading revues, checking spec's, 75 hours of TIG welding classes, hours surfing e-bay and craigslist, and hours comparing duty cycles, ac/dc output. I have place an order for a TIG welder. Did I mention I wanted the most bang for the buck.

I was looking real close at a Miller Diversion 180 AC/DC TIG Welder Package

35% duty cycle @ 150 amps..
AC/DC (AC needed to weld Aluminum)
120/240 AC input
3 yr waranty(Miller)

$2337.00

Then I found the Eastwood TIG Welder 200 Amp AC/DC welder package.

45% duty cycle 150 amps..
AC/DC (AC needed to weld Aluminum)
120/240 AC input
3 yr waranty(Eastwood)

$799.00 More welder 1/3 the price.

Very good revues on the Eastwood

I should be getting it in about a week and a half. Will post more when I get it set up and welding...

[raidmagic]

Awesome!! Report back when you get it going. I got the Eastwood Versacut Plasma cutter a few months ago and love it, hopefully the welder is as good.

[MEATHEAD1]

Originally Posted by iburke

Well after months of looking, pricing ,reading revues, checking spec's, 75 hours of TIG welding classes, hours surfing e-bay and craigslist, and hours comparing duty cycles, ac/dc output. I have place an order for a TIG welder. Did I mention I wanted the most bang for the buck.

I was looking real close at a Miller Diversion 180 AC/DC TIG Welder Package

35% duty cycle @ 150 amps..
AC/DC (AC needed to weld Aluminum)
120/240 AC input
3 yr waranty(Miller)

$2337.00

Then I found the Eastwood TIG Welder 200 Amp AC/DC welder package.

45% duty cycle 150 amps..
AC/DC (AC needed to weld Aluminum)
120/240 AC input
3 yr waranty(Eastwood)

$799.00 More welder 1/3 the price.

Very good revues on the Eastwood

I should be getting it in about a week and a half. Will post more when I get it set up and welding...

My brother has the Eastwood and loves it.

[DarthAWM]

Looking at the information provided I would go Eastwood myself.

[eddielew]

I got the Miller Diversion 180 last year, and for a beginner I am very happy with it. You can get a good discount off list at Cyberweld.

An advantage of the Eastwood is that you can manually adjust clearance effect, pre-flow, and post-flow. They are not
manually adjustable on the entry-level Miller.

Also, the Miller is limited to 125 A when running off of 110 V. Not a problem for me, as 100 A is the maximum that I have needed so far.

The Miller does have a dial on the torch handle to adjust
the amperage when you are not using the foot pedal. I also
like that the fan only turns on when needed.

I'm sure both are good welders.

[grumpyvette]

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=60&t=8344

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=60&t=8086

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=60&t=3284

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/....php?f=60&t=72

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=60&t=1669


a good example of the precision possible with practice and a good tig welder

[iburke]

Originally Posted by eddielew

I got the Miller Diversion 180 last year, and for a beginner I am very happy with it. You can get a good discount off list at Cyberweld.

An advantage of the Eastwood is that you can manually adjust clearance effect, pre-flow, and post-flow. They are not
manually adjustable on the entry-level Miller.

Also, the Miller is limited to 125 A when running off of 110 V. Not a problem for me, as 100 A is the maximum that I have needed so far.

The Miller does have a dial on the torch handle to adjust
the amperage when you are not using the foot pedal. I also
like that the fan only turns on when needed.

I'm sure both are good welders.

What model is the torch on The Miller?

[iburke]

I agree with every thing you have posted on your board Grumpy.

I started welding some 50 years ago with Oxy-Acetylene Welding and cutting, and carbon arc and stick. Then moved to MIG welding and plasma cutting. And the equipment quality is important to learning.

And you never get to old to learn. Went down to the local votec school and took a 3 month tig course. Used a Lincoln Precision TIG 375. Welding 1/2" cast iron at 90 amps flowed in like butter.

I think a Miller or Lincoln would be the only welders I would buy used. Would want that warranty on any other kind.

And I agree teaching the skills to correctly use oxy-acetylene welding and TIG welding are almost always harder for the new guys to pick-up and the concept of forming a puddle of molten metal , and controlling its size and heat and flowing the edges into the surrounding metal seems to be hard for some to grasp.
And on aluminum moving that puddle along at the correct rate with out melting the whole piece seems to be impossible for some.

And there are things that a short votec class will never teach you. Like scratch start, lift start, or HF start. Or correctly setting pre flow, post flow, or clearance effect. and on and on and on. That would take a good 1 or 2 year trade school.

[eddielew]

Originally Posted by iburke

What model is the torch on The Miller?

Weldcraft LS17.

[iburke]

Originally Posted by eddielew

Weldcraft LS17.

Cool torch, I see why I have never run across it, Weldcraft makes it exclusively for miller. That would be handy when you are standing on your head putting a roll cage in a car.

[iburke]

FedEx came to see me today. Eastwood got the welder to me 2 days quicker than Sears told me they would. Eastwood and I are off to a good start.

I was a little worried because there were a few banged up spots on the out side of the box.



But not to worry as the welder was well packed.







It has a heavy duty adapter to go from the 220v plug to 115v.



It also came with a nice pouch to store consumables and the very nice Weldcraft wp17 torch.



A nice foot pedal with 0 to 200 amp control.



The welder its self is very well finished with quality connectors and controls.





Dual fans.







It also came with a quality gas flow control regulator.



Got it unpacked and connected, turned on and welding.



It has very nice amperage control from the foot pedal, better than the 6000 dollar Lincoln unit I was using in school.

It ran a fairly good bead welding a but weld on 3/32 mild steel.



My first impressions are very good right out of the box. Will give an up date when I get the feel of welding with the unit. Think I will try some aluminum tomorrow and some 1/4" plate.

[raidmagic]

Very nice, looks like you made a nice choice.

[iburke]

Well I have used the Eastwood quite a bit now. Mild steel, Stainless steel, and Aluminum. I am extremely pleased with the power and ease of set up. The bang for the buck has been well above my expectations.

I would recommend this TIG welder to any one that needed a good low cost home welder.

[grumpyvette]

yes that TIG looks like its a good value!
Im often asked why I prefer the TIG and oxy-acetolene torch welding over arc and mig for most jobs and the reasons that with both those types of equipment you can heat, reheat or adjust the heat nearly instantly with or without adding filler rod material.
that might not sound like a huge advantage, but trust me here its critical at times

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=60&t=8086

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=60&t=3284

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/....php?f=60&t=77

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=60&t=1594

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=60&t=3188

[jeespass]

Nice sharing and very informative thread I like it.