ta63-1uzze Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 hey people, am looking into buying tig welder. pref to buy an ac dc welder as i dont want to have to buy another welder later on when i get to welding the alloy parts of my build, as with everything i do i try to research it as much as i can untill i am confident to take on the job to a good standard. I have been looking all over the net for reviews but i just cant make up my mind, Usual story of price vs quality i have looked at BOC and WeldTec and they have some very nice looking machines , but they are in the 2800 buck mark. And on trademe there are machines that will do the same job around 1500 on average. here are just a couple that i have been looking into . http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =498281457 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =496988333 http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing ... =498229523 http://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farmi ... 194831.htm does anyone have any of these machines, or have any good bad information help me make a decision on what one to get. there is so much good and bad reviews on the net about these "Chinese" made machines i am at a point were i cant see the difference between allot of them apart from price. some even look the exact same but slightly different name or model number, anyway this is turning into a rant . any recommendations or reviews would be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Those first three look to be the same machine in different packaging? They must be alright as they have been selling them for a long time. Probably the biggest question is how much use it is going to get and how good at welding are you? I used an Xcelarc $1200 machine professionally for three years and it never missed a beat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepers Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 i have one similar to the first two. its a good machine and the foot pedal is very handy for welding thin alloy but i dont use it much for anything else. the only thing with these welders is they struggle with very low currents for welding thin material. the pulse setup is ok but you have to stuff about heaps to get it working exactly right for your job. i bought mine from welding technology - https://plus.google.com/116922144072998 ... 2458/about good bunch of guys who know what they are talking about, paid about 2k for mine but i got long leads and a new reg, probably some other stuff but i cant remember. i should come see your car and have a yarn to you about it some time.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ta63-1uzze Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 i bought mine from welding technology - https://plus.google.com/116922144072998 ... 2458/about good bunch of guys who know what they are talking about, paid about 2k for mine but i got long leads and a new reg, probably some other stuff but i cant remember. i should come see your car and have a yarn to you about it some time.......... yeah that is where i went on Friday its just down the road from my work. They didn’t have any like that when i went in, they are very good at what they do .i have delt with them many times ,i was recommended this one, http://www.weldingtechnology.co.nz/our- ... l?sef=hcfp but its 2800 bucks , about $1100 more than i have put aside and to be honest i think its awesome but i have to be a little sensible or i will get in trouble with the miss's for spending so much . its probably a top of the line machine and more then i will ever need. Yeah flick me a txt more than welcome to come around and have a look. cold one’s and tall stories welcome too : ) Those first three look to be the same machine in different packaging? They must be alright as they have been selling them for a long time. Probably the biggest question is how much use it is going to get and how good at welding are you? I used an Xcelarc $1200 machine professionally for three years and it never missed a beat. yeah they do look all the same , and yes i thought the same thing since so many had been sold. but after looking at google i got even more confused so many good ,and so many bad stories about there quality .yet the name and prices all differ slightly. so weather or not they are all the same machine i dont know . i plan to use it to make exhaust headers , and alloy welding for brackets etc, nothing major for alloy but i do want to do some alloy stuff. I am trying to future proof this purchase. With previous mig welders i have had, i spent a little and got shit, next one i spent a bit more and it was marginally better. After being fed up with not being able to weld a good weld i splashed out and got a 180p mig from boc and its great, and now looking back on it i should have just spent the money in the beginning and saved my self all the trouble hence why i am looking into all price ranges of tig . and so many different brands and stuff i am a litte lost. any one else got one of these jasic 200p type machines ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Cheap MIGs are worst that cheap TIGs due to all the moving parts. In my experience its generally the wire feed system that plays up. I put down some company coin on a Kempi 180 mig and came away highly disappointed to the extent after it failed for the third time we returned it. Also of interst, I was talking to the Lincon sales rep a few months back and they have recently introduced a lower end chinese TIG to compete with the lower end of the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidTheCreator Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 can get those lincoln powercraft tigs for cheap as through work and the customers who have brought them already are loving them. pm me a OS discount on one if your interested ta63. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorburnville Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I've got one of the L&Lee variety. It does the job but I wouldn't recommend it. The main reason I wouldn't recommend it is because of the customer support. The lady I all ways end up speaking to can not speak english and his minimal interest in helping. As said before- it is difficult to use at low amps The circuit boards inside it are all stamped with the mitech brand. I regret not spending more on a nicer welder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ta63-1uzze Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 can get those lincoln powercraft tigs for cheap as through work and the customers who have brought them already are loving them.pm me a OS discount on one if your interested ta63. oh awesome, will have to have a google see what unit i would be looking for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Lincolns are great units but tend to be quite pricey. I bought a 205amp Inverter ACDC Lincoln about 6 or 7 years ago and it was around 6k from memory with the pedal and water cooler etc but its done sooooo much work since then. Its probably been used for 3 solid days out of 5 every week at work since then and often right on the duty limit and its never given up. They certainly make good machines. I've tried a huge number of other TIGs over the years and not many have come close, maybe a miller. I used to be able to quite comfortably weld 0.9mm sheet with it and sometimes 0.7mm on a good day. Thats before I discovered pulse migs. I'm using a Mitech 160amp ACDC unit at home at the moment and its a great little machine (very similar to the first 3 above). As above the low current stuff they tend to be not so great but otherwise are more than adequate for the majority of work. Try to spend right on the upper limit of what you can afford. Its worth it in the long run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ta63-1uzze Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 I regret not spending more on a nicer welder Ah, you may have just summed it up right there for me. I have read so much that i think this is the answer that i should be paying attention to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorburnville Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I'm a fan of the weco welders. But I think i'll save up for something in the fronius range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyworld Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 i just view the tig welded sitch like get something your local shop can repair and consider what material and its thickness you plan on welding. most common branded machines work fine mitech cigweld lincoln or miller are all ok machines and capable of achieving good quality strong welds. a cheap mitech handles the jandel pretty dam good, a lincoln or miller isnt really that much better imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubastreet Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 your litres per hundred kilometres may vary but I did a lot of reading about chinese tigs about a year ago. It seems that a lot of chinese manufacturers make copies of the same circuits but some have much better quality control. Keep an eye on the duty cycle when you buy, some are only rated at around 30% In the end I opted for this IGBT one, hoping it would last: http://www.river-weld.com/igbt-acdc-200 ... p6882.html I can't say I've used it an awful lot, but I've been very happy with it. When I got it I was on the weltec course using their giant miller machines and I found mine easier to maintain a good arc at low amps. I put this down to having a much smaller tungsten installed in mine, but was quite impressed. Only problem is warranty. They offer a 2 year parts warranty, but you have to be able to follow their technician's directions to identify which board is faulty if anything goes wrong. No problems yet, touch wood. All up it cost me $1200 landed (they marked it as sample welding machine, value $150, so the customs lady didn't jump it). I ordered it on a Thursday night and it arrived the monday morning, which was pretty sweet. At one point I was about to buy the boc branded one, but glad I didn't now. I got a better machine and even if I were to buy another two I'd still have change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llama Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Holy jeepers that thing has a lot of options! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProZac Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I completely agree with above comments about cheap MIGs causing issues. Ive used a bunch, and it was like stepping out into the light when i bought my Cebora. I've got a mitech ACDC200p TIG too, and i love it. Hasn't skipped a beat in 3 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubastreet Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Mine fucked out yesterday. Now I get to see how good my warranty is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Has anyone used or converted an old arc welder into a scratch start tig? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubastreet Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Don't think it's easy, tig needs a constant current power supply. My warranty seems to be completely useless. So far all they've sent me is the operation manual for a welder I don't have The Material of the IGBT 200AC/DC is more expensive than the WSE-200P,but the function is the same.The manual has been attached,please check. And after more requests for help, they sent me a block diagram for the wiring of the welder I don't have. I'm getting my brother to write to them in Chinese. Failing that I'm going to have to try to fix it blind, but the thing's fucking complicated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Don't think it's easy, tig needs a constant current power supply.My warranty seems to be completely useless. So far all they've sent me is the operation manual for a welder I don't have The Material of the IGBT 200AC/DC is more expensive than the WSE-200P,but the function is the same.The manual has been attached,please check. And after more requests for help, they sent me a block diagram for the wiring of the welder I don't have. I'm getting my brother to write to them in Chinese. Failing that I'm going to have to try to fix it blind, but the thing's fucking complicated. What went wrong with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubastreet Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 None of the controls do anything. It just says 105 on the screen no matter how much I turn all the knobs/flick the switches. When I pull the trigger, the screen says 202 and the hf works, but no arc. The day after it went bung I came in in the morning and it worked again, so I went and chopped rust out of the bottom of a door, bent up a bit of steel and when I went to weld it ... nothing again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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