Miller, thermal arc, r-tech or parweld

[samlee09]

Hi All,

I'm looking at buying a welder for me and my daughter as she has just started an apprenticeship in sheet metal working. She will be working primarily in the food industry tig welding stainless and aluminium so it would need to be ac/dc with dc pulse and hf start preferably. I use a Lincoln invertec 220tpx at work (not a full time welder) it's a great machine but looking at the aspects for ac too and theyre mega expensive.

I have a budget of 1k-1.5k-(1.7k at an absolute push) I'm torn between the following:

New - R-Tech 170 or 210ext, good reviews, good customer service, 5 year warranty

Parweld xtm211di multi process, includes mig (she will be doing mig but less frequently and I'd like to learn too lol)

Second Hand - found a miller dynasty 200 dx for £1700 recently serviced.

And a thermal arc 220 almost new for £1600

No warranty or returns as second hand but better pedigree and potential longevity if it were to be used at work.

Is a multi process worth the extra functions, compact size for the lower duty cycle or would I be better going for a solid ac/dc tig and get a separate mig later if needed? Especially as these are right at the top end of my budget.

Any other suggestions welcome

Sorry for the long post I have read through a fair few on here but still unsure lol

Thanks in advance.

 

[JOEPRO]

I'll throw in the SIP HG2500P as it has pro level features and a great range on all controls. Worth looking at IMO. Doesn't come with foot pedal so factor that in to add £100 for it.

Some people here will point out that SIP make alot of products not just welders. IMO this is not a factor for me as long as the product is quality and works well. Which for me owning one I can say it is IMO.

 

[samlee09]

I'll throw in the SIP HG2500P as it has pro level features and a great range on all controls. Worth looking at IMO. Doesn't come with foot pedal so factor that in to add £100 for it.

Some people here will point out that SIP make alot of products not just welders. IMO this is not a factor for me as long as the product is quality and works well. Which for me owning one I can say it is IMO.

Thanks for the suggestion, I hadn't looked at any SIP machines as I've only used some of their 6013 rods and the second half basically evaporated . The HG2500P looks really well spec'd at a good price, I'll deffinately look into it as an option.

 

[chrismac]

Millet Dynasty for me, great machine, throwing the multi purpose machine in the mix certainly moves the goal posts on your final choice compared to the list with out that machine.

Its a dilemma with regards to new machine with warranty or a hopefully quality machine which should stand industrial every day, should be good for the home user, but can still fail at any point.

 

[overload]

Thanks for the suggestion, I hadn't looked at any SIP machines as I've only used some of their 6013 rods and the second half basically evaporated . The HG2500P looks really well spec'd at a good price, I'll deffinately look into it as an option.

Avoid SIP.

Can I tig weld aluminium with this unit - SIP HG 2500P

hi all looking to weld aluminium. This has AC, so I can weld aluminium with this, right? https://www.sipuk.co.uk/sip-05770-weldmate-hg2500p-ac-dc-tig-arc-welder-with-pulse.html The one I'm looking at, is described as being in 'new' condition, however it looks slightly different to the one...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

 

[samlee09]

Avoid SIP.

Can I tig weld aluminium with this unit - SIP HG 2500P

hi all looking to weld aluminium. This has AC, so I can weld aluminium with this, right? https://www.sipuk.co.uk/sip-05770-weldmate-hg2500p-ac-dc-tig-arc-welder-with-pulse.html The one I'm looking at, is described as being in 'new' condition, however it looks slightly different to the one...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

I saw this while researching the SIP, the lack of a downslope or post gas is a no go for me. Thanks for the info mate

 

[samlee09]

Millet Dynasty for me, great machine, throwing the multi purpose machine in the mix certainly moves the goal posts on your final choice compared to the list with out that machine.

Its a dilemma with regards to new machine with warranty or a hopefully quality machine which should stand industrial every day, should be good for the home user, but can still fail at any point.

Haha yes this is my major sticking point, new with warranty or old and hppe it doesn't die. I hear the lincoln and miller customer service is really poor in the UK but they're great machines and usually rock solid reliable.

I did have a chat with the guy at my local welding supplier but he just wanted to push what they stock, and esab over parweld but my budget won't allow it unless I drop a lot of features. AC being a big one as my daughter will be learning this and I'd like to aswell.

 

[samlee09]

Hi All,

I'm looking at buying a welder for me and my daughter as she has just started an apprenticeship in sheet metal working. She will be working primarily in the food industry tig welding stainless and aluminium so it would need to be ac/dc with dc pulse and hf start preferably. I use a Lincoln invertec 220tpx at work (not a full time welder) it's a great machine but looking at the aspects for ac too and theyre mega expensive.

I have a budget of 1k-1.5k-(1.7k at an absolute push) I'm torn between the following:

New - R-Tech 170 or 210ext, good reviews, good customer service, 5 year warranty

Parweld xtm211di multi process, includes mig (she will be doing mig but less frequently and I'd like to learn too lol)

Second Hand - found a miller dynasty 200 dx for £1700 recently serviced.

And a thermal arc 220 almost new for £1600

No warranty or returns as second hand but better pedigree and potential longevity if it were to be used at work.

Is a multi process worth the extra functions, compact size for the lower duty cycle or would I be better going for a solid ac/dc tig and get a separate mig later if needed? Especially as these are right at the top end of my budget.

Any other suggestions welcome

Sorry for the long post I have read through a fair few on here but still unsure lol

Thanks in advance.

Have since found out the thermal arc is actually a tweco arcmaster 220 so sounds like its the new cheaper version after esab bought them (from what I've read) and not one of the lorch models either.

 

[addjunkie]

The Tweco is a good machine, not sure who made them, but suggest @Richard. would know as he had one. I have its predecessor made by Sanrex in Japan.

 

[samlee09]

The Tweco is a good machine, not sure who made them, but suggest @Richard. would know as he had one. I have its predecessor made by Sanrex in Japan.

Thats good to know, i read the old sanrex ones were great but quality had dropped since they became tweco. I'll have a read up and try and find some more reviews on them. Thanks

 

[Munkul]

Watch out. Thermal arc has had many different models that were bought in and rebadged, including from Sanrex, Lorch, a French company called Elektrosta, and WTL (the maker of some parweld machines) amongst others.

The tweco arcmaster 220 if its the one on ebay, it's probably the one I saw earlier, its a Lorch with a paintjob and a different control board. They were sold under tweco, esab and lorch colours.
Still a good machine though. Lorch TIG sets are great, like, as in the only ones I'll buy.

The cases are all the same, pretty good indicator.

 

[Richiew]

Good demo of the Parweld here.

I'd be looking to buy new with a warranty. From what I've read on here over the years, the expensive welders can be prohibitive to repair. Looking at you, Lincoln and Miller.

 

[hotponyshoes]

If you are anywhere near Somerset I've got a couple of Dynasty 210dx if you want to have a play (or buy one of them!)
Little bit more power than the 200 and a lot more features/settings

 

[overload]

If it was me, I would consider either a Parweld XT212 or R-tech 210.

Also get a proper AC/DC tig only machine.

Mig is easy compared to Tig so your daughter will be better off spending her time on learning Tig as there is way more variables to pick up.

If you want to learn Mig, get a used Clarke which can go for cheap money.

 

[samlee09]

Watch out. Thermal arc has had many different models that were bought in and rebadged, including from Sanrex, Lorch, a French company called Elektrosta, and WTL (the maker of some parweld machines) amongst others.

The tweco arcmaster 220 if its the one on ebay, it's probably the one I saw earlier, its a Lorch with a paintjob and a different control board. They were sold under tweco, esab and lorch colours.
Still a good machine though. Lorch TIG sets are great, like, as in the only ones I'll buy.

The cases are all the same, pretty good indicator.

Thanks for the advice, its not on ebay but I might give that one a miss since I doubt I'll know who made it so it's a bit of a gamble especially at that price.

 

[samlee09]

Good demo of the Parweld here.

I'd be looking to buy new with a warranty. From what I've read on here over the years, the expensive welders can be prohibitive to repair. Looking at you, Lincoln and Miller.

Watched one the other day that had a decent bit of info, looks like it's a nice welder with the bonus of being one of the few multi process machines that has hf start ac and dc pulse. There are other but the price increase is insane and with no pulse or hf a lot of the time.

 

[samlee09]

If it was me, I would consider either a Parweld XT212 or R-tech 210.

Also get a proper AC/DC tig only machine.

Mig is easy compared to Tig so your daughter will be better off spending her time on learning Tig as there is way more variables to pick up.

If you want to learn Mig, get a used Clarke which can go for cheap money.

This is currently my line of thought, I'm leaning toward the ac/dc tig as that will be the bulk of her work and I'm yet to hear someone say mig's hard lol so I imagone she'll pick that up easy.

I'm very tempted by the R-Tech as they're pretty much everlasts and they get fantastic reviews all round in the states just terrible customer service (not an issue as R-tech is the polar opposite from what I hear).

The Parwelds look pretty well built for the money too only missinga few features like extra AC waveforms and I think a lower duty cycle if I remember correctly.

I'd love the dynasty 200 but I'm stuck on the gamble incase it breaks. The company selling it state serviced and it comes with a 4 month warranty as with all their SH kits but thats not very long lol

 

[samlee09]

If you are anywhere near Somerset I've got a couple of Dynasty 210dx if you want to have a play (or buy one of them!)
Little bit more power than the 200 and a lot more features/settings

Would absolutely love to but I'm just outside grimsby so it's probably like a 5 hr drive. Annoyingly I was in swindon last weekend but doubt I'll be down that way again anytime soon. Thanks for the offer though.

 

[Richiew]

I wouldn't worry about the wave forms. I have one welder with and one without. You can induce similar effects by changing the pulse frequency and trimming other settings. I think they benefit marketing people more than anything.

 

[Munkul]

Thanks for the advice, its not on ebay but I might give that one a miss since I doubt I'll know who made it so it's a bit of a gamble especially at that price.

Its easy to tell who made it if you take a picture and share it on here. The lorch and sanrex machines are instantly recognisable.