recommend me a tig inverter

[leadpig]

as above realy,i had a kemppi mma welder that i stupidly sold cheap in a fit of rage when i could not get the hang of it
i am wanting to start tig welding pipe so would like a tig welder,trouble is i have no idea what to look for,needs to be ac/dc really.
i cant see me welding above 6/7mm and be preferably below £1k but i doubt that will happen
i could go a bit higher if needed and i suppose it does not have to be a inverter as long as it is not wheelbarrow sized
any recomendations please on somthing that will last and a rough price
thanks dave

 

[justmental]

have a look at the tecarc 206i AC/DC.
weldequip do it for just under a £1K but money well spent.
i have this and find it very good and welds really well.
http://www.weldequip.com/tecarc-206i-acdc.htm

 

[ChrisJohnsSculpture]

The R-Tech machines are also good and their customer service is excellent.

A 200Amp inverter should cope with 6-7mm steel alight although if you're going to be welding that sort of thickness regularly it would probably be better to go for something more powerful as long as you have the power supply to cope with it.

You may also find that if you're welding pipe you might end up using techniques which call on rather more current than would be usual for TIG welding a given thickness.

£1K should certainly get you something which will do what you want, although if you're doing production type stuff day in day out it may be worth spending the extra to get something with a bit more headroom. Possibly even look at water cooling.

 

[leadpig]

the rtech was the one i have been looking at,what is the imput voltage on it as i dont want to fry the house fuse board
the 160amp is a standard 13v fuse

 

[blenkie1]

Learn to weld MMA first. I think you are trying to run before you can walk. If you are struggling welding MMA I don't know how you are going to cope with a TIG. What exactly are you after with the TIG? Most of them Kemppi machines can be used with a TIG not AC but you could of had a bit practice with a TIG before spending nearly £1000 on one.

Me personally would go for the tec-arc from weldequip but get used to the MMA from it first

 

[FranV8]

Lead pig, I've got the 160 and it's fine on a 13 amp plug. I think the 200 would be too, as long as you stuckto lower currents on the 13 amp supply.

 

[ChrisJohnsSculpture]

I'm not sure that it automatically makes sense to learn MMA before TIG. I personally think that there's a strong argument that TIG is a good process to learn on since you can see what is going on and you have control over all the parameters separately.

It's probably not the quickest way to learn to do ok welds but it might well give you a better basic understanding of the basic welding process.

If you want a short learning curve to producing reasonable welds then MIG is probably the way to go.

I've taught a few complete novices to weld to a basic standard and they all found tig the easiest starting point after trying all 3 processes and did much better at both MMA and MIG after playing with tig for a while.

The major potential downside of starting with tig is the cost of the kit, but if you're ok with that it's as good a place to start as any.

One option is to go for a cheaper DC only inverter which will let you try the process without spending a fortune and will also be a decent portable stick welder.

 

[leadpig]

Learn to weld MMA first. I think you are trying to run before you can walk. If you are struggling welding MMA I don't know how you are going to cope with a TIG. What exactly are you after with the TIG? Most of them Kemppi machines can be used with a TIG not AC but you could of had a bit practice with a TIG before spending nearly £1000 on one.

Me personally would go for the tec-arc from weldequip but get used to the MMA from it first

i should of said i have been gas welding for over 20 years,tig is very similar to gas welding.
i have been asked to do a few pipe welding jobs and gas puts to much heat into the area,i am after neat welds that dont need grinding/chipping

 

[BillFarworth]

LP all the welders that suggested is really respectable and highly recommended .I was myself thinking to purchase a tecarc .The 206i AC/DC model has many options and the AC feature is really something important if you wish to do thinness stuff.
With £1K definitely you could found a decent welder.
If you are not in a hurry,check regularly ebay because Inverters like the Kemppi Transtig come up in good prices there.
The Esab Caddy® Tig 2200i AC/DC is another really good kit .It is above than the £1K but ebay again is place to have a check. I found, one like this second hand for £800 two months ago!
Finally I will definitely recommend to you the IFL Fusion 200 PHF

http://www.weldequip.com/inverter-fusion-tig.htm

or if you wish AC also

http://www.inverterfusion.co.uk/210-acdc/

Have a chat with Steve (Weldequip) he may come up with something really good for you.
Good Luck

 

[leadpig]

thinking about it i doubt i will ever have to weld aluminium,so dc would probably be ok.
thinking about the r-tech 200 but not sure if it would be ok on normal household supply
i know the 160 does but it does not come with a foot pedal,and i cant seem to find the duty clcles ampage at 100%

arghhh why cant it be easy

 

[ChrisJohnsSculpture]

The R-Tech 200 will run fine off a 13A supply, certainly up to about 180 amps, to run at full power you will probably need a 16A supply though. In any case you don't really want to be running a welder at full pelt all the time and you also get the benefit of a much better duty cycle compared to the 160A version. I have one myself and the duty cycle at about 80% power is as good as you could ever possibly use.

I would certainly have no hesitation in reccomending the R tech DC 200 as a decent semi industrial TIG welder.

I had the same dilemma as to whether to go for an AC one myself, in my case it was either the 160A DC/AC or the 200A DC. In the end I'm glad I went for the DC version as I've not had any call to weld alu and the extra power of the 200A version has come in very handy on occasion.

 

[BillFarworth]

The IFL Fusion 200 PHF is on your budget and I will recommend to you.It is made in UK so when I was purchasing mine I found it as bonus! I have the HF model but planning eventually to upgrade to the PHF .
The R-Tech 200 DC is a really good option and Dylan is a very helpful guy !
that you skip the idea of the "German" one!

 

[leadpig]

cheers for all the help
ive made my mind up and am going to get the r-tech TIG Welder 240V DC 160Amp,the extras and lcd screen swayed it
if i get a lot of work through it i will consider getting somthing better,but not until i have masterd tig and mma on steel,to be honest i have never been asked to weld aliminium anyway
ta dave