Miller Dynasty 200 DX - What equipment?

[smitstui]

I was going to buy a RTech Tig but having spent weeks trawling the forum and reading reviews I have decided to buy a Miller Dynasty 200 DX (or perhaps an equivalent).

I am quite comfortable with MIG welding and I am very hands on with most my work. The welder will be used for a project welding thin wall tubes and plates (T6 6063) and fresh castings (LM25).

Being new to TIG I wondered if people could recommend equipment to compliment the TIG such as:

Is it worth buying a wireless footpads or is the wired one fine for most applications at a welding bench?
What spares should I buy, tungsten, shields etc?
What Torch should I buy with it for relatively light work?

And most importantly, where will I get the best deal on a Miller. I am in the NE of Scotland but I am happy to mail order.

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,

Stuart.

 

[Richard.]

Congrats on the choice loooovely units to use. I nearly bought one myself but the 30amp edge on the one I went with sealed the deal. I had a play with this exact unit before hand and it's simply brilliant the panel layout for me is the best I've used ever but when it come down to power of punch I went with an equally good machine but 30 amps more on the top.
I can see the advantages of the wireless pedal but these are very very costly so it depends really on how much it's worth to you by doing away with the cable.
Regards price they all tend to stay in the ball park of 2700-3000. Don't hit but now buttons phone people up and do the deal over the phone you be suprised how much I've saved on listed prices doing this. If the first one doesn't budge phone another.
Regarding torch spares it's always worth buying good ones as they last and perform so much better weldcraft and CK are the go to brands I chose.
Tungstens. Well for me there is only one Huntington fusion multistrkes. That's my preference. 2% lanth is a popular acdc tungsten also.

 

[chevy2]

Bought my dynasty 200dx from Empire welding as it was the best deal around at the time,
dont be too put off by the list price of the wireless pedal as mine cost far less when bought at the same time as the machine,
as said, phone up and discuss your needs which should get you a better deal especially if buy it all in one transaction.

 

[Richard.]

Bought my dynasty 200dx from Empire welding as it was the best deal around at the time,
dont be too put off by the list price of the wireless pedal as mine cost far less when bought at the same time as the machine,
as said, phone up and discuss your needs which should get you a better deal especially if buy it all in one transaction.

How much was that pedal with the unit if you don't mind mate. I've seen them separately for 8-900 quid. Must admit they do look the biz and I can see jobs that I've done in the past where they would be a nice touch.

 

[chevy2]

How much was that pedal with the unit if you don't mind mate. I've seen them separately for 8-900 quid. Must admit they do look the biz and I can see jobs that I've done in the past where they would be a nice touch.

Cant remember the exact price of the pedal as it was part of the package, worked out to be about £350? based on the prices of the rest of it,
the miller one is super lightweight as its made from a composite plastic,
yeah its a bit of a luxury but going back to a wired one now would be painful.

 

[Vmac]

Bought my dynasty 200dx from Empire welding as it was the best deal around at the time,
dont be too put off by the list price of the wireless pedal as mine cost far less when bought at the same time as the machine,
as said, phone up and discuss your needs which should get you a better deal especially if buy it all in one transaction.

Yep when I looked about for prices on the Dx empire gave the best price , far better than Premier welding in Glasgow ! But I decided to go with Fronius Magic wave 2200 , as the have a depot in eastkilbride , and the chaps there have been great !

 

[BigDan83]

Hi, I'm in the same process of getting a new single phase acdc welder. I've been in contact with my local welding supplier and am waiting for them to get back to me tomorrow on prices for the Miller range. The prices have apparently changed due to the new dynasty 210 dx being released. I tried out a merkle 220 the other day and was very impressed with it, lovely set. I've also been interested in the esab caddy 220i, but looking at the duty cycle, it doesn't seem to be very impressive. Ideally though im also after a Miller dynasty 210/280 dx.

Richard. What set do you have?

 

[smitstui]

Thanks, for the replies

Dan, I would be interested to compare prices. Ive haggled quite hard but I guess you never know. West coast has the best price so far.

Is it worth waiting or pre ordering the 210dx? does anyone know if its significantly better?

 

[BigDan83]

You can't even look up on the Miller web site to compare. It's all about the 210dx. Probably just the 10 amps and probably an extra couple of hundred quid!

 

[Richard.]

Hi, I'm in the same process of getting a new single phase acdc welder. I've been in contact with my local welding supplier and am waiting for them to get back to me tomorrow on prices for the Miller range. The prices have apparently changed due to the new dynasty 210 dx being released. I tried out a merkle 220 the other day and was very impressed with it, lovely set. I've also been interested in the esab caddy 220i, but looking at the duty cycle, it doesn't seem to be very impressive. Ideally though im also after a Miller dynasty 210/280 dx.

Richard. What set do you have?

Mls2300/mastercool20 and r11f pedal. It's a cracking machine.

 

[Richard.]

Hi, I'm in the same process of getting a new single phase acdc welder. I've been in contact with my local welding supplier and am waiting for them to get back to me tomorrow on prices for the Miller range. The prices have apparently changed due to the new dynasty 210 dx being released. I tried out a merkle 220 the other day and was very impressed with it, lovely set. I've also been interested in the esab caddy 220i, but looking at the duty cycle, it doesn't seem to be very impressive. Ideally though im also after a Miller dynasty 210/280 dx.

Richard. What set do you have?

I wouldn't worry too much about the duty cycles on any of these as they really are all top line. The caddy is an excellent unit IMO

 

[BigDan83]

Mls2300/mastercool20 and r11f pedal. It's a cracking machine.

I agree, I've used one a fair few times. I've just heard it more than once that kemppi are abit of a nightmare if anything goes wrong with the set. Apparently getting parts and info can be quite a ball ache.

 

[chevy2]

I also wouldn't be too concerned about the duty cycles on most top of the range machines like miller, lincoln and others in the price bracket as most of their duty cycles are measured in a 40 degrees C envoironment unlike the cheaper brands that test theirs at around 20 degrees C.
i've done some high amperage/long period AC welding on my 200dx that should have got the machine hot but didn't,
you could probably double the duty cycle numbers to get a more realistic rating.

You'll have a bit of a wait if you want the new 210dx miller just like when the 280dx was released it was a good year or so before the first CE marked machines came available.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Hi, I'm in the same process of getting a new single phase acdc welder. I've been in contact with my local welding supplier and am waiting for them to get back to me tomorrow on prices for the Miller range. The prices have apparently changed due to the new dynasty 210 dx being released. I tried out a merkle 220 the other day and was very impressed with it, lovely set. I've also been interested in the esab caddy 220i, but looking at the duty cycle, it doesn't seem to be very impressive. Ideally though im also after a Miller dynasty 210/280 dx.

Richard. What set do you have?

Exactly what I was told when I asked about the 200DX the other day. They said that they couldn't even quote me because of the fact that they had no stock of it and Miller claim they have no stock of them and won't sell their distributors them. i'm looking into EWM or Oerlikon now

 

[chevy2]

Exactly what I was told when I asked about the 200DX the other day. They said that they couldn't even quote me because of the fact that they had no stock of it and Miller claim they have no stock of them and won't sell their distributors them. i'm looking into EWM or Oerlikon now

I'll bet Empire welding could get you a 200dx if you call them,
seeing as the 210dx isn't available in europe yet my guess is that model will still be available until it is.

 

[Richard.]

Why orelikon? I'm not suggesting anything wrong with them. That's just an odd pair to chose from. I know very little in fact nothing about them really as far as standard equipment goes.

 

[Richard.]

I agree, I've used one a fair few times. I've just heard it more than once that kemppi are abit of a nightmare if anything goes wrong with the set. Apparently getting parts and info can be quite a ball ache.

I've had the covers off and yeah I wouldn't want to start stripping it down but then it's not my profession. So long as it's reliable and performs well under the tasks I ask of it (which it does very well) then I'm happy. Reg duty cycle chev is bang on. My old magicwave was the same as the dynasty 20% @ 200 amps. Well it's utter nonsense. I have Had that pedal slammed to the deck on a long 6mm Alu beam a few times and it would take its time before the fan cut in and never had it shut down on overload or trip the electrics. The duty cycles are simply only relevant if you decide to weld in the Sahara. The Kemppi has a massive DC but this is simply only due to the fact the fan cuts in earlier and runs on a bit longer. It's certainly no better machine than the caddy or dynasty.

 

[cecotto479]

Try Premier Welding in Glasgow.

Good for Miller stuff in my experience.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Why orelikon? I'm not suggesting anything wrong with them. That's just an odd pair to chose from. I know very little in fact nothing about them really as far as standard equipment goes.

Oerlikon is proper quality, up there with the best IMO. I had a look at one their synergic pulse migs yesterday which was apparently going into a structural steel company near me. I've never seen anything like it. Build quality looked amazing, front panel allowed for a hell of a lot of setting changes, the most futuristic thing I've ever seen & boss man at the shop says they weld like a dream. I'm thinking if the migs are like that then the tigs should be the same shouldn't they?

 

[Jim Davey]

Wait till you need a spare part...