Buying a R-Tech AC/DC tig help

[antcull]

I've my mind made up to buy myself a R-Tech 200amp ac/dc tig but i need some advice on whether to buy the older style machine or their newer 210 powertig version.....
I have being debating which welder to buy for a while now, would love a miller but just cant afford it, was thinking of buying a cheaper Chinese tig off ebay but i need to be able to get spares if anything goes wrong as i live in Ireland so not as handy as the UK, but spoke to R-Tech and they would have no problem sending parts out after a machine goes out of warranty.
I also looked at buying a Thermal-Arc off rapidweld but they recommended me to buy a Kemppi which i know would be a lovely welder but, again its out of my price range as im buying a tig for personal use just for auto restoration/rally car prep work.

Im looking for advice on whether to buy R-Tech's older style machine or their newer Digital machine.
TIG 201 AC/DC 200Amp Inverter TIG Welder

Or the R-Tech POWERTIG 210 EXT

My dilemmas are as follows:

• The tig201 has being around a good few years now so any problems that have occured with it over the years, im sure r-tech have gotten to the bottom of and fixed again now, so would it be more reliable than the digital ones?????? i spoke to R-tech and they say both machines share a lot of components and failure rate of both machines during the 2 year warranty period is 3%
• The tig201 has a pulse frequency of 25Hz, compared to the 210 Power tig which is 250Hz for AC. Is this an important factor to consider and will it limit me when welding alloys???

I really would appreciate any advice or taughts anyone has here, and thanks for taking the time to read this if you've gotten this far.
Ant

 

[Richiew]

I personally wouldn't spend all that money without getting the high speed pulse. I would only consider the 210. I have started using a DC only tig with high speed pulse and it really is a helpful feature to have.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I have the Rtech 161 ACDC Tig and I never use the pulse function. I use the pedal all the time.

 

[martin62]

I got my Rtech from Wholesale welding supplies they seem to be agents in Ireland

 

[Richard.]

I personally would not make my disision based on pulse Hz. AC frequency HZ is different but so long as you have a range between 40-150hz AC then that covers just about everything. Both machines do that I believe.
I'd go for the 201 as extra 10 amps would not be worth the extra£££££ for me. Also I prefer a twist to a push when it comes to changing my settings but that's just a personal thing for me.
The only down side is the 201 will become obsolete before the newer one so after the 5 year minimum period they need to support it for parts may not be as readily available.

 

[weldgauge]

sorry to hijack your thread, but i have also been looking for a 200amp machine for small jobs at home. I was looking at a thermal-arc machine as i have used them on the job before. im just not sure whether the R-Tech machine is worth the extra. heres the link to the machine.http://www.unitedwelding.co.uk/thermal-arc-arcmaster-202-acdc-tig-welder-package-240volt-185-p.asp obv vat has to be added to the price. any feed back would be greatly appreciated, it may also help the OP as well.

 

[Richard.]

Tg

sorry to hijack your thread, but i have also been looking for a 200amp machine for small jobs at home. I was looking at a thermal-arc machine as i have used them on the job before. im just not sure whether the R-Tech machine is worth the extra. heres the link to the machine.http://www.unitedwelding.co.uk/thermal-arc-arcmaster-202-acdc-tig-welder-package-240volt-185-p.asp obv vat has to be added to the price. any feed back would be greatly appreciated, it may also help the OP as well.

there is not going to be any differences worth trying to find between that and the RTech. They are pretty much identical in regards to features, build quality and price they are both Chinese built and both uk distributor supported. I'd choose between those two purely on which one is going to be easier to make use of the warranty if you have a problem. 10hz more here and 5% extra on the duty cycle there would not be things that would sway me in this case.

 

[weldgauge]

thanks richard, i have been looking into this even more and have found this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161122873941?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT similar features to the previous 2 but seems greatly discounted compared to the usual price. i have used parweld gear before as well, was mainly just mig/tig torches though.

 

[Richard.]

Yep same as the other 2

 

[norlander]

one feature to check on the Thermal arc is the torch, that model usually comes with a remote control on the torch-its a thumbwheel usually.Basically, it sort of functions like a pedal, so you can reduce the amps-as the workpiece heats up-very useful when welding aluminium.
My machine has a remote in the torch as an extra on the 4T function to allow me to drop the amps down.I cannot afford a pedal yet.So,
having a remote on the torch may be a plus if you cannot afford a pedal at time of purchase
the remote could be a plus if you did have a pedal but it stopped working.
However:
although I have not got one or ever used one-I'd guess there is no real substitute for a pedal
the remote is tricky to master(for me anyway)
I gave up using it for the moment (I am only just starting out on aluminium)
I found the best way for me was standard 4T, I just do a short run then stop when the puddle starts to run away, I then move to another cooler bit, then go back and forth.
My torch system is different to the Thermal Arc though, their system might be easier to operate.

 

[Richard.]

I'm hopeless with those thumb wheels they take some mastering while trying to keep the torch steady. I'm sure some people are good with them. Not me though.

 

[antcull]

Thanks for all the responses lads,
I finally made my decision and bought the 210 digital version after speaking to Dylan from R-Tech.
I know it was the more expensive of the two, and more expensive than some welders on ebay but its nice to have someone on the other end of the phone if anything goes wrong with the welder.
He even offered to give me some help/advice when i get the welder up and running if i run into problems with settings/menus etc, which was nice.
i will get up some pics and write a review when i get the machine as i couldnt find much info on this model when i was researching it.

 

[norlander]

I know it was the more expensive of the two, and more expensive than some welders on ebay but its nice to have someone on the other end of the phone if anything goes wrong with the welder.
He even offered to give me some help/advice when i get the welder up and running if i run into problems with settings/menus etc, which was nice.

thats why I always advise buying from an outfit you can talk to-its well worth paying the extra for that service, nice one, enjoy the new kit.

after speaking to Dylan from R-Tech.

Did Dylan say how Zebedee is getting on???

 

[mark williams]

just bought one of these myself today, very helpful on the phone, hope it works as well as they said it would now!!