buying a tig

[johnakay]

I'm considering in buying small tig welder for light work such as tubings max 2mm wall/brackets 3mm.
I won't be welding continuously ,I still use my mig for most work.
also I can learn to tig and once I'm good enough then I can go and work for a company part time.
in the BOC catalogue there are 3 at the price more suitable for my wallet.
Victor 175 TE full kit,current range 5-175 duty cycle 20% @ 175. £504.37
these do not inc torch and can't find any info on the net
Ryval 130mma/lift tig machine current range 20-130,duty cycle tig 100%.mma 35% £195.95
same as above except goes to 175 amp £255.95

http://www.victortechnologies.eu/th...tID=2&SubCatID=2&ProdLineID=0&ProdID=3&brand=

 

[hotrodder]

Looking at a pic of the Ryval i'd describe it as an MMA (stick) welder, not MMA/TIG... any DC stick welder is capable of scratch TIG but for it qualify for description as a TIG/MMA machine it should have a gas solenoid and slope down control IMO.

The Thermal arc 175 TE has both of these and also offers HF start (another plus point). Wave this at BOC and if/when they refuse to beat the price laugh and walk out... http://www.rapidwelding.com/dynamic/DisplayItem.aspx?c=W1003003 £430 inc VAT for a package with TIG torch and that was just the first google hit...

Under media and literature on the Victor Technologies site you can download the user manual and there's spec sheet pdf on the rapidwelding site when you click the more infomation button

 

[chevy2]

I'm still considering the thermal arc 175TE to carry on the van for work,
Most of my mobile work is with stick using a 130 inverter i've had around 10 years but i often repair stainless kitchen equipment out on site so it'll save the trouble of loading my workshop tig each time and only need to throw the small argon bottle on,

The spec on the 175 TE is about the best for that price with HF and down slope,
the only thing that concerns me is the preset gas post flow as its based on amperage used so it could either be too short causing tungsten erosion etc or too long and being a gas wasting unit?

Has anyone got one and could report back on the 'actual' postflow times at different amperages?

 

[hotrodder]

Haven't used one but (and you're probably already of this) the manual says ~ 3 secs @ 10A upto ~10s @175A so it's not a gas waster... sounds potentially on the stingy side for air cooled DC TIG but i've been spoilt with watercooled kit that cools the tungsten more quickly

 

[johnakay]

this one is even cheaper ahh its used
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THERMAL-A...661?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cdc02ad15

 

[chevy2]

Haven't used one but (and you're probably already of this) the manual says ~ 3 secs @ 10A upto ~10s @175A so it's not a gas waster... sounds potentially on the stingy side for air cooled DC TIG but i've been spoilt with watercooled kit that cools the tungsten more quickly

That does seem a tad short based on the one second per 10 amp rough guide,
a slightly longer slope down might help as the tungsten is already on the cooldown?

also spoilt with the clever auto postflow on my Dynasty

 

[hotrodder]

From memory while it works better with aircooled than it does with water the 1s/10A is still way off a lot of the time, not really a better rule of thumb though. With a watercooler 8 secs is typically more than enough for the tungsten @ 200A AC

If your Dynasty is aircooled could count until the tungsten stops glowing and see what you get at different amperages? As you say longer slope times might help if it is on the short side

 

[johnakay]

so would you say that the thermal arc 175 TE is a reasonable tig for my needs?

 

[waddycall]

I have a thermal arc 175 te. I really like it. I find it simple to use and the torch is light with an adjustable neck. If you think you might want to add a footpedal the 175te doesn't have the option. Doesn't bother me though. I've used mine for tigging 6mm stainless steel boat fittings, mild steel weathervanes, exhaust pipe. Very glad I bought it.

 

[hotrodder]

As Chevy said, spec for the £££ is about as good as it gets. The only other contenders anyone on here is likely to recommend are probably an Rtech and maybe a Parweld? All three are badge engineered Cheapnese machines from companies with good reputations (customer service/warranty etc) i.e. much of a muchness? The Rtech is a tad cheaper (might change with shopping around though?) and has low frequency pulse but is 160A. Parweld xti 181 is suspiciously identical looking to the Thermal Arc but appears to be a bit more spendy. I wouldn't pay much attention to things like duty cycle (less of a deal than it is with MIG) or to Rtechs bigging up the fact it runs off a 13A plug- it's only 160A, i'd be dissapointed if it didn't as my 200A Lincoln is happy enough running flat out from one. Above 160A it's pretty standard for machines to be specced for a 16A slow fuse though. Pulse can be a useful feature but IMO on thinner stuff than you're talking about. Personally i'd make the choice based on which retailer you can the best value from (service as well as price)

Key question is would you ever want/need to weld aluminium as you'd need an AC/DC machine for that which cost a chunk more ££££. DC only machine for steel/stainless upto ~3mm... you'll rarely be running more than 100A


ETA the Thermal Arc is purple, Parweld is lilac. Forgot about the yellow one, ESAB buddy TIG...

 

[johnakay]

I already have a 16amp fittings on my bench wall for my 215amp portamig .
no need for aluminium welding. mainly mild steel and maybe s/steel but thats it.

is this a better model? I'll be honest I know nothing about these tigs,all these figures mean nothing to me at the moment.I have an idea but that's it.
I've only worked with mma and mig
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TIG-Welde...h-Tig160PDC-0-finance-available-/291072342724
and for a bit more £200
http://www.weldequip.com/tecarc-186i-dc.htm

who knows if I get to like using it I might do all my welding work with it.
most welding are usually small brackets onto tubing etc.
oh and I'm not bothered about a foot peddle.

 

[hotrodder]

The ebay link is the Rtech i mentioned above at a few quid off their website price (don't forget carriage prices though). Apparently they often punt 'shop soiled' stuff on there... could be anything from marketing BS/scratched case/returns and in the later case returns could be anything from someone changing their mind (distance selling regs) to a faulty machine that slipped through and is now fixed
The TecArc... it's a badge engineered Chinese (or wherever) inverter like all the others. AIUI Technical Arc (like Rtech) started out in welding repair before they were selling own branded welding kit, generalising it goes something like the inverters are rebadged/reworked/built to their specs in a generic cheapnese case while transformer based kit like your portamig are actually made/assembled in the UK

I've never owned any of them, used some of those brands (older models of Thermal Arc/ESAB which were probably made by someone else to the current versions) and in some cases the same machine in a box that was painted a different colour. Based solely on that all much of muchness IMO

 

[johnakay]

seen one of my friends and he was offered a Kemppi tig welder with all the fancy stuff costing over £2000 for £500.
surplus to requirement anyway he turned it down but he is going to see if its still available if so he will buy it and I pay him later.
so fingers cross.