Hi all,
I'm new here but I've been reading through the forum increasingly over the last few weeks as I have been considering my first foray into welding.
I've been keen to try my hand at welding for years but as I have a young family I've never really felt like I've had the time to do it justice. Now, with lockdown in place, I feel like coming out the other side with a new skill would be a way to make something good out of a bad situation.
I've been pondering what type of welding I'd like to try and I think that, despite the steeper learning curve, I'm mostly keen to try TIG. To that end I've been looking at different machines and found it really quite difficult to know where to jump in! I've narrowed it down to two machines based on what I think suits me at a price point that feels about right:
- GYS TIG 168
- R-Tech TIG160PD-D
Both are very similar in spec and offer features I think I'll use (or want to understand what they do) such as memory, pulse, HF and lift tig, hot start et al for MMA welding.
The main difference in terms of features is that the R-Tech supports use of a foot pedal whereas the GYS does not. I'm not sure I'd need this but I think I'd like to familiarise myself with this such that if I get an AC/DC welder in the future, I'll be able to hit the ground running.
The R-Tech also comes with a longer warranty (3yrs vs 2yrs) and support for parts for at least 10 years. The GYS being French would appear from my inept searching to be difficult to find parts for. Whether this is a legitimate concern or not I'm unsure, perhaps TIG machines are fairly robust?
I guess I'm leaning towards the R-Tech at present. Would anyone have any advice on my general situation? Have I missed any similar options? I've seen mention of ex demo or shop soiled R-Tech machines. I've also seen a few discount codes mentioned in old threads. Are these things that crop up often enough to consider waiting for? Not seen anything equivalent for GYS alas.
Thanks for reading,
Sam
I'm new here but I've been reading through the forum increasingly over the last few weeks as I have been considering my first foray into welding.
I've been keen to try my hand at welding for years but as I have a young family I've never really felt like I've had the time to do it justice. Now, with lockdown in place, I feel like coming out the other side with a new skill would be a way to make something good out of a bad situation.
I've been pondering what type of welding I'd like to try and I think that, despite the steeper learning curve, I'm mostly keen to try TIG. To that end I've been looking at different machines and found it really quite difficult to know where to jump in! I've narrowed it down to two machines based on what I think suits me at a price point that feels about right:
- GYS TIG 168
- R-Tech TIG160PD-D
Both are very similar in spec and offer features I think I'll use (or want to understand what they do) such as memory, pulse, HF and lift tig, hot start et al for MMA welding.
The main difference in terms of features is that the R-Tech supports use of a foot pedal whereas the GYS does not. I'm not sure I'd need this but I think I'd like to familiarise myself with this such that if I get an AC/DC welder in the future, I'll be able to hit the ground running.
The R-Tech also comes with a longer warranty (3yrs vs 2yrs) and support for parts for at least 10 years. The GYS being French would appear from my inept searching to be difficult to find parts for. Whether this is a legitimate concern or not I'm unsure, perhaps TIG machines are fairly robust?
I guess I'm leaning towards the R-Tech at present. Would anyone have any advice on my general situation? Have I missed any similar options? I've seen mention of ex demo or shop soiled R-Tech machines. I've also seen a few discount codes mentioned in old threads. Are these things that crop up often enough to consider waiting for? Not seen anything equivalent for GYS alas.
Thanks for reading,
Sam