Tig welder, big v small - product quality?

[GW8IZR]

Hello, new to the forum and my 1st post.

I need a tig welder ... now my wife would rightly transpose need with want but that's the way it goes ;-)

The job is a bit of small fabrication, brackets clamps and frames etc to support other hobbies but I do need to be able to weld thin aluminium.

I think a fairly small ac/dc tig would do the job but recently I bought a small plasma cutter and thats led me to question the quality of the entry level sets. Just moving up to the next size cutter meant the torch was an order of magnitude nicer to hold, better finish and generally the function / use was better. Note thats not using the extra power available.

Is it the general way of things that if you buy an entry level tig from any of the 'reasonable' suppliers TA / R-tech etc the quality isnt as good as buying from the same supplier but just a bigger unit?

I'm not going to be buying a no support ebay special but also I'm not saying money is no object, but if a slightly bigger unit was much better then I'd find the funds.

Any advice - thank you.

Regards Paul

 

[Spark plug]

A lot of members say good things about the r-tec range but for thin aluminium you realy need a foot pedal to give the control you need.

 

[daleyd]

The thermal arc/parweld offerings are well thought of and apparently come with a decent pedal and torch set up, better than the rtech one apparently, though rtech have recently changed the torch supplied with there offering.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

As Dale says you'll find that the ACDC TIG from parweld and thermal arc are very good for the money. The torch that comes with the Parweld XTI 202 is a pro grip WP17 which is very nice to hold and the foot pedal is of a half decent quality too. IMO the footpedal is the only thing that the thermal arc has over the Parweld as its made by SSC. Other than that they are literally the same machine with s difference in price tag.

R tech are very affordable and with good backup but I've never used one some can't comment on them.

Then you've got your expensive stuff like Miller dynasty 210 which will cost a few grand. That's quality kit but if it's just a bit of light fabrication then one of those would probably be overkill.

 

[Richard.]

Is it the general way of things that if you buy an entry level tig from any of the 'reasonable' suppliers TA / R-tech etc the quality isnt as good as buying from the same supplier but just a bigger unit?

Bigger unit thing is confusing. The size of the unit or the size of its output has no bearing on its quality.
Quality will come with the brand you select. I don't think you'll have any problems with the Rtech or thermal arc units. They both come with a 2 year warranty and looked after on your doorstep. The units themselves are owned by lots of members who seem very pleased with them and lots of photos about the forum too showing nice results produced from such units.
As with most things in this world the more money you want to throw at it the better the product is. (Not always) but with welding it's generally the case. Sounds to me you want a nice set to use at home for some private work and projects. Those two brands you quote will more than fit the bill. Good luck and welcome.
Rich

 

[GW8IZR]

thanks for the replies so far - its appreciated.

I didn't want to name the brand as I dont want to get into that brand is better than this brand but the example might help explain my question better. I agree the bigger unit shouldn't be any better quality but after I bought the R-tech P30 I later borrowed a P50 and the basic equipment was just a lot nicer, really the torch and connectors were just better.

I've no complaints and of course if I hadn't borrowed the other I'd never have known :-) maybe the extra 300 quid would have been a stretch just for a nicer torch.

Whatever I suspect the welding set will be better than the welder whilst I get used to it.

 

[Richard.]

Always worth trying a few out to see what features you like. There are members up and down the country with Rtech,TA and parweld units and I'm sure most will be happy to let you have a play.