I've got about 16 hours in at a LWS on only TIG welding. No worries about skill level, I'm very dedicated and will be very good at TIG, just need more time under the helmet.So anyway, looking to purchase an initial TIG setup for my home. Welder will be used for Stainless 304/321 ~16 ga. tubing, 4130 tubing, eventually get into some Aluminum manifold work.House has 200 amp panel, which has only 2-4 open slots (a couple can be combined i believe. House is entirely electric, I have 30 dryer, 30 range, 30 H2o Heater, 30 furnace, 60 furnace. So.... power is an issue.I of course would love to throw down $3,600 on a Dynasty 200DX setup and have the finances to do so if I REALLY need to. One plus is I know the resale on the Miller's is great, if I ever want/need to sell.So throw out your opinions and options, please and/or ask any other needed questions.My besides 200DX options.New 180 DiversionUsed 185 PrecisionUsed Syncrowave 180/200 (Power?)New Everlast 250EXOther "crap" chinese boxes, Eastwood TIG, Etc....
Reply:look for used first.... there are some deals out there then do your home work as to what you needif ya got the room for big machine old transformer ,(can be found for less bux) some can use the powermine is easy on elec.bill the inverts are good and use less power [still look used i cant say much for the imports some good some not soidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tigidealarc 250/250 ac-dc tig #2 used for sticklincoln sp100hh125dual arbor grinder polisher30 yrs of hand tools52 pitch blocks 6p-26prake gauge -pitch gaugeG&D prop repair 918-207-6938Hulbert,okla 74441
Reply:I say you can't go wrong with the 200DX. That's what I have and I love it. You definitely need the A/C for aluminum later. You can probably find a low hour machine for a good price. You said you have a 30 amp breaker for your dryer, so you're fine for power. Just put on the right plug and just make sure the misses doesn't need the dryer while you are welding.kidtigger24 They think Im crazy, but I know better. It is not I who am crazy. It is I who am MAD!
Reply:The Diversion is underpowered for alum and I feel you give up too many options for the small savings on the price. You'd be better off spending the extra couple hundred to get a new Syncro 200. You can save a few bucks on the syncro if you get it without the "tigrunner kit" all it basically is is the wheels and will save you roughly $200. I really wouldn't go lower than 200 amps if you want to do alum, and I'd stay well clear of the china cr@p. To me you are spending too much money to gamble on issues in the future. When it dies chances are you won't be able to get it fixed easily..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Would a used 185 Lincoln precision be a good option? I've read something about board issues with that model, or a 180/200 syncrowave, either of those for $1500ish sound reasonable?
Reply:if your going to be limited on power, i would look for a used inverter tig machine such as a thermal arc 185 or a dynasty 200.. for the money i think i would look into a near new but used syncrowave 200..tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/
Reply:I'm not that familiar with that Lincoln in particular. $1500 is on the high side from what I've seen for a used Syncro 200. The Syncro 180's usually go for $1100-1300 depending on accesories. The Syncro 200's $1300-1500 but I've seen mint ones go for less. I've seen a few Syncro 250's go for $1500-1800 in nice shape. Again it all depends on what comes with it for the money. $1500 for a clean machine with cylinder and watercooled torch and cooler would be a good deal on a 200. For a stock machine that you can get new for about $2100 it's a bit high for most areas.If you don't already use one, I'd recomend a search engine like searchtempest to hunt CL's in the area around you. I usually use "welder" as my key word and search the list manually to find whatever I like. I usually try to stay within 1-2 hr drive, but would go farther if the price was right. Sometimes going out a bit farther from the city will get me some good deals..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I've not seen one ta185 for sale and every dynasty 200 sells for within 300-600 of what the new web price is, for that small of a difference I'd rather buy new. Thought there might be an option I'm missing, what should a used 200 sync go for?
Reply:i use http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/sd.cgi?cat=tls for craiglist searches..tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/
Reply:I have a Lincoln 175 going on 10 years now. It's been leased to a fab shop for production welding and used almost daily for the last 5 years. I also run it with my 10kw generator. I've had no real problems. The foot pedal wire broke at the pedal last week but about 20 min and it was up and running again. I' ve welded from .015 stainless to 3/8 alum with out any problem. It is a power hog however and a 50 amp breaker is necessary. Lincoln says it is one of the best welders they have for home and light industry. better by far than the 185. The 175 has been re-introduced by Lincoln to replace the 185.
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incoln 255 Squarewave with cooler for $1,500 used? Too big? I'm assuming that needs a 70+ amp 230 feed?What would be the minimum power I could use it for low amp DC? Obviously I would need different power to run it up to 255 for AC.Thoughts? Thanks for all the advice so far.
Reply:That sounds like a great deal. I'd hop on that in a heartbeat even though I've already got a Syncro 200 just for the extra power and the water cooler and torch.As far as minimum power, I'm not sure, but you should be able to get a good portion of it's range with a 50 amp breaker. I know many guys here run larger machines that are rated at 100-125 amp breakers on 50's at lower output. A 30 amp might be iffy, but if you stayed below 100 amp output you could probably run it. Transformer based machines usually have a minimum threshold they need to energise the transformer, so you can't just cut the rated output in half lets say and expect to need half the rated power..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
