What welder to get ? etc.

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Hi,  I'm somewhat new to the forum, but have been welding since grade school. (About 35 yrs.)  Grew up around an old Lincoln buzz box and got a Miller Sidekick in the mid 80's. Did a lot of welding with that little MIG. Great little Welder, but it recently gave out on me. Local Welder repair shop tried to fix it but he thinks it has an internal short in the Transformer. I would have paid as much as it cost new to get it going again, but the part is apparently no longer available.I weld various thickness sheetmetal... including stainless . Motorcycle fabrication. Bodywork,Automotive brackets and exhaust , Mower repairs, etc.  So, I'm trying to determine what to get next. I've never tried TIG welding but would like to be able to weld aluminum. I'm willing to spend up to $3000. for a good unit. So, that's my first question- would something like a Miller Synchrowave 200 TIG be able to do all my old MIG could do plus nice Aluminum welds ? Or should I get another MIG, a more heavy duty unit like say a Millermatic 212 or a Lincoln Power MIG 216 ?  The TIG aspect is the main unknown factor to me. I know what a 110 MIG can do but am just guessing beyond that. Another question. Why is there such a weight difference in some welders ? Example- A Miller Diversion 180 weighs 50 lbs and the next step up to Synchrowave 200 is 238 lbs. Seems to me that the heavier unit is going to be more durable , more copper in it and such. A Millermatic 211 MIG weighs 74 lbs and the next size up, a Millermatic 212, weighs 178 lbs. I think one reason my 110 welder gave out, may be because I over stressed it on occasion. Does weight correlate to toughness, capacity, and durability ?  I have considered the idea of a the Millermatic 212 and a spool gun for Aluminum, but the gun is about $700 dollars, so it seems to make more sense to put that $700 toward a TIG welder also, or instead.   I also noticed the poll somewhere that had people voting for their favorite brand of welding equipment and Lincoln won at 60 % . Is Lincoln better than Miller ? The welder repair shop guy said that he sees more Millers come in for repair, but he attributed that to their being more of them out there. I know- "What to get ?"has probably been asked 1000 times ! Sorry.  I did a quite a bit of searching, but could not seem to find some of my specific questions answered. I sure would appreciate some input from some of you that are more well rounded in your welding experience. Thanks in advance. Brad.
Reply:I never tried TIG either, but it sure looks like a whole different animal. weight with electronics in general is a good thing, but improvements are made all the time to make things lighter and to replace heavy technology with light technology. on the 211 vs. 212 thing, there are plenty of comparisons, and what you want and need from it will determine what way to go. they are not really going after the same market. Basically it comes down to the 211 is a hobby machine and the 212 is a bottom end pro machine. For the differences between Miller and Lincoln in general; I doubt there is anything significant. Maybe once you decide the exact class of machine, you can compare the fine details. For me it came down to the Miller plant is 2 hours away, and the Lincoln plant is about 12 hours away. I also like the color blue more than the color red.Last edited by Groo; 10-10-2011 at 12:29 AM.
Reply:You are looking at a lot of different animals.The reason the Diversion weighs less than the Syncrowave is that the Diversion is an inverter based machine and the Syncrowave is for the most part a transformer based machine. There's good and bad points to both types. The transformers are usually less expensive vs a similar counter part thats an inverter. The inverter usually has more adjustments and options. ( the Diversion is an exception because it's an entry level machine so it lacks those "extras")Mig vs tig is a different subject. Mig does some things very well and others not so well. Same with tig. Tig usually stands out with things like very thin materials, detailed work and so on. Most Tigs will also stick weld ( again the Diversion is an exception to this) Stick is useful for heavier materials that tig usually isn't the best choice for.  It's also the choice often for alum up to say 3/16". It gives that stack of dimes look many are looking for in welds on "fancy" items. Stainless is another area thats often done with tig, especially thin stainless. Tig however is usually slow compared to mig. Mig on the other hand is good for sheetmetal ( 18-20 ga steel) and up. You don't get the same look as you do tig. With alum, mig is usually good down to say 14 ga without lots of special equipment and special prep, and is often a better choice than tig on thicker materials like say 1/4" and up.I can see a use for both in a shop. Mig to do sheetmetal body panels and heavier steel brackets and so on. Tig to do thin tube, stainless and other detailed work, with the stick option available for heavy steel. A 200 amp AC capable tig would let you do up to 3/16" alum down to almost alum foil with the right machine. A spoolgun on the mig would work for say 1/8" alum up to the max the mig will put out, assuming a 230v capable mig. The mig would also be a good choice with FC wire for outdoor work as compared to say tig.I have both. I think a 200 amp class mig and a 200 amp class AC/DC tig compliment each other well. I think I'd be loosing stuff if I dropped the tig, or went down to only a 110v class mig rather than the larger mig I have. I went to tig because I wasn't getting the results on stainless and alum that I was looking for with my mig. I needed more control and the stuff I do needed that tig "look". That said, I grab my mig for just about all my normal steel projects, from sheetmetal to 3/8" plus and still use my spoolgun to do say body repairs on a friends alum body dump truck rather than use the tig. As far as weight vs durability, a good bit of that has to do with the brand and the particular machine. Many here have reported issues with many of the lower priced import tigs and migs. With better units like Millers, Lincolns etc, it's more about the intended purpose of the machine. Example: The Syncrowave 200 vs it's counter part the Dynasty 200. The Dynasty weighs less, but it's as durable a machine as the Syncrowave is. It's lighter, more powerful, but almost 2x the cost. In this case weight doesn't matter. Mig's are a bit different somewhat. with a transformer based mig, more weight usually means a longer duty cycle. The MM212  has a much higher duty cycle than the lighter MM211. Again an inverter based "mig" like an XMT304, set up to run mig would be much lighter than say a MM252 because it's an inverter. Durability on both would be very good because they are both designed for an industrial setting. When you start looking at the lower end machines, like the MM180, MM211 and the Diversions, keep in mind they were not intended to be used like the larger industrial machines. They were designed to be used in a much different way, so they won't hold up the same.Note to do alum you will need more amps than you would say steel the same thickness. A 200 amp machine is usually the lower end if you want to do either alum tig or mig, but you can get buy with 180 amps. A 180 amp mig maxed out will do 1/8" alum.  A 200 amp class mig would get you almost to 1/4" alum. You need about 150 amps to do 1/8" alum with an AC tig, 200 amps would get you to about 3/16" under real world conditions usually.$3K would get you a nice new Syncro 200 and still leave you almost enough for say the MM211 or a 200 amp class Hobart. You don't have enough budget to get a spoolgun, but with the tig I doubt that would be a big issue right away. Go used, and that same $3K would get you a nice Dynasty 200 and probably get you a 180 amp class Hobart new. That would be a tight stretch, but it's doable if you can find the right deals. Go with a used Syncro 180/200 for about $1000-1200 or so like many here have grabbed, and you could get a larger 230v mig like the MM212 or a nice used MM250-251. You could possibly even get an XMT304 with feeder if you had about $500 to $800 more to spend and the right deal came around.Last edited by DSW; 10-10-2011 at 12:25 AM..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