Setup for tig welding

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Hi, I'm having a little trouble finding specific information. I have a small shop where I do small welding jobs. I'm getting alot of people asking for things tig welded. What I want to know is what kind of setup do I need, I have some experience tig welding, I worked in a shop building stainless tanks for breweries a long time ago. I just need to get a setup that will allow me to do basics, I mean can you please really dumb it down for me. I understand that a basic setup will not allow me to do aluminum but I know this site is the place to come for the info. Thanks, Steven
Reply:Personally I wouldn't get a tig that couldn't do AC unless it was for a very specific purpose and there was really no need for it. What's the thickness of most materials you plan on welding?What's the max thickness you would like to weld?Do you have acess to 220v, 440v, just single phase or 3 phase?What's your budget?Lincoln precision TIG 275Millermatic 140 MIG
Reply:You can do scratch start DC tig with an air cooled torch on most DC stick machines. That said you won't have any sort of amp control and will need a torch with a gas valve.You'd be better with a dedicated tig machine that will give you a remote and gas timer as well as not having to scratch start. If you are thinking about alum in the future, you'll need AC as well as DC tig.I see tons of older transformer tigs for sale cheap. They are big, clunky and eat a ton of electric, but most are heavy duty solid machines that last forever, with tons of power and sell dirt cheap frequently. I just saw a nice Lincoln AC/DC tig with bottle and cooler go for less than $300 at an auction last week. The small inverters are nice. If you only need DC for steel and SS the little Maxstars are nice and you get a decent 110v portable tig/stick as well as 220v power for shop use. The Miller Dynasty's are super AC/DC machines but quite pricey. I looked hard at them before I bought my Syncro 200 last year..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 use a Thermal Arc 185 ACDC inverter tig in my shop and it's perfect for most of what I do, except thick aluminum, but I have mig for the thick aluminum too.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:What do you guys think of the Lincoln Precision tig 185? I can get one here only used a few times (looks like new) for $1500.00 cdn. Give me your honest opinion. Thanks
Reply:I liked them. I have only used 4 Tigs and two of them were precision tig 185s and 2 were precision tig 275s. I can't give you an opionion between other brands or models but the precision Tigs are very nice to work with. When it was time to buy I decided on the 275 because I knew the machine, liked it, wanted a little more beef, and liked the fact that the kit came with water cooling. I can run a lot of power through it for extended periods and the torch stays nice and cool. For smaller stuff though the 185 works great. I just did a quick search and didn't find what it's rated for but I'm guessing anything under 1/4" it should do great. Maybe a little thicker for steel.Lincoln precision TIG 275Millermatic 140 MIG
Reply:Thanks for the input, I'm gonna go look at it tomorrow, I hope it will suit me, I'm trying to find out all I can, I also have a thermal arc fabricator 190 for mig so between the two machines they should do all I need, I hope, thanks again, if anyone else wants to give me their opinion go ahead, good or bad.
Reply:if you dont need the ac for aluminum you will spend lots less $$$
Reply:That sounds like a great price to me considering it in Canada. I live on the east coast, and when I went looking for a deal on a tig the US was the onl place I found anything good. I bought the Lincoln PT225 last Dec and paid just under 2500.00 for it. It was the complete package unit, cart and all. The PT185 will be pushed doing 1/4 aluminum but for that price I would have bought it. The only thing I can add here is that I love my tig and it works great. I wanted a Miller but the price was to ar off due to the dollar. The lincoln units they sell in Canada are supposed to be made here which was another reason for buying it. Miller units are subject to the dollar change so the price can change monthly if your LWS is doing his job. I bought a Miller DVI2 mig two years ago when the Canadian dollar was high and saved 350.00 off the price from 6 months previous.Good luck with your purchase and where are you located.Miller DVI2Lincoln Precision Tig 225Thermodynamics Cutmaster 38Everything else needed.
Reply:Hey, thanks for all your input, I just bought the Lincoln precision tig 185 gonna go try it out now. Jamlit, I live in Moncton, not too far away.thanks again