hobart tigmate

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Hello,I have a chance to purchase a new Hobart Tigmate at a great price. I am a soon to be retired USAF pilot who enjoys welding. So far I have a small gas rig, an arc and Mig welder (harbor freight/hobby variety). Now I want to start on Tig which I realize can be the most difficult to learn and master. But some questions if someone could answer them:-Is Hobart really made by Miller Elec?-Quality concerns-Foot control vs. Fingertip-What is Hobart's advertised "specialized arc starting" vs High Freq. starting?I know this may involve some opinion but fire away. I am hoping the Tigmate will be good enough for me to learn on and conduct some hobby to light industrial work on SS, Alum, Titanium etc in the future.Dean
Reply:the tig mate is a miller econo tig with a new paint jobChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:Originally Posted by chopper5the tig mate is a miller econo tig with a new paint job
Reply:With hand or foot controls it really depends on what you'll be welding and what your used to.Ive got a hand amp control on a PT 185 and love it as I often tig on largish things like balustrading  and they are up to 6.0m long and its all aluminium ,so its a  heap easier to move around with rather than moving your foot pedal .But...They are  hard to get used to (well it was for me) especially if you learnt on a foot pedal. Another thing is if your doing very fine stuff the chance is always there of accidentally moving your torch hand when varying amps.If your only doing small stuff at a table a foot control may be more appropriate but for large things they're great.
Reply:Brett, thanks! Good insight on the controls (finger vs. foot), hadn't thought of that.
Reply:Originally Posted by MilSpec1Brett, thanks! Good insight on the controls (finger vs. foot), hadn't thought of that.
Reply:I'm going to guess that their 'special arc starting' method is Lift-Arc, since the only three methods I know of for starting the arc in TIG are HF, scratch, and lift-arc.IIRC, with lift-arc there is no real welding voltage/amperage going to the torch before the arc is started, there is only a small sense-voltage. To start the arc you first touch the electrode to the work. The machine uses the sense-voltage to tell when you've had the electrode touched to the work for more than about 0.5-1 seconds and then turns on the welding voltage and current. Since there is no meaningful voltage going to the torch before the electrode contacts the work there is no way for an arc to form, create heat, stick the electrode or contaminate the tungsten. The arc only forms when you lift the electrode away from the work.Visit Tensaiteki.com
Reply:awesome thanks
Reply:It's not lift-arc. I've got an Econotig, and the arc jumps the gap when I hit the pedal. I think it's a HV pulse.
Reply:what is HV pulse?
Reply:HV (high voltage) pulse and HF (high frequency) are essentially the same thing.High frequency works by using high frequency and high voltage to establish a column of ionized gas between the work and the tungsten so the regular welding arc can start.On Lincoln machines (at least the Squarewave 225s at school) a constant stream of HF is put out until an arc is established. When you first press the the pedal on these machines you hear a slight hiss or buzz until the arc starts.On Miller machines (at least the Dynasty 200dx at work) High Frequency (which is also high voltage) is not pumped out continuously but only in short bursts. When you first press the pedal on these you hear a sharp clicking noise (the pulses of HF) until the arc starts.Since the literature on the Tigmate says that the circuitry eliminates the need for HF then it must not use "HV pulse" either. It, most likely, isn't scratch start since scratch start doesn't require any special circuitry at all. So it's probably lift-arc starting.Visit Tensaiteki.com
Reply:Does the lift arc work alright compared to the HF/HV start?Thanks, DeanOriginally from Springbranch, Tx
Reply:No lift-arc on the Tigmate. I believe it's a capacitor start setup.It works very well. Everything else does not matter, only that it works.Last edited by Scott V 2; 12-03-2006 at 11:05 PM.Esab 125 handy-plasmaEsab 250 plusEsab 260 loadedThermal 160TSThermal Acrmaster 185Thermal 38XL plasmaThermal 151  plasmaMiller AEAD-200 LESoon to be releasedBlack box
Reply:Originally Posted by Scott V 2No lift-arc on the Tigmate. I believe it's a capacitor start setup.It works very well. Everything else does not matter, only that it works.
Reply:awesome posts, thanks for the information. I am going to enroll in a local CC welding class out here in Vegas. If my work schedule permits.
Reply:I still think the "special circuitry" is lift-arc. However, I do believe that it also has HF circuitry since it uses regular sine-wave instead of square-wave for AC GTAW.I am not sure how it works but the Econotig or Tigmate does not have lift-arc!It never did and never will. I have lift-arc on three of my machines so I know how it works.  Econotig doesn't have hf built it. It has a high voltage arc stabilizer or something that helps keep the arc from extinguishing, but it's not high frequency like used on squarewave machines.Esab 125 handy-plasmaEsab 250 plusEsab 260 loadedThermal 160TSThermal Acrmaster 185Thermal 38XL plasmaThermal 151  plasmaMiller AEAD-200 LESoon to be releasedBlack box
Reply:I have an econotig and called Miller Tech about this the other day.  Tech guy said No lift arc.  Don't need to touch the metal to start.  Just bring it close and hit the pedal.  I think the HV is correct.
Reply:Howdy                 Miller and Hobart are one big happy family because a Hobart girl married a Miller boy. So when the owners manual is the same it is the same machine only painted a differant color. I have an Airco 150 amp TIG which is the same as a Miller Econotig. But it is painted orange!                 Our nephew retired from the Airforce. He used to fly those smokey things called F4Gs and worked at the pentagon. Boy if I had a F15 I could have some fun but I couldn't afford the fuel. You see I'm just an ex farm boy with an instrument rated com rating and no type ratings.                 I am looking for long time owner info on a Miller Econotig AKA Airco.                                                                                LeeLincoln AC Tombstone   Lincoln AC\DC   Miller TIG   OxyAcet   Many Many Tools
Reply:I was a Bone driver for years, T-38 IP before that even. Now I am a Predator guy. Remote control, arm chair killer
Reply:Hf is definatly worth the extra price.DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools