Seeking wisdom for first Tig welder

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Hello everyone, Im in the long process of looking for a welder. Ive spent many hours so far on this forum and others trying to figure out whats best for me and in my price range. (like to keep under 2k if all possible). Ive takin welding classes a few years ago, learned on Dynasty 350. But this will be my first welder in my personal garage. Have a 30 or 60 amp breaker to tie into. Space is limited in garage. would like to weld up to 1/4 inch alum but I dont have any projects that require that atm. welders im interested but just dont know what to pickSyncrowave 210  have yet to find a used one older transformer syncrowaves. dont know if i have the amps or space but the amount of machine for used price is nice. diversion 180 if i could find one cheap used it might be the ticket. But would be nice to have more features, longer duty an more ampsHTP Invertig 221 like this one but a lil more than i was really wanting to spend for a hobby welder. Ive already learned a lot on this site and anymore help would be greatly appropriated!
Reply:Where are you from? Search clist and be patient, you will find something.
Reply:crawfordsville Indiana  u nailed it patients. 2 weeks since I got the "ok" from the wife seems like forever already.
Reply:2 grand will get you something really nice on clist. We have all been there before especially with welders. How far are you willing to travel?
Reply:ive been searching 100 miles or more on searchtempest. if im confident in the sell on cl I never have a prob traveling a bit
Reply:syncrowave 250 is nice. Keep looking and you will find a bargain sooner or later. I am in love with the ones I recently picked up. Not as small as they look in the pictures though.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:i found a 7 year old sync 200 for a grand but without pedal/torch. i have a double pole 60 amp breaker that was used for electric furnace. from what ive read 60 amp breaker should be good enough for a sync?
Reply:Originally Posted by I sniff Nitroive been searching 100 miles or more on searchtempest. if im confident in the sell on cl I never have a prob traveling a bit
Reply:I would try to stick with a good name brand and watch the duty cycles on any machine you are thinking of purchasing.  Good luck.  By the way I am a miller guy as far as shop machines are considered
Reply:Originally Posted by Murphy's lawI would try to stick with a good name brand and watch the duty cycles on any machine you are thinking of purchasing.  Good luck.  By the way I am a miller guy as far as shop machines are considered
Reply:Ya i think it might just come to what good used welder i find first.  What would be considered a good price for a sync 200 ready to go minis bottle go for these days?  Around 1k?
Reply:You can sometimes find sync 250s for under a grand. But that sync 200 is not a terrible deal. I run my sync 250s on a 50 amp circuit and have yet to trip the breaker.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:Call up HTP and see if they will do you a deal. They did extend the Black Friday sale for quite a while.Better to spend an extra few hundred over budget now on welder you can grow into than find in in 6 months that your 180 isn't cutting it or your transformer tig keeps blowing your breaker and you need to upgrade.Also: new welder smell and 3 year warranty.
Reply:I'm a hobbyist too and was also initially looking at getting the 180, but decided to save and then spend a little more on the HTP Invertig.
Reply:I might have to give them a call just to see certainly cant hurt. As of right now this looks interesting, what do you guys think about price? will do 2k with water cooler and 1500 without.   http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/tls/4851451587.html
Reply:I think you will want the water cooler. Offer him $1600 for everything and see if he'll move. Lots of guys will tell you to offer half. I think you just insult the seller when you do that unless you have a couple of other ads you can point him to that suggest he is overpriced. I think $1600 is fair.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:I offered him 18 an he wouldn't.  I'll let him sit on it an see if he'll end up budging.  An thanks for answering my other question if i should get the water cooler
Reply:Idk when they stopped making the sync 200 but he said hes had it for 3 years an bought it new
Reply:Im a "hobbyist" at home. But weld professionally also. I recently picked up an everlast 250ex new. So far so good. Im a brand new tig guy and it was easy to setup, easy to run and its an inverter so I run it on a 30 amp fuse. Plus, jody on tips and tricks videos on youtube can tell you everything you need to know about them. if I didn't get the everlast, I would have held out for the 350 dynasty probably. Anything under 250 amps is just to small for me. im glad so far I went with the powertig.
Reply:Originally Posted by shaynoakIm a "hobbyist" at home. But weld professionally also. I recently picked up an everlast 250ex new. So far so good. Im a brand new tig guy and it was easy to setup, easy to run and its an inverter so I run it on a 30 amp fuse. Plus, jody on tips and tricks videos on youtube can tell you everything you need to know about them. if I didn't get the everlast, I would have held out for the 350 dynasty probably. Anything under 250 amps is just to small for me. im glad so far I went with the powertig.
Reply:Originally Posted by I sniff Nitrothank you for bringing up another welder I now have to read tons of reviews on..hah! but so far from what ive read doest look bad at all. May I ask where you purchased yours ?
Reply:if you are going to buy a Chinese welder, may I suggest the best place to get it from is Amazon. You have far more protection from Amazon if something goes wrong.Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:well picked up a newer sync 200 with watercooler tonight. Its actually a 460v machine. But it also came with a step up transformer i guess. He had it on 220 in his shop.  Pretty excited Appreciate all the help!
Reply:Great choice!
Reply:Is there an actual difference between the "460 machines" and the "220 machines"?  I mean pretty much every machine I have ever got has jumpers that can be moved around so the welder can be run on 3 phase or single phase. I thought the options for these jumpers are for 220, 230, 440, and 460?12v battery, jumper cables, and a 6013.I only have a facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pages/VPT/244788508917829Right i thought the same thing but label shows differently.  An the manual shows two different lables one for 220 an one for 460. Like there were two different models. Attached Images
Reply:Im kinda curious if there is a component i can change in the welder to make it 220 an get rid of the transformer.  I'll have to take a look in the parts manual