torn between a syncrowave 200 and a dynasty 200

admin

I searched before and have been doing research for a few weeks now on which welder to buy (also have been trolling the site before i made a membership). I'm 20 and I went to BOCE's for welding when I was in high school and learned how to weld on a syncrowave 250 (tig and stick). I didn't get my certifications while in school due to the fact that I went into the auto repair field. I now want to get my 6G certification for a new job I just got so I want to get a machine to get my feet back into welding before I take the test. I also do custom hot rod work which deals with stainless and aluminum TIG welding. I want to only make this purchase once so please be patient with me haha. I was looking into the syncrowave originally and I was kind of sold on that, but then I started looking into the inverter machines and the positives of it, the only thing holding me back other than the extra cash is the high cost repairs if they go bad. Do inverters break down a lot? I'm not going to be using the machine everyday, only a weekend whenever I have time kinda thing. Like I previously stated I learned on a syncrowave so I am not familiar with all the extra features on the dynasty like the balance and frequency settings (will these be picked up fast?). I got a price on a loaded syncrowave with an air cooled torch for 2600, I did not get the cost for the dynasty yet but I was kind of assuming 4600. I don't want to say in a year or two damn I should've gotten something else. I want to be happy for years to come and spend the money now so I don't have to purchase a new machine a few years down the roadp.s as of right now I was looking into an air cooled torch and was going to add water cooled later if neededLast edited by tuff57; 01-16-2013 at 10:37 PM.
Reply:the dynasty is definately the way to go if you got the $$$ will make much better power from less input amperage. will especially see the difference welding aluminum'14 HTP invertig 221Thermal Arc 201ts'15 HTP 2400'13 Hypertherm Powermax 30Esab 875Esab 251Clark Metal Servicespecializing in stainless steel exhaust systems
Reply:I was in your boat a few years back when I wanted to learn alum tig and wanted to get a machine. In the end I picked the Syncrowave 200 over the Dynasty simply based on cost at the time. I really haven't had much reason to doubt my choice. To me the added cost didn't justify the portability or the advanced functions. Most of those functions really only apply to alum and you really need to know your stuff before they will do you any good. If I'd been doing this FT rather than as a hobby, then the portability aspect and lower power usage, probably would have been a bigger deal and might have justified the extra cost.If you look around a bit you can find some nice lightly used Syncrowave 200's and the occasional Syncro 250 for less than 1/2 what you are looking at new. I regularly see them bringing $1000-1400 with almost no hours on the meter. I've even seen the occasional rare one as low as $750. Syncrowave 250's run $1600-2200, but usually have more hours on the clock. Lots of small shops and hobbyists are getting rid of expensive "toys" they just don't use and can't justify to pay the bills.As far as reliability, I'd have no issues with any of the Dynasties. I know the one tech school has 5 or 6 of the Dynasty 350's as well as at least one Dynasty 200, and they take the abuse from students very well. Our school runs Syncro 250's, but the instructor is old school, and we don't have the funding the other school does in the next county..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:just my 2 cents, if your doing strickly tig the dynasty can't be beat. however, if you want to add stick into the mix, the sync will do a better job at stick welding than the dynasty. again just my opinion.