What TIG/MMA to buy

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Hi all, I'm from belgium and I'm looking for a good TIG welder. Last year due to the economie, i could not find a job as a php programmer ( studies i did ). So i went back to school to kill the time and learn about welding. The welding course started with stick welding then went on to mig and lastly TIG. I finished Stick and got my international certification for it. Same with MIG. But near the end of the MIG course i was contacted by a company to start working as a php programmer. Ofcourse i accepted this and i am still working.I was so fond of welding that i started doing small repairs for family and bought a small stick welder. Now recently i have been given the oppertunity go buy a high end welder.But i dont really know what 1 to buy. I have been doing alot of research ( even came across some of the everlast things, decided my money is probably better spend on a known good brand ). What i want to buy is a very very good stickwelder, but i wanted to be able to learn tig on my own aswel. So i think a good TIG DC welder should be good for this. Please note that i only have acces to normal european current (230) and no 380 or 400.the budget i will be able to spend is between 1000€ - 2200€  or in dollars that is 1 396.9 U.S. dollars - 2 933.49 U.S. dollars. I want to be able to weld stainless and normal steel, maybe alum but thats not a requirement. It would be used mostly for fabrication, construction and repairs.What would you guys recommend for me?It is possible to get Brands like miller and lincoln over here. Aswel as the european brands ofcourse.Kind regards,Thurstan
Reply:regarding available service in your vicinity you are in the best position to determine that.. pretend you ha d a broken lincoln or miller machine and see  what is available to you.aluminum will require acthermal arc is a good machine..but for a "veryverygood stickwelder" i think you want a heavy transformer style machine..
Reply:Thermal arc, i havent heard of that brand yet. I'm gonna look in to that. Any particular tig that is very good from that brand?
Reply:Hi there, search for ESAB or REHM , american brands are overpriced in EU but Lincoln makes decent machines in Italy.--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:REHM and ESAB area german brands isnt they? I have heard that the german welders are around the best of the european made welders. Is this true?
Reply:Go with a good name brand.even buy something used if u have to.I bought a EVERLAST that thing was not worth the box it was shiped in.stay clear of that brand.
Reply:Rehm is german, Esab is sweden, can't go wrong with either.I have a rebranded Rehm Tiger 170 AC/DC , the DC is in your budget, the AC/DC will be a bit more.--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:I prefur a miller sync 200.   im stationed in germany and we have a couple of EWM's in the shop its a 350 amp machine it works pritty good its ac/dc it really likes 2% ceratied tungs i think it is a good machine. but it can be a bit temprimental.WELD TO LIVE LIVE TO RIDEA bad welder blames his equipment, a good weldor can lay a perfect bead on any thing
Reply:I have done some googling and i have come across a few welders that are in my budget.But something is confusing me a bit. I found a dc esab that has pulse the Caddy Tig 2200i TA34 aircooledbut i also found the Caddy Tig 2200i TA33 but watercooled and no pulse.What is the big difference between watercooled - aircooled?And what is the difference between pulse and no pulse?What 1 of these would be the best choice
Reply:Originally Posted by DonoharmRehm is german, Esab is sweden, can't go wrong with either.I have a rebranded Rehm Tiger 170 AC/DC , the DC is in your budget, the AC/DC will be a bit more.
Reply:How about you take some time to research a little bit the watercooling and pulse functions, both are nice to have but not really needed for what you say u gonna do .About the 170 A, I rarely feel the need of more then that in DC mode. You say you didn't actually went to Tig lessons, I would first start with that , many of your questions will be answered by your instructor.p.s. EWM very nice machines also--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:The Esab that you're looking at is a good machine however the OCV at 72v is a little low to burn Basic electrodes properly (although it will burn them),  apart from the other machines mentioned the WECO Discovery 200 AC/DC is also worth a look. It is a bit above your budget at 2400 Euro although you should be able to haggle them down a bit, and has an OCV at 88v which will burn any type of electrode properly. Also it is an AC/DC model and comes with a water cooler. I've stick (and TIG) welded with Weco plant, burning rods all day long and I have to say they performed well, and know others who have also had good things to say about them.I only mention this because in your OP you said you were looking for a decent stick welder aswell.Here's a link to the WECO website incase you're interested?
Reply:Originally Posted by tim7091Go with a good name brand.even buy something used if u have to.I bought a EVERLAST that thing was not worth the box it was shiped in.stay clear of that brand.
Reply:Weco? ive heard of this brand but havent researched it.As for taking lessons for tig welding... i just dont have the time for it.The reason i asked for a good stick welder is because most of the time i use stick. I would use the tig functions for stainless and thin materials. Also i like sticks so much because you can weld outdoors. As for the air cooled or water cooled, does it influence your working cycle? As i have researched a bit about the pulse, it has something to do with welding thin materials or something? As it only influences the tig it seems less important than the water cooling? that is if the water cooling improves the working cycle.Any other brands worth looking at?
Reply:ok, so after your last questions I realize you don't know much about welding power sources.watercooling cools ONLY your TIG torch (mig guns can be watercooled also), pulsing affect also only the TIG settings of the machine.Tig welding requires time to learn, is the most demanding process, If you don't have time for a welding school, you sure don't have time to learn tig welding on your own.With that in mind, I suggest you buy a SMAW source for now , and jump to Tig after you take at least a fast course . Or, why not a Mig , well within the budget and you are familiar with the process...--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:true, i dont know much about the machines, i guess i got that job to fast :s still, im going to buy a good unit, and thats why i post this topic. if i knew what to do i woulnd be posting this...getting a good mma is ez but getting a good mma that does good tig aswel is new to me....the water cooler is like a seperate unit under the welder. is this the torch water cooler?
Reply:Originally Posted by Baila La PinzaThe Esab that you're looking at is a good machine however the OCV at 72v is a little low to burn Basic electrodes properly (although it will burn them),  apart from the other machines mentioned the WECO Discovery 200 AC/DC is also worth a look. It is a bit above your budget at 2400 Euro although you should be able to haggle them down a bit, and has an OCV at 88v which will burn any type of electrode properly. Also it is an AC/DC model and comes with a water cooler. I've stick (and TIG) welded with Weco plant, burning rods all day long and I have to say they performed well, and know others who have also had good things to say about them.I only mention this because in your OP you said you were looking for a decent stick welder aswell.Here's a link to the WECO website incase you're interested?
Reply:Yes, that machine will burn any electrode you care to put in it. Depending on the make (the OCV will be written on the box), basic electrodes require between 65v (normally a 7016, but some 7018 now run on lower OCV) and 80v. If you do decide to buy a 200amp machine, personally I wouldn't bother with a water cooler as you probably wont need to go above 150a very often. Whatever machine you decide to get, make sure that you buy it from a supplier that has good after sales service, and is preferably local. The Lorch and Oerlikon welding sets may also be woth a look.
Reply:Well i have a store that supports ESAB and a store called Welda that sells the weco brand nearby so those 2 would be a safe bet. Gonna check out Lorch and Oerlikon out aswel.Thx alot for the advice on those welders!
Reply:I think i made up my mind on what welder to buy.It probably going to be the Weco discovery 200AC/DC welder with pulse and watercooler.I'm going to try to put the pdf with the stats in this post.What do you guys think, is this a good choice? Attached Imagesweco200AC-DC.pdf (101.9 KB, 59 views)
Reply:sounds good, don't pay the retail price, they will go down at least 10%, or get a bundle of consumables for the tig torch, you will need them.--------------------------------------------------------------www.becmotors.nlyup, I quit welding.. joined welder anonymous
Reply:They are  selling it to me for 2100€ incl vat with torch, gloves, mass, valves for the argon and spare parts for the torch. Sounds like a ok deal.
Reply:Good choice.let me know how it works
Reply:Well since i can do mma ill show some welds with it with sticks. ill have to bake some of the basics tho. ill prolly start making a welding table with scraps as soon as i can. ill keep you all posted