reliability issues chinese manufactured tig welders

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Hi Folks, I'm new to this forum and would like some advice. I am considering buying a Tig welder to weld light gauge aluminium or stainless steel. I understand that I will need a machine with AC/DC capability for welding aluminium. I have searched the Net and have come across many high spec machines with lots of features like square wave adjustment pulse control etc. I am working on a fairly tight budget and while I would like to purchase a machine like the Everlast Power Pro 250 the price is prohibitive. I see that there are similarly specked Chinese machines available at about a third of the price of the Everlast? Checking out the feedback on e-Bay in relation to one of the suppliers the feedback seems very encouraging (RSWELD)? Have any forum members experienced any difficulties with reliability or any other issues with these Chinese manufactured machines? Your advice or experiences would be very much appreciated.
Reply:Not familiar with any RSWELD units.  But if you search the subforums of Everlast, Longevity, and GiantTech (under Other Manufacturers sub forum) here on this forum, you will be able to find a good bit of threads relating to pros and cons of each manufacturer and their units.  All of these units to my knowledge are imported to the US.  As a note, the majortiy of these threads have been closed due to one thing or another.  Good luck in your choice!A few of my toys !LinuxMintManjaroMiller Roughneck 2E Lincoln WeldPak 100HTP MTS 160 Chicago Electric 80amp Inverter   Victor O/A
Reply:Look another 1st time poster who makes an Everlast post in another thread then starts a new thread with the EXACT same wording a few hours later...Post from the other thread http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=45798 Originally Posted by burnt fingersHi Folks, I'm new to this forum and would like some advice. I am considering buying a Tig welder to weld light gauge aluminium or stainless steel. I understand that I will need a machine with AC/DC capability for welding aluminium. I have searched the Net and have come across many high spec machines with lots of features like square wave adjustment pulse control etc. I am working on a fairly tight budget and while I would like to purchase a machine like the Everlast Power Pro 250 the price is prohibitive. I see that there are similarly specked Chinese machines available at about a third of the price of the Everlast? Checking out the feedback on e-Bay in relation to one of the suppliers the feedback seems very encouraging (RSWELD)? Have any forum members experienced any difficulties with reliability or any other issues with these Chinese manufactured machines? Your advice or experiences would be very much appreciated.
Reply:Consider what it would cost in shipping and frustration if your low budget welder quits working on you.It looks like RSWeld is based in China.  What do you think it would cost to ship a broken welder back to China?  I'm sure it aint cheap.  If you are willing to gamble with your money and time, go ahead and try it
Reply:Thanks smawgmaw for your helpful suggestions I will check these manufacturers out. I should have mentioned that I live in Ireland which means that carriage is also a consideration for heavier machines especially non-inverters! Best wishes,burnt fingers.
Reply:DSW sorry for the double posting it is my first time using a forum and I was not sure that I had submitted my query correctly! ("Even Homer nods!"joedirt 1966 Thanks for your reply carriage back to China and the ensuing frustration is definitely something that I will have to think about.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWAnyone else think this seems strange and more than a coincidence?
Reply:Many, if not all, Chinese manufacturing are participating in a race to the bottom.  How cheap can they make something and still make a profit.At least in the US, to some extent you can hold the importer liable.  Get something shipped directly from China and, assuming it makes it past customs, you are on your own.  If you are going to use it at your home, double check what your insurance says.  Again, in the US there typically are requirements like UL listing etc.  So choose wisely.As for what to get.  The ideal aluminium welder would be a square-wave machine with adjustable frequency and balance (that means inverter).   Next down on the list, would be a square-wave machine that is locked to the incoming voltage frequency (I guess that would be 50Hz for you).  I wouldn't bother with a sine wave machine.  They are very difficult to learn on.Next, you will want to have high frequency start - with remote control and remote amperage control.   Yes, you can get away without, but it just makes your life more difficult and more importantly it makes learning more difficult.I would highly recommend you buy a quality used machine vs. junk brand new.   What's a used Fronius or Esab go for on that side of the ocean?Con Fuse!Miller Dynasty 350Millermatic 350P-Spoolmatic 30AMiller Multimatic 200Hypertherm PowerMax 1000G3Miller Maxstar 200DX
Reply:this debate will go on forever... bottom line is if you want cheap then buy cheap, if you want good then spend what it takes to get good. welders are not much different than many other electronics... buy a dvd player for $39 & you know what to expect... yeah it will probably work half way decent out of the box, but a good proven well made name brand one will cost you over 3 times as much & of course will be better & last longer... same thing can be said for tv's, can openers, lamps, watches, refrigerators, radios, almost anything electronic really...the problem with tig is that the learning curve is pretty steep, I'd bet that many of the hobby guys who pick up a tig never really ever get to the point of being really proficient at it... if your just looking for the tig to make sparks fly then even a cheap one will do that, but, when it really comes down to many hours of use & abuse is where the differences will show themselves... I'd bet that many of the cheap tigs throughout the world in countless home garages will never really see the use enough to really reveal to the owner just what he does & does not have... ok it comes out of the box all pretty & it does make an arc & it does melt metal... is that enough to really judge it? I'd bet more than half of the hobby tigs out there will never see enough real mileage & use to really show what there made off...many will justify there cheap purchase by saying that they are just a hobbiest & they are just learning, they can't justify the expense of a quality machine. the flip side of this though is that's just an excuse... if you go into getting a tig with the thought of well maybe I can pick it up & maybe I won't so I'm not going to spend all that $$$ then you've already set yourself up for failure going in... if you make up your mind that you are going to learn it & use it no matter what & your very determined then getting a good machine is def the safer bet... when your just learning it's nice to know that the machine is not your limiting factor.. with a quality machine you will know when you suck it is just you that sucks, not having to second guess about the welder itself...extremely long guaranties from a manufacturer is not an indication of reliability... it's more an indication that the manufacturer will still make money even if they do need to replace some of there components here & there, & it's also banking on the odds that many hobby users will never use the machine enough to even see a lot of problems too. a perfect example of this is is minekee mufflers, life time warranty... does that mean it's high quality? no, just the opposite, it's a cheap piece of crap... they will replace it free of charge every 2 years when it fails, but they will charge you for all the related misc pipes & clamps that need to be done along with it, which aren't part of the lifetime warranty...you want cheap then buy cheap, it'd be foolish to expect anything other than cheap from your purchase though... if you want inexpensive then shop for a used good one, maybe without some of the bells & whistles, but at least you'll have a used good weldermiller 330a bp TIGmiller dynasty 200DX TIGmillermatic 185 MIGthermal dynamics cutmaster 101 plasma cuttersnap-on YA5550 plasma cutterhypertherm powermax 30 plasma cutterbaileigh CS225 cold sawetc....
Reply:For steels most tig welders will work great.  For Aluminum, I personally prefer Millers, hands down.  Although inverters are great, they do cost a lot more/amp.  You can probably find an older transformer machine with a bunch of goodies thrown in for cheap.  Call the local welding shops & see if they have any old "dust collectors" hanging around out back.I honestly buy as little as humanly possible from china.  Hope this helps!Buy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:Originally Posted by burnt fingersHi Folks, I'm new to this forum and would like some advice.I am working on a fairly tight budget and while I would like to purchase a machine like the Everlast Power Pro 250 the price is prohibitive. I see that there are similarly specked Chinese machines available at about a third of the price of the Everlast?
Reply:Originally Posted by Fat BastardBest bet is a good used Brand name Lincoln Miller Hobart Thermal Arc.....
Reply:R star /rs welds is the OLD Chiry company that gave everyone dealing with them a blackeye. The sub contract out mfg mostly and manufacture very little product themselves.Esab Migmaster 250Lincoln SA 200Lincoln Ranger 8Smith Oxy Fuel setupEverlast PowerPlasma 80Everlast Power iMIG 160Everlast Power iMIG 205 Everlast Power iMIG 140EEverlast PowerARC 300Everlast PowerARC 140STEverlast PowerTIG 255EXT
Reply:Tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Well I don't know about the Chinese tig welders but I do know about the "Cheap".....I mean Chinese plasma cutters (CUT 50). I bought one off of ebay and I may have cut maybe 4 feet of steel with it when it died!!! So....long story short I bought a HyperTherm plasma cutter and never looked back!
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterTic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic tic......zap!
Reply:Burnt Fingers; let's give you some straight honest advice here: If you are a hobbyist, and are just trying to learn? I suggest a community college, or PAY the local weldor (Bribe him with beer....he's Irish!!) to teach you a bit about tig welding on steel and aluminum. You sound like you don't have the money to really delve into it right now, and by renting some shop time, you can save a few bucks, learn an awful lot about whether or not you want to invest that kind of money in a hobby. For opening up a small business, you need to consider QUALITY and serviceability. If it means you need to save money for 2 years??? then that's what you do.Do not make a mistake you are guaranteed to regret.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.