Hep Me Understand Duh?

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Ok:I currently have a Lincoln SP135 welder setup for MIG (CO2) and FLux Core.   No formal training but have done some welding in my time.  I also have a OA torch and am purchasing a PLasma Cutter.  I want to weld AL and while I know my current welder is minimal for this to say the least it does have a AL kit for it.   I was under the impression AL and such was the domain of TIG.  If I am going to make a habit out of AL welding do I need to consider a TIG or can I do an acceptable job with MIG?  It seems I have seen itboth ways but nothing definitive on prefeered and quality.Thanks, StevenSide bar:  I learned welding from my father when we built a heaterlator (double walled fireplace with forced ventilation) for our new house.  It was all made from 1/8" steel and welded up all by us.  It was able to burn 48" logs. We had to have external air for combustion so as not to use house air.   Dad never wanted to worry about a chimmney fire and cracked flue liners so the chimmney was 18" square 4foot long sections of plate welded and hoisted up for a homeade chimney.  Two story house.  Guess who was responsible for the block and tackle pulling.      The house also had the perimeter of the wall topped with 8" I-Beam and then a cross piece of IBeam every 15 feet.  The upper floor was a poured 4" concrete slab.  The 10' sections of Ibeam were hoisted by my dad and me on ends of it with a rope pulling it up while standing on the top of the concrete block wall.  They were then welded together.
Reply:You'll have to run your SP135 wide open.   You'll also have to turn up your wire speed to between 7 & 9.    I've been MIGing aluminum with a Lincoln Weld-Pak 155 (converted to gas) and it just manages to weld up to 1/4" plate with decent penetration.   It wasn't an easy road to learn though.    I've been zip tying a length of PVC electrical conduit to the torch cable to keep it as straight as possible.   I also turn back the tension on the drive roller.      If you use 5356  wire, it will push better than 4043.     Not having a powerful MIG machine, you can make it easier on yourself by SS wire brushing off the oxide layer before welding.    Remember to push your weld and move quicker than you would for steel.  Also, you' will need a tank of 100% Argon.   Good LuckThere are no small projects
Reply:just what imagineer saidChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:Thanks guys..   I read the replies a while back and have been practicing.  The little 136 is capable of doing what I needed but as you mentioned it is puching its limit with 1/8" even.   I have had some feed probs but making sure the cable is as stright as can be solves alot of it.Just wanted to say thanks again for the help and to let you know how much you helped.StevenPS.The major problem I have now is I visited an uncle (way off "distance not the uncle") that is advanced hobbyist type  welder.  He let me play on the TIG for a bit with some beginners lessons.  Now I have been drooloing over getting a TIG machine.Evil Man ...  Evil I say...
Reply:Welcome to the club, standles...Before long you will start thinking..."every house needs three phase power.  What's with this single phase crap the electric company is trying to pan off as real electricity." or "Hmmm, that countertop really needs to be made of 1/8th inch stainless...Honey, I'll be right back...I am out of argon again." or you'll be stopping at high-rise demolition sites asking "What are y'all going to do with all that twisted, mangled, rusty steel???  Do you mind if I just drag out a couple of pieces?...I need it for a mailbox project."I know...I just carried practically a whole elevator from a 12-story building home in a toyota camry over a week.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Already been stopping by the construction sites.    Some ar friendly others would rather you drop dead where you stood for wasting thier time.   Now where did I lay that "how to shoose the right TIG" book at