General Question about buying TIG

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I am looking for a Tig welder to weld aluminum.  After reading extensively on this list my choices have been narrowed to Thermal Arc 185/200 or HTP 201.There is no reason to think I would ever need to weld anything thicker than 1/4" aluminum.  I have also been seeing the ESAB 161 around.  Currently I have a Thunderbolt 300/200 which I use to Tig Stainless but for some unknown reason have a persistant urge to try my hand at aluminum.  Since welding is a second hobby, motorcycles being the first and more expensive, I need to limit my welding costs.This led me to the HTP and Thermal Arc machines but these machines are very difficult to find used and when I do, they are almost as much as new.Since I have encountered the issue of a limited supply of used HTP and Thermal Arc machines I also started looking at the ESAB 161.  The problem is there is vey little info on the forums about these machines.  One thread said avoid them and a couple other posts said they were surprised as the machine's smooth weld.  About three posts is all I can find.My questions for the group are:Is the ESAB 161 truly a machine to be avoided or was this a single isolated opinion?Why are the 161's not more popular, as it seems the ESAB brand in general is well respected?Is 161 amps AC adequate for 1/4" aluminum?I would like to hear from people that have actually owned, used, sold etc the 161 and therefore have first hand knowledge of the machine.Thanks KenKen
Reply:I can't tell ya anything about the ESAB machine, but I can vouch for the Thermal Arc 185.  I like mine alot, been using it for aluminum production work lately.  Very happy with it.  TA185 is probly the best deal going on a new inverter acdc tig machine out there right now.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:I have used an ESAB 161, and I have no complaints with it.I have never owned one, so I cannot say much about its reliability.  In general though, ESAB makes good, reliable machines.The Welder Shop has great deals and reviews on Hobart, Miller and Lincoln Welders.
Reply:If all you are wanting to do is play around some you can do it with your existing rig. Get it good and clean, use pure argon and go to town quick using the same setup you do for stainless. For thin Al reverse polarity and turn way down. The main thing to keep in mind is dc has no self-cleaning action like ac so you can't do long sections without oxidation giving you fits. I had no end of problems tigging heavy Al plate on ac, switched to dc and had it finished in about half the time it normally took on ac with less strain on the machine (400 amp Miller so old all of the writing had faded out). Had to use scratch start as the boss was too cheap to get a foot pedal so the HF could be fully utilized. To give you the full scoop this machine had water cooling built in, but had a 150 amp air cooled torch on it. I really don't think they even knew what they had sitting there.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.