Time for a modern TIG machine. What do you like?

[Aaron_W]

Great info, but still all very daunting. Is the auto settings one any of these machines at all useful besides the Miller? i could see a good auto being as useful as a memory in that it would be a good starting place.

I don't know, as most of my info is dated a few years since I bought in 2019. Esab and Lincoln both had similar features, but different... Hard to explain except to say the Miller Autoset seemed more tuned towards inexperienced welders. Lincoln and Esab more a convenience feature. In reality all the Miller Autoset is, is the recommended settings you would get flipping through the manual.

Inverter machines are very new technology. My older welding text book was written in 2011 and only made brief mention of invertor machines. I had to upgrade to the most recent edition for class and there is now a large section on invertor machines. All welders are benefitting from invertor technology, but TIG seems to be the process which is gaining the most from it. MIG and stick it is largely a size / weight thing, but the new TIG machines can do things that were simply not possible with the old transformer technology.

I'm not a professional welder. I don't even play on on TV! lol.

In my (limited) experience, when learning to weld you are better off learning what each of the settings are and what they do. That is, it's more helpful long term to learn about the welding process and the appropriate settings than just hit a button and strike up and arc, then and see what happens. Auto settings might be nice, but once you have a feel for welding you're probably going to be tweaking them anyway.

I always knew welding was a skill. But after learning some, I have a lot more appreciation for what it takes to make a good weld. There are no shortcuts.

Dan

I like the autoset because it doesn't hide what the machine is doing, you see exactly how it is set, and can adjust from there to tweak the arc to your preferred settings. It is not a black box or arbitrary number as you see with some cheaper welders.

It is really not much different from flipping through the manual to see how to set the machine up for your weld, it just lets you skip the flipping through the manual part so you can get right to work. If you weld everyday or at least every week you probably wouldn't get a lot from it, but when you are like me and weld a couple times a year it is a very nice feature and lets me get right to the welding instead of having to recall how many amps per .01" of metal (and hope I remember right) or consulting charts (after I remember where I left them).

 

[BladesIIB]

I am not a TIG expert, only jumping in here because I was looking at buying a TIG last year and never did but reading another similar thread on this forum there was another brand thrown in the mix that I have not seem come up in this thread - The Fronius Magicwave. I have a friend with a Miller Dynasty and doing my research last year everything I found showed the Fronius was a better options. To be clear, I never bought either but if you were considering a Dynasty, I would encourage you to read up on the Fronius Magicwave. Seemed like a great machine.

 

[koenbro]

I am not a TIG expert, only jumping in here because I was looking at buying a TIG last year and never did but reading another similar thread on this forum there was another brand thrown in the mix that I have not seem come up in this thread - The Fronius Magicwave. I have a friend with a Miller Dynasty and doing my research last year everything I found showed the Fronius was a better options. To be clear, I never bought either but if you were considering a Dynasty, I would encourage you to read up on the Fronius Magicwave. Seemed like a great machine.

Isn’t Fronius very expensive? How much is the Magicwave?


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[DavidR8]

Isn’t Fronius very expensive? How much is the Magicwave?


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Wowser! That Fronius is $6500 CDN...$7000 USD

Fronius iWave 230i (Magicwave) Water-Cooled TIG Welding Machine Package (49,0400,0032)- FREE SHIPPING!

AS SEEN AT FABTECH CHICAGO 2019! In-Stock; Ready to ship today before 3pm Central! We don't charge sales tax outside of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin! **Important Shipping Notice: This machine package MUST ship freight to a freight-capable business address or an additional $500.00...

shopweldingsupplies.com

Oh wait in the details I see that price also includes a full-time, certified welder

 

[BladesIIB]

Isn’t Fronius very expensive? How much is the Magicwave?


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Yes pricey as David posted below. But the OP was looking at the Miller Dynasty and the price is comparable to that.

 

[pontiac428]

Yep, it's in my price range. I'd like to spend around 7k for a used Dynasty, but I'd probably be happy with a new HTP Invertig 30X. My biggest issue is that I earned my money on the old dollar, and everything today is in some new currency that I suspect is partly made up by the man with the price sticker gun. I never thought the buy-in for a good commercial machine would be 10k-12k; thinking about it gives me a case of the vapors and the ****s at the same time.

My favorite tools are the commercial workhorses, whether it's a hammer or a welder or a postal scale. Usually they cost more up front, but are reparable and come with good support. I try to buy commercial/industrial over consumer/hobby grade on tools like this. Some people have shiny cars, some have horses, I have my shop. When I'm not working, that's where I spend my time. I don't have a lot of friends or take vacations much anymore, so this is where I can focus my efforts, clear my head, and return to calibrated zero. I also am planning to retire early, and want to get my shop set up for the final push of glorious production before my wife finally has to call in the estate sale brokers.

The 225 has no memory, that makes both of us

That's true, but it's like driving a stick. You might stumble with a new car the first time you drive it, but soon you know how to pick the right gear by sound/vibration feedback alone.

But if you know the ins-n-out's of TIG welding and know what you are doing and know what you want your settings at, accessing the important settings is relatively easy.

Just like that!

Hey, @General Zod, I wanted to ask more about the HTP coolers. Looks like they have had a few units over the years, and have two at the moment that run on the Invertig 301: the current version of the traditional cooler with the flow alarm built in, or the sensored on-demand version that loops back to the integrated controller in the welder. My Miller has a 1/2 hp motor and a TC pump, but it's noisy and the volumetric flow is empirically weak. The basic HTP is less substantial, though it has enough radiator to do the job and is otherwise clean, but you pointed out some of the issues people have had and I did follow the link you posted on it (thx). I wasn't completely sure which unit had what problem, so what I'm asking is which of the current coolers are more up to the job (I often weld for hours on end and don't like stopping when I'm in the zone- hence my focus on duty cycle).

Whoo, have I been slammed at work and home this week. I want to respond to some of the comments in the previous pages, but I'll have to try later. Thanks for floating this thread, lots of input here!

 

[General Zod]

Hey, @General Zod, I wanted to ask more about the HTP coolers. Looks like they have had a few units over the years, and have two at the moment that run on the Invertig 301: the current version of the traditional cooler with the flow alarm built in, or the sensored on-demand version that loops back to the integrated controller in the welder. My Miller has a 1/2 hp motor and a TC pump, but it's noisy and the volumetric flow is empirically weak. The basic HTP is less substantial, though it has enough radiator to do the job and is otherwise clean, but you pointed out some of the issues people have had and I did follow the link you posted on it (thx). I wasn't completely sure which unit had what problem, so what I'm asking is which of the current coolers are more up to the job (I often weld for hours on end and don't like stopping when I'm in the zone- hence my focus on duty cycle).

Whoo, have I been slammed at work and home this week. I want to respond to some of the comments in the previous pages, but I'll have to try later. Thanks for floating this thread, lots of input here!

I have the older coolers (1 from 2013 and one from 2015) and aside from replacing the hoses and the 240V contactor in one of them, I haven't had any other issues. I don't think it was me who posted the link, I think it was Gmanbart. In any case I also have the smart cooler on the big TIG. Which are more up to the job? What job? "Welding for hours" means nothing to me. You could be welding for hours @ 50A for all I assume. If that is the case then you don't need water cooled anything. But I digress on purpose for a reason: In TIG you can never obscure details, because that is where the devil is hiding -- but if you will be doing lots of thick aluminum where the coolant has to extract more heat from the TIG torch head, I'd say the smart cooler is tougher. I asked HTP to ask Stel how much the smart cooler can take, and they replied back that they have tested it up to 550A @ 35% duty cycle without issues. You may want to call HTP and ask them what the standard cooler is rated at.

 

[epanzella]

I've had my AHP Alpha TIG 200 for about 5 years ($700 on Amazon) and think it's great! Before I got a wire feed it's all I used for everything. Welded the frame of my home made tractor with it and done much aluminum of all kinds and thicknesses. I did upgrade the pedal and now have a variety of torches for it.
Aaron

Tell me about your foot pedal. The stock one is not so great.

 

[G-ManBart]

Tell me about your foot pedal. The stock one is not so great.

I don't know which pedal he went with, but SSC Controls makes a fantastic pedal for pretty much any modern machine. I have one on my Everlast and Miller. They are wider, lower and have a smaller angle so your foot is in a more comfortable position (in my opinion). I tested the SSC pedal next to the factory pedal on my Miller and had my wife read off the minimum and maximum amperages while I was welding and got the same range with both pedals.

SSC sometimes sells "blemished" pedals on eBay and I've gone that route one time....couldn't find a mark on it anywhere and it was less expensive. A nice thing is SSC is a U.S. company and the pedals are made in Ohio.

TIG Welding Foot Control Pedals - SSC Controls

Our TIG welding foot control pedals are built tough and on sale at great prices. Made in USA with OEM components and backed by SSC's quality and service.

ssccontrols.com

 

[General Zod]

As nice as pedals are, TIG Buttons are the way to go, IMO.