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Question for Professional Welders

1K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  Hawker 
#1 ·
I am looking at buying a used tig welder. I can get it for $350. I will rarely use it for mostly small aluminum fixes and maybe some light stainless. I have never tig welded before but want to learn. I hate taking all my aluminum to someone else to fix. I have been researching the machine a little and all of the feedback i have seen is " buy a bigger machine you will outgrow it fast" and "is not good for big jobs". I hope they are referring to professional welders and not that the machine is junk. I will not use it often and for long periods. Like I said just occasionally for repairs and small home projects.Here it is.Would like some opinions.

Miller - TIG Welders - Econotig
 
#3 ·
Thats a steal to get an econotig for that price. I am not a professional welder but weld alot. I have a dynasty 200dx. Tig is definitely not the easiest but if you can stick weld tig will come pretty quick. Aluminum is the toughest out of all the common materials, but with some practice and getting the material clean clean clean! it will come around. Since it is a transformer machine I dont know what the max thickness with aluminum would be. I can do 1/4" with my dynasty on argon and 3/8" with helium mix but the inverter machine is a totally different animal. I bet 1/8" aluminum would be possible at 150amps probably more with some beveling at the weld seam and preheating and or multiple passes. I think the reviews are also for the people that are pushing them more than a hobby machine and did not understand they bought a 150a machine. All my equipment I have is miller and I have no complaints. Especially picking it up for $350. A new dynasty 200dx is like $3500 I would go for it. there is also a message board on the miller site, you may be able to find some other people that have them too. My Dynasty broke 1000hrs on the arc meter this weekend.
 
#4 ·
Great price on the machine. I have used an econo-tig on several occasions and think it is a pretty good machine. If you are just doing your own repairs and light fab work, I don't think you will have any problems with it. This is not a machine to start a repair business with, but you already knew that. I say get it for that price and go to burnin rod!
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the advice guys. I went ahead and got it today. All I need is a bottle of argon I think. I have argon/mix on my lincoln mig but was told I need straight argon. And also some general instruction.
 
#8 ·
Great price! Thats the same machine I have now. I would advise you to get the thumb control for it. (lose the foot heat controler!)
It welds great. Only problem on aluminum I have is on thicker stuff. It will shut down on overheat till it cools for a while. Anything else, it is perfect.
If you have never tig welded before ,it will be easier IMO to learn with the thumb controls. Basically on alum you have to start out really hot (like wide open on thicker stuff) till it starts to puddle (only a slight change in color from normal to a shiny look) then you can cut it way back. The aluminum cools so quick it takes alot of heat to get it started, and if you get too hot cut back just a second and go back at it. Plus if you do much out of position welding you dont have to balnce your body and use your knee to control the heat while you feed the filler rod with the other hand.:doh: Just roll the little knob with your thumb.

And yes, straight argon. I'd start out with the smaller cup size on it and try setting your flow on the argon pretty low. Maybe around 8-10 If it sounds like its blowing its too much gas. If it melts the tungsten its not enough.
Keep that sucker sharp for mild steel,and stainless, for alum start out sharp and let it kinda get hot enough to round over. Should look like a small ball on the end when its right. pre-heating helps a bunch on alum too.

mild steel, stainless, titanium, or pretty much anything else use electrode- setting, aluminum use ac
Try to use a different cup and tungsten for steel than you do for aluminum. easier than sharpening and stuff when switching
 
#11 ·
I have 10 years in production mig welding, splatter usually means the wire speed is too high, or not enough heat. The unimixes are available to save in costs...and the other gases they use are gathered from foundries as a byproduct from their normal operations. Argon is the only gas that prevents your outer atmoshpere from getting into your weld.
 
#12 ·
get some of the hybrid tungstens from arc-zone.com I use them for everything. I think you will still need pure green band tungstens for AL but someone else will be able to answer that one better. Remember the red band tungstens are slightly radioactive so it is not a good idea to breath the dust from grinding. Get ya some scrap mild steel to practice on that will get you going to get the hang of it the quickest.

Hand control / Foot control it is everyones prefrence I have both and usually use the foot control. I just use the finger when I am in screwed up spots and can't use the finger.

There are some good videos on millers site to help get you started also.

If that machine has a high frequency start you can just get your electrode slightly off the piece and push on the pedal and you will get the arc start and see the puddle grow with the increase in heat. Practice moving your electrode trying to keep your arc length the same and travel speed. Once you get to where you can make a somewhat even movement then you can get some filler and start adding filler in as you go, once the puddle is there you just dip a small amount of filler in the puddle pull filler back move electrode dip, move, dip move....

Sharpening the electrodes...your gonna get real good at this! I seem to sharpen 2x the diameter of my electrode for my taper then put a small flat spot on the end and grind in the direction of the electrode long ways and use a grinding wheel that you have only used for tungstens.

hmm have I confused you yet?

yeah and strait argon is what you need!
 
#15 ·
If u don't end up liking it ill give u 400 for as long as its in good working condition.
 
#16 ·
If its a fairly new machine, it has the high frequency start. NICE. I hate the scratch start deal. I've got both types of tungsten, either will work fine for aluminum or anything else. Havent noticed anything really different from one to another. As they said, use a filler rod as close as possible to the same material as what you are working on in most cases. I have noticed , IMO, the softer grades of alum fillers seem to be easier to work with.
 
#17 ·
I have the econo-tig and after a couple years, it's an ok machine. It's max was 3/16" stainless, not really suitable for anything much more than that.

100% argon is the only gas you could (or should) use in TIG welding. I've never heard of anyone using a mix with the TIG, unless it was a helium mix for working in tight spaces or overhead. I would also stick with red tungsten for stainless and mild, and green for aluminum. The green balls up easier under AC control, the red just seems to split apart.

I've since upgraded to a Maxstar STH, with a thumb control, and I'll never go back to a pedal. HUGE difference in control. (big difference in machine size too, when you have to pull it into a restaurant kitchen at 1am)

Do yourself a favor and invest in a couple gas lenses. they're only a couple bucks a piece, but make big difference in the quality of weld.
 
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