Landracing Forum
Misc Forums => How To Section => Topic started by: Scottie J on March 09, 2014, 11:12:04 AM
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Has anyone used the Eastwood TIG200 welder? I need to get a TIG for my shop and don't want to spend a whole lot of money, but I don't want to waste money on a piece of crap either. I see JEGS sells them for about $750 but Eastwood actually has them on sale for $500 right now. Any input, thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
http://www.eastwood.com/tig200dc-welder.html
Scottie J
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One of the main advantages of TIG welding is the ability to weld aluminum. That machine won't do it. That's why they blow so hard about welding stainless. To weld aluminum you need high frequency AC.
You may invest a little more money to buy one of the brand name machines but if you buy something from a proper welding supply store you'll have better technical support, more capability and more serviceability. The latter is important because so much of any machine these days is electronic and without the ability to access proper parts and service it could become a rather expensive boat anchor.
If you want to go into this subject further feel free to PM me. I'm a certified weldor and have sold several brands for a major welding supplier in Canada so that I'm familiar with the process. We generally use the same brands that you do down there.
Pete
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This is off subject just a little. I recently purchased a Miller Sycnrowave 200, TIG,stick & HiFreq, has a pedal which I really like. I tell you what would be a nice addition to this machine would be a wireless pedal, just like a wireless mouse. I am sometimes ready to weld and I have forgot to bring the pedal over to the area where I am going to weld.
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If there was no wire holding it to the machine, I would lose it. You think I'm making it up? :roll: :cheers: Wayno
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Wayno, that's good, I understand what you are saying.
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If I had a spare $4k I would buy a Miller, but I don't.
Everlastgenerators.com makes some low cost good quality tig welders. You can go to weldingtipsandtricks.com to see some review videos on everlast. I have learned a lot from welding tips and tricks website. there is something about seeing it!
Don't waste your money if you don't get a tig machine that will weld aluminum. I am an amateur welder at best but quickly mastered the basics of aluminum welding. I have an Everlast 256. Yes I would like to have a Miller but I could not justify the cost for what I need. Some of the cheaper machines are lift ark ro scratch ark meaning you have to touch the tungsten versus a high frequency start that will jump the voltage to the work. If you buy a tig try and get one with all of the adjustments like pulse, pulse time, pulse amps, frequency and etc. These adjustments can really help your welding in some situations.
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Mine cost $2300. My old machine was a Lincoln Idealarc 225 purchased in 1975, it was a scratch start and one amp setting which I used for many years. The new machine makes a good welder a better welder.
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I'd say don't go cheap when buying any type of equipment, especially welding equipment. It will only disappoint you in the end.
If you don't get something that will do the job right, go out and hire the job done, it would actually be cheaper in the long run.
Syncrowave Millers are OK, not the best, but they will do the job, I'd say that would be the minimum quality machine to buy. Miller has their Dynasty machines, 250/350,
that are as good or better than any thing else on the market today, 9K+ for the 350s, but well worth the money. You can fine tune these machines for the materials and conditions as required. Quality machines are required for quality finished welds.
Bottom line, if you buy a cheap machine your wasting your time and money.
Rouse
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I have lost all faith in Eastwood. I recently purchased their shrinker/stretcher combo and upon opening them they are identical to the Harbor Freight ones and even have the same "made in China" stamped on them.
Oh yeah, They cost quite a bit more coming from Eastwood.
Live and learn, Bob
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I love welding and I get good support from my mate Guido who supplies all my machines and consumables.
The only advice I have is to buy "expensive". Stay away from the Chinese stuff. :x
You live in a country where they manufacture the best machines. Buy those. :cheers:
A good machine makes you a better welder and you'll have support if you ever need it. Ten years down the line you'll be happy you bought a good machine.
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I was reading Street Rodder magazine this morning at the local Wal-Mart, guess what was in an article about Miller welders, they offer a wireless pedal as an accessory. Boy, was I surprised.
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I went by the welding supply store today and checked in on the wireless pedal,,,,,forget that, it costs $1000 plus tax, so I will be dragging the wired pedal around.
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$511.16 shipped:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MILLER-ELECTRIC-300722-Wireless-Foot-Control-14-Pin-Receiver-/321450266766?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ad7edd08e (http://www.ebay.com/itm/MILLER-ELECTRIC-300722-Wireless-Foot-Control-14-Pin-Receiver-/321450266766?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ad7edd08e)
Mike
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Hi to all: this might help a lot of you. If you have a technical school near by with a welding school, check with them to see how often they change units. A lot get them at a low/low cost from Miller,Lincoln etc. and can then sell them at a low/low cost when the change them out. Mike
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My Mig and Tig machines are both Miller`s....Zero issues with either and consumable parts are easy to find.
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Do yourself a favor and buy a good quality American made welder. My two TIG welders are both Millers the smaller Econo Tig is an excelent machine I weld stainless and aluminum with that machine but it only goes to 165 amps the frequancy is acomplished by an electroic circuit. For those bigger jobs I have a very old Miller TIG machine the type that use a pair of contacts set with an air gap to make the frequancy change needed to weld aluminum. The older amchine will go up to 300 Amps I think its from around 1975 she may be big but boy it can weld. For me Miller is the choice. :cheers:
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Thanks for all the feedback guys! I recently purchased a Tweeco welder for work. Well, I didn't buy it, the boss did. I just did the research and found a source and told him "go here and buy me this welder." LOL :-D It's the Tweeco 140 3-In-1 (MIG, stick and spool gun). Now, when I was researching welders, I asked the sales rep if this one would do aluminum, and he said no because it does not have reverse induction. Now my boss is still convinced that he can efficiently weld aluminum with the spool gun just based solely on the premise that it is a spool gun. The again he is an alcoholic idiot. Tried the new spool gun yesterday and as I suspected, it did weld it, but not very well.
As a steel welder, it is the absolute best welder that I have ever used with a 110 circuit. Very clean welds, smooth transitions, and very easy to fine tune for different thicknesses and what not. I seriously wish I had it when I welded some plates on my Enfield/Indian chassis. This unit is also very versatile. You can reverse polarities, adjust the induction rate, voltage is adjustable by tenths of a volt and best of all capable of 140 amps in a 110 volt circuit. One feature that is nice, but not cost efficient, is that it primes the gas for about second before it starts the welding cycle and continues the gas for about 1.5 seconds after you release the trigger. This makes for very clean welds but seems to go thru gas faster than usual. Another nice feature is that if you shut down the welder while it is still cooling down, the cooling fans will remain running until they are safe to turn off.
I got this unit specifically for welding sheet metal and body panels (basically an auto body welder), but have found that it is such a good welder it will easily weld 1/8" and 1/4" plate as well. All in all I'm very happy with the purchase. In fact I haven't touched the Miller 250 MillerMatic since I bought the Tweeco. I highly recommend it for light to medium steel welding.
Scottie J