Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire TIG Welding???

fixed that for ya...

Stick dittos,.....still a love affair, after 51 years, I'm afraid

GTC

That is the exact unit that ended mu machining career. I have used one and it does a great job, just don't try to lift it.

johnw, the Lincoln 5P is almost the standard of the industry (6010) Why wouldn't Eng. go to a 5P+ possibly. Was the job that dirty ?

it's not dirt that was the problem... it was wind... even at that it's real rare to use anything but a heliarc root on a powerhouse of any kind... wouldn't have happened there if it had belonged to a utility provider... this was a co-gen supporting a steel mill...

actually, lincoln rod is rarely used on any powerhouse job... esab is the norm across north america...

and even at that we used 6010 only to test... 7010 and 8010 on the boiler depending on location... the weld procedure is identical so the 6010 is used to test... and it really only works well with NDE... only ever so rarely do they bend a "5p" root....

it's just a commonly used mis-statement that we use "5p"... we (however wrongly)classify all of the --10 quikstiks as 5p rods...

i'm currently pushing a condenser crew on nights in our neighborhood nuke...
with our ASME testing almost everyone who has GTAW certs can weld stainless with the process...
in the condenser however, with it's mandatory forced air ventilation while occupied, tig is almost worthless...
a guy with stainless SMAW papers is fought over by foremen...

You have to be careful of some of the old AC/DC Machines the cirquit boards some time can not handle the High Freek options. They can burn up. I have a Lincoln Vantage 400 about 4 years old and was told NEVER add the High freek by a Lincoln rep. it would damage the electronics in the machine. I am a Lincoln man but Miller probably make the very best TIG machine for the price on the market today. I have a friend that uses a spool gun in the field and a Miller TIG in his shop. When TIG welding you do not need the high freek if you are welding mild or stainless steels. Aluminun and some exotic steels require the high freek. Good luck in your search!

Anyone have any experience with this Hobart Welder???


http://www.hobartwelders.com/products/tig/eztig_165i/

I was told several years ago that Miller builds all of the small Hobart machines and ESAB builds the big stuff. unfortunatly I have no proof. I have two small wire feeders from Hobart and I like Both of them but they are very limited do to there size.

I think that's right about Hobart. I have no experience with that actual machine however. I do have a hobart ac/dc stick welder here at thouse and it's been a top quality machine. In fact I like it over the miler/lincolc because you can dial to the exact amps you need.

I have a synchrowave 250 for tig welding here at the house as well. No experience with the econtig.

Both Miller and Hobart have excellent forums on their website and you'll get some good info - even it it includes another brand.

I noticed that both Hobart and Miller make an inexpensive TIG welder that doesn't do stick welding. I have a Lincoln SP-100 mIG welder already. How important is this option???

Anyone have an opinion on this......

http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/diversion_165/

looks like an awful lotta' bang for your buck,.....

There's one over at my local depot (was over there trading out some bottles today.

I can run the thing , if you want,..... and report......

WHAT exactly do you foresee being your main use for the machine?

'twould make opinionating a mite easier.

With a 3/32 Tungsten, working on LIGHTER materials,sub-100Amps I'd venture that machine will give you better than a 50% duty cycle.

Maxed out, a 20% duty cycle just SUCKS. One good things is that virtually ALL of the better new mini-power supplies ( the BIG ones to, for that matter) have thermal protection, so you won't be frying anything.

GTC

My ex-wife ran SS overhead for years welding tanks and has a 6G as well as a bunch of Navy nuclear certs.

After they get done fighting over her do ya think somebody can drop her off somewhere outa town.

+1 on the little Miller's, they are good machines

I used to have a Synchrowave 180 that was a pretty capable little machine. It wasn't much more than the Econotig back then and was quite a bit more machine.

Keep in mind that with the little Tig's and air cooled torches, you are limited to fairly light duty Aluminum. Aluminum just takes a lot of heat. You can run Helium instead of Argon and get a little more out of these machines.

As an alternative to the little Miller's: If you have the space, electricity, and something to lift it, you can get used industrial duty machines for very little money some times. I picked up an AeroWave (Sold new for $8k) at an auction one time for $1200 and it came with 4 torches, 25' stick leads, 25' of 4 ga power cord, and a couple boxes of goodies.

The biggest downside to the entry level tig machines is their minimum current. The neat thing about tig is you can weld amazing thin material, if you have the low current control. The only thing that's kept me from getting an econo tig is wanting a unit that goes way down for welding the thin stuff. Miller makes great stuff, love my little 130 mig unit.

To the o/p, what are you planning on welding, and what is your budget? Also what is your experience tig welding and what courses are available to you?

I picked up a MAC TOOLS TIG unit. This is a Miller Econotig set up. Low hrs. and got it for $1100!

Congrats,.....PM ,...any time for coaching, steering, ....or ya' might want to try a certain size collet / tungsten size before investing.

All kindsa' that chit squirrelled away here.

GTC

Thanks!!! I will take you up on that. This is a new kind of welding and I will have plenty of questions!!!

You might want to find someone TIG saavy near you who can spend some time and show you the ropes of TIG welding or it can be very frustrating trying to learn it by trial and error.