Considering a TIG purchase - syncrowave 200?

[Steve St.Laurent]

Thinking of taking the plunge and buying a TIG welder. I'm doing a good bit of welding on aluminum these days (frames for poker tables that I build) and I'm getting kind of sick of cleaning out rats nests of aluminum wire out of the MIG. I considered buying a better MIG and a spool gun but I'm looking at about $1700 for that and I can get a lower end TIG for about the same money.



I'm looking at the Miller Syncrowave 200 for about $1750. Anyone have any opinionson it? TIA

 

[RonA]

Steve.

I've had a syncrowave 250 for about 15 years now. I use it about 3 days a week. The only breakdown I've had was a return spring on the foot control. Sounds like you are welding thin material so a 200 would be ok. Thick aluminum takes alot of heat. Consider a water cooled torch if you use it alot at higher settings.



Ron

 

[GHarman]

Tig welder

Howdy, I am a retired welder with some experience in welding and fabrication of aluminum. I have also used Miller Syncro-Wave power supplies since they were introduced as a replacement for the old Miller Gold Star. I own a first model 350 Syncro-Wave with all the bells and whistles. My equipment also includes an aluminum spool gun and portable power supply. I am sure you have a budget that you are limited to. But! I highly recommend that you get on the MILLER web site. www.millerwelds.com. Punch in TIG as your search criteria and check out the Dynasty series of inverter power supplies. Compare the similar unit with the 200 Syncrowave that you are considering. Yes they are pricey (almost double) what you mentioned. But you can pick one up and carry it into the next county to do a job. I have used These small inverters and they have a very smooth arc in DC. There are so many more advantages. No room to describe them all here. These units were not available when I bought my unit. I would gladly trade my 350 for a dynasty! You only have to buy a power supply once. Try to make sure it can fit your lifestyle 20 or more years from now. Use Zirconium Tungsten for welding aluminum. They last longer than pure Tung. Not knowing what you are building I cannot be more specific. Greg H.

 

[GHarman]

PS. Sorry, In a hurry, Poker Tables. But projects change and grow. =) Greg H.

 

[GHarman]

Steve, Was wondering if you did a comparison or took the deal offered. That was a good price on the Syncrowave. Just curious. I enjoy welding, just dont do it for a living anymore. The new equipment is wonderful stuff but it doesn't replace good old hand-eye coordination. Unless you use automatics in production. Greg H.

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I haven't bought yet but the Dynasties are well out of my price range. The $1750 for the syncrowave is really pushing the budget as it is. I'm still trying to decide if I want to take the plunge or keep dealing with the mig.

 

[GHarman]

Steve, I know the feeling. Finances, frustrations with equip. etc. Is your MIG a do all ( steel/aluminum) ? If so, have you tried a teflon liner in your feed cable? Pusher systems dont work well with aluminum. There are some MIG guns out there that have there own set of feed rollers that syncronize with the feed rollers in the power supply. You did not mention the power supply make / model. Wire size is another variable. Increase your wire size. This will increase rigidity for better feeding. It will also require more power. What cover gas are you using? Make sure everything is clean. Feed rolls, liner, contact tip. Aluminum wire is coated with aluminum oxide, a natural process. Oxide is very hard and abrasive. Are you running in spray transfer mode or short arc? How thick is the material that you are welding? If you are burning back into the tip, causing the mouse nest of wire, turn up your wire speed. Lots of questions=). "Head down, Butt Up, Sparks A-Flyin"! Greg H

 

[JZellers]

Steve,



I had the same issues with the aluminum wire cobbling in my MIG a couple years ago and bought a Syncrowave 180. It's a really nice machine and I do quite a bit of steel and aluminum fabrication with it. If I were buying another TIG I'd buy the 200. You can't beat these units for the price.



Joe

 

[Rebel Ram]

GET IT!! You cannot compare MIG to TIG when it comes to precision work. I have a XMT 300 for all my stick and wire work. But the Sync 200 is a sweet machine capable of most anything involving work we would do on our trucks or whatever. If you need more amps for TIG welding than the 200 can deliver, you should probably be using another process anyway.

 

[mgoncalves]

We got one of these at work a month ago, it's a nice welder. After our mechanic/welder set it up, our carpenter gave it a shot and within a few minutes he was making beautiful welds. I haven't tried it yet, but it does look very user friendly (especially since our carpenter got the hang of it ).

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Steve, I know the feeling. Finances, frustrations with equip. etc. Is your MIG a do all ( steel/aluminum) ? If so, have you tried a teflon liner in your feed cable? Pusher systems dont work well with aluminum. There are some MIG guns out there that have there own set of feed rollers that syncronize with the feed rollers in the power supply. You did not mention the power supply make / model. Wire size is another variable. Increase your wire size. This will increase rigidity for better feeding. It will also require more power. What cover gas are you using? Make sure everything is clean. Feed rolls, liner, contact tip. Aluminum wire is coated with aluminum oxide, a natural process. Oxide is very hard and abrasive. Are you running in spray transfer mode or short arc? How thick is the material that you are welding? If you are burning back into the tip, causing the mouse nest of wire, turn up your wire speed. Lots of questions=). "Head down, Butt Up, Sparks A-Flyin"! Greg H

My MIG is an el cheapo Chicago Electric 120a 220v from Harbor Freight. There's no option for a spool gun. I'm using 100% argon and . 030 wire (. 035 tip). The only adjustments on the welder are 4 settings for power (30,60,90,120a), wire feed speed, and + or - polarity (for flux cored wire or gas). My other option is to buy a better MIG welder and a spool gun but like I said above I'm looking at close to $1700 to do that - might as well get the tig. I delivered 4 tables to a customer today and he said they will be buying at least 18 more (they've already bought 12) and that alone will more than pay for the tig welder so I made the decision today to go ahead and buy it. Get ready for the questions f



Thanks for the input guys!

 

[rubberneck]

I have been eye balling the synchrowave 250 also. Gharmon, besides the size and portability issues with the dynasty, what are some of the other benefits over the synchrowave? To this point, i have been using an old Hobart ACDC power supply to TIG with no aluminum (no high freq) and really don't know much about the options these machines offer. Would like to have the capability to do aluminum and I have just started doing a little research. I need to learn a lot. All the options on those machines scare me. I dont think i'll have a clue where to start. LOL I have no problem spending the extra dough if the features are of a great benefit as it seems as though either machine would last me a lifetime. thanks phil

 

[NoSeeUm]

Pretty amazing...



I just started looking at TIG welders seriously about a week ago. I dropped in on this forum to to do some research and the first thread is this one.



I have looked at all the SycroWave models. The Dynasty 200 Series also seem like a good welder, but a little spendy for me. You can get the SycroWave 250 with a built in water cooler, also really spendy and a bit more welder that I would likely need. I am kind of figuring that the cooler will likely be my first project after I get a welder.



Any knowledge about the Miller MaxStar 200 series or the Lincoln PT185 with Micro Start?



I see pipe welders around here using the MaxStar 200 to lay in high chrome roots, but I have no clue how well it would work on aluminium or high moly.



I am coming to discover that looking for a welder is more confusing than looking for a new PC. Just too many options and features that I have almost zero clue about. In the end, its probably like one of those electronic watches that can do everything including tie your shoes, but all you use it for is the time of day.



Jim

 

[jyoung13]

Any knowledge about the Miller MaxStar 200 series or the Lincoln PT185 with Micro Start?



I see pipe welders around here using the MaxStar 200 to lay in high chrome roots, but I have no clue how well it would work on aluminium or high moly



NoSeeUm

The MaxStar series machines wont weld aluminium since they are not an AC power supply (but will work fine on moly). I dont know much about the Lincoln PT 185 but I,m pretty sure its in the same class as the Miller Syncrowave 200 ,not an invertor(heavyer machine,higher amp draw ,not as adjustable wave pattern etc). Thats what makes The Dynasty 200 so much $$$$,not to many 200 amp machines in its class (but there are a few)

 

[GHarman]

Howdy all, Some advantages to the Dynasty are; 1. Weight-portability. 2. Efficiency-less input power for given output. 3. Smooth arc- Incredible, predictable penetration & puddle control. (no wandering arc) 4. Built in, input voltage variation allowance. 5. If you have an adaptor plug it will work!. 6. AC-DC squarewave. All in a package that is 20%- 25% of the mass of a new syncrowave. My 350 Syncro-Wave weighs more than 500 lbs. (1989 model). I am limited to a hard wired setup with 100A /230V input. With a smaller power supply you can reduce the length of your torch leads. Take the power supply under or around the work, closer to you, without draping leads over grounded work. If there is a flaw in the power lead shielding, draping leads WILL locate it. (Burn Through). The only disadvantage to the Dynasty is there is no pre or postflow cover-gas control. When grinding your tungstens please remember to use a dust mask at a minimum. In a home shop use a dedicated vacuum at your grinder station. Zirconium tungsten lasts longer than pure when welding aluminum in AC mode. The ball formed while welding is more directly proportional to the amp output than using pure tungsten. Do not pre-ball the tungsten. When using 2% Thoriated tungsten for DC be aware that Thoria is a BETA emmitter. Externally no problem. Internally, Ionizing Radiation. 2% Ceriated Tungsten is safer. Use gas lense collet bodys for better cover gas distribution. GregH.

 

[rbattelle]

www.hobartwelders.com "Weld Talk" message boards are pretty good. So is www.shopfloortalk.com.



Ryan

 

[rubberneck]

gharmon, thanks for the info. My buddy just got a synchrowave 250 and has been talking it up. Im going to take a closer look at the dynasty. I know having a good welder wont make me one, but at least it will look like i know what i am doing. :-laf

 

[NoSeeUm]

What about Thermal Arc?



The Thermal Arc ArcMaster 200 ACDC seems like a pretty good welder. Priced with a Synchrowave 200, but it is an inverter type welder. Looks to have most, if not all, the features comparable to a Dyanasty 200 DX. It weighs in at 38 pounds, while the Dynasty weighs 45 pounds.



I have been looking at solid state style welders mostly do to the much lower weight and input amp requirements. I am interested in the MaxStar 200 STL for this very same reason. It does not support AC. I don't typically deal much with aluminium, but it would be a nice feature to have especially in a new welder. The MaxStar 200 STL weighs 32 pounds.



Any other welders in that class that I should look at?



Jim

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Hmmm, I'm looking really seriously at that Thermal Arc machine now. Lots of good stuff said about them out on the net and I have several local distributors for them here in town. As you said they look to have almost all the features of the dynasty for far less cash (the one except that I can find is the ability to run on 110).

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

Here's a good comparison of the Thermal Arc and Miller machines: http://www.millermotorsports.com/mboard/showthread.php?t=2781