Sizing a new tig machine T/A185 vs 300?

[joehobart]

I'm trying to decide between a T/A 185 and the T/A 300. Seeking advice on which one to go with, $1800 vs $4200. I got a HH175 over a mm210 and kick myself every day for not buying enough, I don't want to make the same mistake again, only with a lot more money on the line.

70% of my work will be with 18g-1/8th" steel. The rest is 16g-3/8" aluminum and thicker steel. I would like to get more into Al and SS, but im process limited right now with my HH, so I havent really got into it yet to know what I'd need. I see myself growing into 50% AL 20%SS 30% steel. Currently, I'm doing custom furnature, shelving and such. Who know what the future holds, though. Whatever's sellin is where I'm headed :p

My knowladge of stick and tig is quite limited, and I dont really know how to size what i would need. I know that i need 250A to TIG 1/4" Al, and i'd really like that ability for the future. With stick, if i have 180A, i can pretty much multi-pass anything, so what do i get from the extra range?

I'd appreciate any thoughts you guys have on which one to get.

[Planet X]

1/4" aluminum is gonna ding-yah, 200-320 amps, depending on the joint- so I vote go big. :D

Oh, do those prices include a water cooler?
Another option for yourself may be to go with the smaller tig, and get a reasonably sized mig. A decent sized mig should handle that thicker aluminum stuff nicely.

Kudos for your welding capitalism:cool:

[Franz]

Aluminum eats POWER, go big. I've never heard anybody complain the machine was too big, except when they had to move it.

[arcdawg]

Originally posted by Franz
Aluminum eats POWER, go big. I've never heard anybody complain the machine was too big, except when they had to move it.



franz has hit the nail on the head with this one, al takes alot of heat, which takes alot of amps.

i too am looking to buy a tig with in the next year, i could go out right now and buy a smaller amp machine but i rather wait and get one with more baLLS,:blob2:


as far as your machine choice i would look into a RED or BLUE machine, i was checking out the t/a inverters and they look very cheaply made,

ebay is going to be your best bet, you can get a invertec 201 for under2500.00 or a dynasty for 2500. to 3000 either machine i feel is going to be better then the t.a.

either way GO big, cause that one job that comes along and you have to pass it off cause your machine is to small youll regret your purchase,

just my thoughts, good luck,

brian
:jester:

[Planet X]

JH, you might want to follow this thread since it involves one of the welders you have in consideration.

thermal arc link (http://www.aws.org/cgi-bin/mwf/topic_show.pl?id=4947)

Another question you may want to ask yourself is this; have you seen ANY (pictures) of welds/fabrication examples, made with this inverter, that looked half-way decent?
You did state that your knowledge/exp, with tig is limited, feature rich welders may cause more confusion than they are worth.

Again individual results will vary of course you may succeed, where apparently know one else has....:)

[joehobart]

Thanks all for your thoughts. Thats pretty much what my inner voice is telling me too, go big, be happy.

You ask a great question about 'seeing' it. Right now I only have the reviews i've seen, and they have been overwhelmingly positive. On the 'light industrial' class machines, its pretty tough to even find a review, let alone a Dan-esque series of test welds. I figure i narrow it down as best i can, and then setup a test-drive at the local shop. I don't see a much better solution than that. The other machine I'm considering is a dynasty. Its attractive with the tigrunner package, but a thousand wingwangs (for both the 185v200 and 300vs300) in price difference is a crazy amount of cash i don't want to spend if i don't have to.

My real concern is just making sure i get a machine in the right range for what I want to do today and in the future. I can't really afford to have two TIG machines, so I need to balance capability with price and get it right the first time to last me for 5-7 years. Once i've made my final decision on range, I can start nitpicking features and models. I'm still 4 months out from making a purchase.

[AAA]

As the other's said, go as big as you can afford for aluminum. Prenty of Amps and a water cooled torch are the norm.
Just out of interest though, I've got a TA 185 and it'll will weld 1/4 inch Al - just! but requires a preheat with oxy.

Mike