Need TIG machine purchase advice

[HIGHESTGRADE]

I need your experienced advise of which TIG brand & series welder I should purchase also any accessories such as water cooled torch if needed. I operate an auto a/c shop & will be using the TIG to weld a/c aluminum tubing/lines mostly, not much heavier work, maybe a few cold air intakes for tuner shops but have no experience with any TIG machine. All the advice will be greatly appreciated.

[soutthpaw]

Originally Posted by HIGHESTGRADE

I need your experienced advise of which TIG brand & series welder I should purchase also any accessories such as water cooled torch if needed. I operate an auto a/c shop & will be using the TIG to weld a/c aluminum tubing/lines mostly, not much heavier work, maybe a few cold air intakes for tuner shops but have no experience with any TIG machine. All the advice will be greatly appreciated.

You are kidding right?? I hope you got great liability insurance for when a high pressure lline blows at 150PSI....
It takes thousands of hours of practice to be able to weld Al well.. Being that I was a tech in an AC shop for 3 years, I want to know what you need to weld. We never had a need to weld anything as far as AC goes. also Tuner shops are going to want perfect stack of dimes look on Aluminum manifolds... I suggest you try TIG welding Al before dropping a bunch of money into it. for what you need its going to be cheaper to pay a Real pro to make it rather than so 2 bit hack job at Joe Blow AC repair

[HIGHESTGRADE]

We presently use oxygen/acetylene to weld aluminum lines. Sometimes we have to modify the A/C lines to build them over such as in the case of a leaking discharge line, weld splices on the ends. Will the TIG be able to handle this easier with stronger smoother welds while introducing less heat?

[DSW]

Weld or braze? There's a big difference between the two. In general I haven't found all that many people who are truely skilled in OA WELDING alum, but a fair number who can braze.

The big difference between the two is you never melt the tube when brazing. With welding you melt the base material, in brazing the base material stays solid and the filler bonds to the base. You need a lot more control when the base material needs to melt and fuse with the filler and 2nd piece.

[shovelon]

Buy a quality, but simple American made tig. You don't need aircooled, as the thicknesses are small. I recommend maybe the Miller Diversion 180, as they are stupid simple to learn, and you can sell when you find out you suck at tig.

AC line welding is some of the toughest. Especially when you are welding over a braze joint.

[zapster]

[QUOTE=shovelon;1331041]Buy a quality, but simple American made tig. You don't need aircooled, as the thicknesses are small.

Don't you mean watercooled?

Just wondering.

...zap!

[farmall]

What actually makes TIG preferable to a good OA joint in these applications?

Is OA more tolerant?

If the OP is already very good at OA Al welding, why switch?

[zapster]

Originally Posted by HIGHESTGRADE

I need your experienced advise of which TIG brand & series welder I should purchase also any accessories such as water cooled torch if needed. I operate an auto a/c shop & will be using the TIG to weld a/c aluminum tubing/lines mostly, not much heavier work, maybe a few cold air intakes for tuner shops but have no experience with any TIG machine. All the advice will be greatly appreciated.

If you plan on doing what you want to do in a hurry you are in for a BIG letdown..
No TIG experience..Playing with semi expensive parts..Nothing good can come of this.

You need PRACTICE and I do not care how much Oxy torch time you have under your belt this is completely different...

If you want to rush into this time is not on your side.
You need LOTS of it in the seat first.


...zap!

[soutthpaw]

Originally Posted by shovelon

Buy a quality, but simple American made tig. You don't need aircooled, as the thicknesses are small. I recommend maybe the Miller Diversion 180, as they are stupid simple to learn, and you can sell when you find out you suck at tig.

AC line welding is some of the toughest. Especially when you are welding over a braze joint.

Agree with Shovelon... though a pulser might compensate for some of your Suckiness when you try TIG welding.. there are some good example videos over at weldingtipsandtricks.com See for sale forum here too. Or look for used dialarc HF or Syncrowave etc.

Also your Aluminum is going to be oil saturated as the system is filled with oil under 150 psi. So if u weld to deep its going pull the oil into the weld

[shovelon]

[quote=zapster;1331061]

Originally Posted by shovelon

Buy a quality, but simple American made tig. You don't need aircooled, as the thicknesses are small.

Don't you mean watercooled?

Just wondering.

...zap!

Yes, that is what I meant.

Thanks

[DougAustinTX]

On car a/c lines, I always use oxy/acet with some low temperature aluminum brazing rod and flux. Takes two minutes to make solid repairs and no risk of blowing a hole in the line. Try to fix a hole in the finned area of an aluminum condenser with tig and you'll see the value of brazing.

[Joshfromsaltlake]

There is one set of ethics that applies when you're a fairly experienced welder and you want to learn to weld Al for your own sometime projects. There is a completely different set of ethics when someone is actually paying you, as a presumed professional.

Economically speaking there's a reason business that specialize in TIG welding exist. That's because it's rarely practical for non-specialized companies to do it themselves in-house. It's too difficult and time consuming, takes too much time to learn, and the equipment is too expensive.