Primeweld AC/DC Tig 225X

[mechanic416]

Thanks. Yeah I'm hoping scratch/lift is doable...based on the Q&A on Amazon people said you can't do scratch/lift. Sent a msg to Prime Weld this morning too, may be they're waiting to get an answer from their Chinese engineers when they wake up

There is no switch to turn off the HF start and the odds are it won't damage automotive electronics. I have tig welded on police cars, fire trucks, etc. and never had it happen.

2T is for the foot pedal and trigger on/off 2 tap. 4T is for the trigger and the up slope and down slope settings 4 tap

[pat h]

I just ordered mine...before the tariffs make all of them more expensive lol

I do have a question for the current owners or George. Does it allow non high-frequency starts such as lift-arc or scratch start since HF can damage automotive electronics etc?

Also, what's the 2T/4T switch do? is that a selector for foot pedal vs. torch control? I can't find the manual on PrimeWeld's site.

I know, order first, ask questions later haha

Just disconnect the battery and ground close to work, I would think would be enough, but I don't know, inquiring minds want to know,

[stioc]

There is no switch to turn off the HF start and the odds are it won't damage automotive electronics. I have tig welded on police cars, fire trucks, etc. and never had it happen.

2T is for the foot pedal and trigger on/off 2 tap. 4T is for the trigger and the up slope and down slope settings 4 tap

Thanks George.
Is this newer police cars like in the last 7yrs or so? The newer cars with sensitive electronics are more susceptible to HF damage. The big guys (Synchrowave etc) provide the scratch/lift option...it's simple enough why not provide it right? may be for the new release they can add it.

Just disconnect the battery and ground close to work, I would think would be enough, but I don't know, inquiring minds want to know,

That's one way to minimize the risk of doing some expensive damage. I disconnect and ground close even when MIG welding.

[stioc]

Oh and never did get an email reply from primeweld...hmmm....hope they're better at picking up the phone if there's a problem with the welder.

[mechanic416]

I just gave you your answer. Unless you are welding on the cars computer or control module the odds are very slim you can harm any electronics on the car. Have you damaged your cell phone you carry when tig welding. I carry my phone all the time even when welding aluminum with HF running all the time.

I am the Primeweld tech guy so if you didn't get an answer from your email then I never got it. And I always ether answer the phone or return all calls if you leave a message.

[stioc]

I just gave you your answer. Unless you are welding on the cars computer or control module the odds are very slim you can harm any electronics on the car. Have you damaged your cell phone you carry when tig welding. I carry my phone all the time even when welding aluminum with HF running all the time.

I am the Primeweld tech guy so if you didn't get an answer from your email then I never got it. And I always ether answer the phone or return all calls if you leave a message.

Good to know perhaps I'm overly cautious after I specifically remember a review on the Miller Synchromax 250 where the guy said they offer lift/scratch on that machine for automotive work.

I sent the email to two email addresses I found. Just FYI in case it's in your Trash/Spam folder...but looks like I have my answer already.

[stioc]

I just got the PrimeWeld TIG 225 and thought I'd share my initial impressions. It's a big boy. Had to modify the HF cart and it just *barely* fits. That's a 80cf Argon tank to give you an idea of the scale.

I've only had about 10 mins with it to test the functionality to make sure it wasn't damaged or DOA. FedEx isn't known to baby these 90lbs packages and it had it's share of bruises and tears on the box but it was packed very well inside. Love the real CK torch (one of the reasons I got this over the AlphaTig). Hook up etc was pretty intuitive. The arc is nice and smooth in DC. In AC it seems to pulsate and the arc wanders a lot (for full disclosure I've never done Alum TIG so this could be normal or just that I don't know the technique) . For stick welding disconnect the "control lead" or it'll wait for you to use that to supply currently to the stinger lol


The main cons (take these as suggestions for improvement because it's a great welder otherwise):
- The foot pedal moves around on the floor. It can remedied by the owner but a simple rubber pad at the bottom would be well worth the additional $2 that it would cost.
- It's very loud and the fans are on *all the time* with the air blowing hard from the front and sides. When I'm welding, I'm spending a lot of time doing fit up etc, tacking, more fit up...so probably in my use case the duty cycle is 10% but the dang fans are constantly on.
- I would really like the lift arc feature even if I had to pay an extra $20 it would cost to do. It's like getting the sunroof which you might never use but you don't feel like you're missing something.
- Unlike the Alpha TIG guys I never did get the official email reply from PrimeWeld about the lift/scratch start so I felt ignored if I wasn't a member here that would've steered me completely away, as in "we're too busy to answer questions, take it or leave it based on what we've published on the website". This is 2019, all emails should be tracked via a ticketing system. My hope is if I ever send an email for support it will be responded to. Sorry, this whole thing really bugged me but I'll get over it

All in all I'd say it's the best TIG I could find for the money!

[mechanic416]

We are very sorry its not a Miller Dynasty, but then it was only $775.

So would you have paid $3500 for it if it had lift start, a SSC pedal, fan on demand, a standard warranty and not come with all the accessory ready to weld?

If you ever need help or questions about the welder you can call me 302-690-6995 my hours are on my web site.

And I would get it off that cart before you upset it and damage it.

[455dan]

wondering arc in TIG AC ,

may help to disconnect the stick leads when welding TIG

HF can be bled off sometimes by leaving the leads connected.

also if the fans are blowing lots of air may want to try moving the welder a bit farther away from the work.

Worth a try

Oh and Congrats on the new welder

[stioc]

We are very sorry its not a Miller Dynasty, but then it was only $775.

So would you have paid $3500 for it if it had lift start, a SSC pedal, fan on demand, a standard warranty and not come with all the accessory ready to weld?

If you ever need help or questions about the welder you can call me 302-690-6995 my hours are on my web site.

And I would get it off that cart before you upset it and damage it.

You're right I wouldn't have paid $2700 up charge for a rubber lined foot pedal (no need for SSC), lift arc (the electronics are already all there if it can stick weld with a rod) and fans that spin down when the current isn't flowing or temp isn't high (again, the electronics are already there to determine all of this). But I would definitely pay $800 for those minor improvements. How can anyone improve a product if they're so defensive? A better response would be 'thanks for taking the time to provide feedback on the improvements you suggested if the cost allows for them we'll definitely make it happen in version 2'. The fact is I won't benefit from the improvements since I already bought it but as a company Prime Weld would benefit from actual customer input.

How do you mean it'll get upset/damaged on that cart? I'm not sure what you mean.

[stioc]

wondering arc in TIG AC ,

may help to disconnect the stick leads when welding TIG

HF can be bled off sometimes by leaving the leads connected.

also if the fans are blowing lots of air may want to try moving the welder a bit farther away from the work.

Worth a try

Oh and Congrats on the new welder

Thanks for the congrats and those suggestions Dan. The stick leads plug into the same connectors as the TIG leads so you can't have both plugged in at the same time. Yes, I do put it at an angle so the fans don't blow directly on to the work.

[Auminer]

[QUOTE=And I would get it off that cart before you upset it and damage it.[/QUOTE]

Looks a bit top heavy with narrow stance.

[stioc]

Looks a bit top heavy with narrow stance.

Oh I see, thanks. Yeah the pics make it look more than it is but because the rear wheels are outboard it's surprisingly stable. However, I did cut the front supports shorter and welded the top flat instead of at an angle. I have the strap going around it because the feet sit close to the edges of the top and I don't want to accidentally bump it off of it. Eventually I'll make/buy a bigger cart for it.

[mechanic416]

I use these Eastwood carts they are nice and have a lot of room on it. https://www.eastwood.com/mig-tig-pla...ding-cart.html

[stioc]

I use these Eastwood carts they are nice and have a lot of room on it.

That's a great cart, thanks! I didn't know about it and at $89 right now I almost bought it but then they tacked on $32 for shipping and $7 for tax at checkout so I'll hold off for now but I really like that cart.

[teemfan93]

I was looking at some of the specs and the pulsing feature on the primeweld is 0.5 to 10hz, this seems pretty low when compared to something like a dynasty right? Or am I misinterpreting that? Does it really matter? (I'm no expert welder)...

[mechanic416]

You don't really need pulse, but sometimes it helps.

The Primeweld Tig 225 has 2 settings low speed pulse .5 to 10 pps and high speed pulse 10 to 200 pps

[stioc]

The foot pedal is new to me so I'm not good with it (a few weeks worth of scratch tig experience with a DC stick welder prior to this purchase) but the welder seems to weld way better than my skill level. Pretty happy with it so far.

[Ab-Fab]

Hello Everyone,

I've been lurking around here trying to gather as much info as possible. I want to order a CK2612 FX 200 amp torch upgrade, and I wanted to ask if someone can steer me to the correct Dinse connector for this swap.
It looks like the connection is bigger than the stock CK 17 torch.
Thanks
Brian

[mechanic416]

CK SL8-35 SafeLoc Male Dinse 35 , on ebay #254200918972

[Turtletraxx]

Thank you for the detailed review of the Primeweld machine. I purchased one yesterday from the Amazon link. I appreciate your candor and ... ummm.... humor.

[rolibr]

I ordered a PrimeWeld last night on ebay. I had a 10% off coupon up to $50 from Ebay so for $725 I figured why not.

A few months back I purchased a Vulcan 165 ProTig from HF. Last week I was having some issues with the machine so I returned it. At the time when I got the Vulcan I did not know about the PrimeWeld, so when HF asked if I wanted to swap out machines or get a refund I took the refund so I could get the PrimeWeld. I don't know if I will ever need to use AC, but now that option is there if the need ever come's.

I was very happy with the ProTig, I am hoping that the PrimeWeld does not disappoint.

I checked out the Harbor Freight pedal as well. Being that I had a HF store credit to burn I figured that I would give it a go. With the %20 off any Vulcan accessory and additional $5.00 off coupons I picked it up for $51.00. Another reason for my HF purchase was pedal compatibility. The pedal that ships with the PrimeWeld has a resistance of 10K (Ohms) and the HF Vulcan is a 10K pedal as well so there is no potentiometer swapping involved with the conversion. I had a spare compatible 7 Pin connector so after a bit of wire tracing and soldering I was good to go . (I have the pin-outs if anyone would like them). Anyway the HF pedal is working out just fine for me. Now I am not claiming that HF is the worlds finest TIG pedal but it's pretty damn good one for $51.00.

Can you PM me the pinout or post it? I neglected to put the peddle from my ProTig in the box before I brought it back to HF, so I still have the peddle.

If I don't like the peddle that comes with the PrimeWeld, I may have to wire in the peddle from the ProTig.

[GiantTechGuy]

Yeah,

I wouldn't be surprise if PrimeWeld gets or has an exclusive deal with the factory for this particular TIG unit design in the N.A. marketplace.

I mean, I haven't seen it anywhere before.

Time will tell.

But PrimeWeld seems like a strong upstart/importer here.

I mean, I paid $549, delivered, on sale, for my GiantTech CAT520D TIG/Plasma unit, over seven years ago.

And today, PrimeWeld has the identical unit on Amazon for $399, delivered.

That is really amazing to me, especially with being contrary to Federal Reserve monetary and price inflation, targeted at 2% per year.

Good to hear your machine is still going strong !

[Turtletraxx]

I received my Primeweld 225x today. Wow! It's just like all the "opening the box" videos say it is. Hooked it all up, turned it on and 'voila!'. Since I'm just learning, I won't be using very many of the features, however it allows me to grow into it for the future. I enjoy reading all the posts here. I think I chose well.

The picture turned sideways for some reason. I apologize. I can't seem to edit or delete it. Noob and old.

[xmmancharl]

here is the pin out Primeweld ...
















Charl