That's a lot of welder for that price, if it works. Dial Arc welders are very reliable. Clean it inside and out, put a new paint job on it and you could easily triple your money.

But if you want to TIG aluminum you should find a DialArc HF model. It will have the high frequency generator built-in that will allow you weld aluminum and other metals on AC. You could buy an air cooled TIG torch for this one and scratch start TIG weld in DC on steel, but you won't be able to do aluminum on AC without the high frequency generator.

It's still a great price for this model, if it works. It would be a far better welder for you to start with than an AC only buzz box or an imported cheapo.

Charley

 

But if you want to TIG aluminum you should find a DialArc HF model. It will have the high frequency generator built-in that will allow you weld aluminum and other metals on AC. You could buy an air cooled TIG torch for this one and scratch start TIG weld in DC on steel, but you won't be able to do aluminum on AC without the high frequency generator.

Its probably not an HF machine. The HF machines are generally speaking an older vintage (mine was white face) and have provisions for gas valves, timers, remote contactor, remote power, and of course High Frequency start (and continuous HF for aluminum/AC).
For DC TIG, they were very nice machines. Very smooth arc. One drawback was the range switch. I don't remember the ranges but in the mid/medium range, minimum power was on the order of 45 amps. That means as you tried to taper off and fill that last crater it would suddenly snap off. If you weren't ready for it, you'd get a nice crater at the end.
For AC TIG, its pretty awful. Not any fault of the machine, just is a sine wave design which means no balance control, balled electrodes, and a tough time keep the arc where you want it. On thin aluminum (radiators) I would alternate between burning through and wandering arcs. If someone said they wanted to TIG aluminum, even on a budget, I would think there would be better choices.

These are pretty respectable stick machines. Largish transformer types. Decent duty cycle. Should run OK on a 50 Amp circuit, manual says direct wire to 100+ Amp one. I wouldn't bother with big circuit unless I was doing AC stick welding at higher amps.

 

Thanks charley, after posting I did some looking on th web. Seems like people are adding separate HF boxes. Is this a viable and cost effective option?

 

Thats an excelent stick welder and scratch start dc tig welder for an excelent price, you better grab it fast. Burns 6010 and 7018 very nice. It would be even better if it came with a cart and stick leads.
How much aluminum will you really be welding? I'm guessing very little.
Just pick up an air/gas cooled tig torch with a gas valve, a bottle of argon and a regulator/flow meter and your tig welding steel and stainless steel with scratch start on DC- (straight) polarity. Use DC+ (reverse) polarity for all stick welding. Leave the aluminum welding to a deticated high frequency ac machine with remote amptrol.
This is the same set up I use with my Idealarc 250. It works very well and is a cost effective welding machine.

 

I am waiting for the guy to send me some pictures. If it looks usable I am going to pick it up. The timing kinda sucks. I am going to be moving in about a month and I will have another heavy piece of shop equipment to move. When I see a good deal on a tool I have to buy it weather I need It or not,(its a sickness)

 

He sent me a picture. Looks a little rough. The leads are "hard wired" to the machine due to him not having the male ends to go into the plugs in the front. That kind of concerns me. Honest opinions?

 

Im thinking that It might be worth the risk. Even if it does not work there is a lot of scrap copper in there

 

sweet I wish I could find that kinda deal

 

Cleaning, a little body and fender work (block of steel and a BFH), and some paint will do wonders for that welder. The leads are most likely attached with lugs to the back end of the connectors. All you will need to do is buy the correct plugs from your LWS and put them on the leads, then plug them in. My DialArc HF had a case in similar condition when I bought it. Keep in mind that these welders are 30-45 years old, so very few are going to look pretty when you find them. I beat the dents out of my covers, sanded and filled a few spots and then painted mine. If you get up close and look at it you can tell that I'm not very good at body and fender type work, but it's clean and the right color again. A sign maker friend even made me new some Miller labels to put on it. Here's a link to the thread about it with pictures.

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=34034

I haven't had time to do much else to it since then. The plan was to remove the welder from the lower frame and paint the frame black. I was also going to make some drawers for the lower space in the frame, but that hasn't happened either. It looks a bit top heavy, but it's much more stable than it looks. It never moves anyway, except when the floor is getting cleaned under it. The only time that it's been outside is when I took the pictures. Maybe it'll get finished later in the Summer when things slow down a bit.

If that one welds it's worth the money. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it myself and I don't even need it.

Buying a high frequency box to TIG with it probably isn't worth the effort and expense, since you will also need to find and buy an air cooled torch and some kind of remote current control like a foot pedal, and then modify the welder to be able to use it.. Get this welder and fix it up, then keep looking for a DiaArc HF or another old welder that has TIG capability. Cleaned and fixed up this welder will likely get you 2-3 times your investment if/when you decide to sell it and you will have learned a whole lot about welders in the process.

Charley

 

I just talked to the guy and got him to drop the price another $25 bucks I am going to arrange to get it from him as soon as this tropical storm has passed.

 

Yea, the outer rain bands are reaching me this afternoon. We've just had a bunch of rain since about 5 PM, but it's hazy clear again now.

If you look at the link in my previous post you will see what a DialArc HF looks like. It's similar in appearance, but has a few more controls on the front panel and switches and plugs for connecting the foot pedal. The cover immediately below the front panel covers the lead connections (bolt type lugs) and the gas and water solenoid valves. There's also a hole between the valves (also behind the cover) to access the HF spark gap.

Try it before you buy it, even if it's only to see if you can get a hot spark in both AC and DC. Take your helmet, some 6010 rods or whatever you have and some scrap metal. If it welds it will be relatively easy to fix it up. If it only works on AC you will likely need to replace some diodes, but at that price it's still worth it.

If you can get the serial number (upper left corner of the front panel) you can download a manual from Mikker's website and you can find out from the first 2 letters of the serial what year it was made.

Charley