I got a 140 maxstar I may sell.

 

the Thermal Arc 161 STL can do foot control if you find one on fleabay and it's dual voltage.

Someone else posted about weldersupply having a sale on TA's because they're going to the Tweco line (different color). heck of a deal on 211i and 181i here including shipping and a free auto dark helmet:

http://www.weldersupply.com/C/42/TigMachines

You can get a pedal separately, but the kit comes with a hand amptrol included.

(note that the 211i is dual voltage but the 181i is 220 only. Go figure. Both go down to 5 amps)

 

I have a Syncrowave 180 SD

 

A few guys said that those TA ones cant do a foot control or hand control on those units?

 

http://store.cyberweld.com/tharcfoco60.html

 

The TA 161STL and the 201TS support a pedal/hand control and have a gas solenoid. The 161S has neither. Too bad they discontinued the 161STL (said the 181i multifunction unit made it superfluous - hah!). The 201TS is still available - nice unit. Maybe there'll be closeout pricing on the 201TS as they roll out the black TWECO models. $800. would be nice. Paid $650 for the 161STL. The HF start and few extra amps of the 201 weren't worth the large difference in cost (at the time). We just wanted a portable 120/240 stick unit (but bought the damned pedal anyway because there was a hole in the front that needed filling ).

 

What do you personally think about the Thermal Arc Fabricator 181i?
Im just looking for something that I can start TIG welding on to learn and practice with but a decent unit at least.

What are your thoughts on the Thermal Arc Fabricator 181i?

 

Can't say but it's gotten good reviews. I have the 161 stl and I am just learning to use it. It's certainly kind of cute, it's so small. The torch, cables and regulator take up more space. Lots of folks have reported good on the thermal arc 95 and variants (dragster and 85) and on the "i" machines. I am too scared to have an all-in-one stick, tig mig. too many eggs in one basket, but I would have caved if the 181i was dual voltage. My machines are the 161 stl with tig and foot pedal, a Hobart 210 mvp, and an old Lincoln AC/DC 225/125.

Loved the Hobart 140 but traded up to the 210 for dual voltage.
The 161 stl has sufficient power for any stick welding i might do, but not AC. It definitely runs different than a transformer on stick. I'm not qualified to judge much of anything especially tig. However, the lincoln really does weld great and it's what I know most-est of all three processes.

One thing nice is the tig only needs 110 to run at full 160 amps. But the stick maxes at 110 or so on a 110 circuit. Folks say the TA's run a hotter arc than the amperage suggests, but I don't see that (yet). Have to do some testing.

Good luck.

 

RodJ, the 161STL is a nice little box, no doubt about it. Sold a TA 85 Dragster and a Clarke 135EN (both bought cheap) to trade up to one.

 

Oldendum, Yes it is so far with just a little time on it. Thanks, it's good to hear an experienced person's comments esp given the other welders and torches you have so you have perspective. When I found out they were no longer made, I was very very sad but I got lucky and found it on fleabay barely used for i think it was $600. Whew!

Irish, for the money if you don't need a lot of amps but want seat time, the TA's are hard to beat at least from a spec / price stand point. Supposedly they are going to a "Tweeco" branded line, part of Victor I guess, and appears prices are dropping for new units. There's a used 201 on fleabay right now at $700 and a buy now price of $910. If it's the model Oldendum mentioned, then it'll take a foot pedal.

 

...Thanks, it's good to hear an experienced person's comments esp given the other welders and torches you have so you have perspective. ....

I'm not the welder, my son is. But I have gotten good at procuring decent equipment cheap.

The TA 201TS is available for $1,079. from both Cyberweld and Indiana Oxygen. Maybe the price will come down as the TWECO versions roll out.

Note that the 181i does not have a gas solenoid for the TIG function, so you need a torch with a gas valve. But the torch with valve and remote is cheap enough at $126., though bulky: Thermal Arc 17V Remote Control TIG Torch Package W4013802

http://store.cyberweld.com/tharc17v...2530&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=74686172633137767469677432&gclid=CIqfreTdvLwCFStnOgodZC0AOQ

 

I second the Esab Miniarc 161 LTS, no foot control though.

 

Okay so right now Im debating on the 181i and the 201ts. Not worried about the 161 because they are available and I want one that is.

So lets compare.


181i

single voltage
MIG/TIG/Stick
remote controls for foot pedal
180a MIG
175a TIG
175a Stick
Lift TIG
Includes:
MIG handle
Stick handle
Ground clamp/cable
Regulator and hose
Free Helmet
$700 free shipping
New


201TS

dual voltage
TIG/Stick
foot controls or hand controls
160a TIG/ 200a on 230v
125a Stick/ 200a on 230v
HF or Lift TIG (Not sure what any of that really means)
Includes:
Stick handle
ground
TIG Torch
Case
$700 starting bid plus like $30 shipping
Used


This is the basic compare list I could get from these.

They both seem like awesome welders except the 181 has the warranty with it.

whats the difference between this HF and lift TIG

 

HF start, you hit the pedal and the machine uses a small HF arc to jump the gap between the plate and the tungsten to start the arc. Lift start, the machine runs a vow voltage current thru the tungsten. When you make contact with the plate the machine can sense this thru the completion of that low voltage circuit. As soon as you break that circuit as you lift the tungsten, the machine sense this and initiates the weld current. Because you are still so close to the plate, the weld arc can start without the HF.


I run both all the time at the tech school. All the Syncrowaves have HF start, all the XMT's have lift arc. Both are set up with pedals. It just takes a bit to get used to each machine. I really don't notice that much of a difference on average. However you can use lift start without a pedal. My understanding is lift start was originally designed as an inexpensive alternative to HF start so you didn't have to scratch start the arc and risk a chance of getting a tungsten inclusion if you stuck the tip and it broke off.

 

What do you mean by this gas solenoid?
Are you talking about the machine not having an argon hook up?

 

The TA 181i and 211i have a gas solenoid that works with the MIG gun. There is not a separate port or solenoid for TIG gas hookup. The 252i does have a gas port on the front for TIG, and two rear input connections.

 

Irish, whenever you use GTAW aka tig, the G in both stands for "gas" which is used to shield the puddle from air. So they all have a gas (argon or whatever gas you use) hookup. What's different is how the gas gets started flowing when you start to weld.

In the most simplest form, you would just use the valve on the gas cylinder. Turn it on by hand before you strike an arc, turn it off after you're done. Gas flows the entire time even though you're not welding. Obviously lots of wasted gas.

The next "step up" is having a valve at the torch. You leave the gas cylinder open the entire time, and control whether gas is flowing with a second valve (in addition to the one at the cylinder) on the torch. Again, manual - you turn it on and off by hand, but you don't have to walk back and forth to the cylinder. The valve is right there in your hand as part of the torch.

Finally, the third way is to have the "valve" inside the machine that is solenoid operated. The torch has no valve. When you "pull the trigger" for an arc, electric current inside the machine causes the solenoid to open the valve. Gas flows. When you break the arc, the solenoid closes the valve. On some machines you can have "pre-flow" and "post-flow" where the gas starts when you pull the trigger but the arc doesn't start immediately, and when you break the arc, gas continues to flow for a few seconds to protect the hot weld and cool it a bit.

If you're going to have a gas solenoid, the machine ought to also allow you to adjust to have pre and post flow, otherwise I don't see an advantage (other than if you have a torch mounted manual valve, you could "forget" to turn it on or off). With a torch mounted, you have the ability to have pre and post flow because you decide when to start and stop gas, before striking the arc and after breaking the arc.

As for HF, there's advantages because it's easy to learn to strike the arc. It just "jumps" on. Disadvantage is if you have a pacemaker or electronics that high frequency current could affect. I'm getting used to lift arc but it took a few attempts to figure out what I'm supposed to do. Only tig I had done was in community college and it was with a miller synchro, water cooled, upslope, downslope, HF the whole shootin match and a comfortable chair and table. Very nice compared to my garage.

 

Woops, Oldendum posted - i'm not familiar with the 181 and 211i versions how they start and stop the gas. but the "tig" machines will pretty much all have a gas hookup either through the machine or to the torch itself. Like adding a tig rig to a stick machine.

 

So the manual on off at the torch isn't that big of a deal for the 181i then.

Now I just need to decide which one I want.
Either the 181i or the 201i

Thanks for explaining that. And it wouldn't be a big deal for a new guy wanting to learn to TIG to use the lift TIG would it?

 

Remember the TA 181i is a 208/230V only machine. The TA 201TS and the TA 211i are 120/208/230 in case you occasionally need to run on 120.

 

The ESAB is hard to beat on price for a little dual-voltage stick welder that has lift start. Pretty comparable to the TA 161S.

 

But is ESAB a good brand compared to Thermal ARC and Miller?
And can it also use a foot pedal or a hand control as well for TIG?

 

That little ESAB 161LTS is just like the TA 161S. No remote capability, no gas solenoid, just lift-arc. ESAB is a good brand in general. They do have a 100 day satisfaction guarantee. And they claim it runs 6010 well, unlike many little toaster inverter boxes.

 

Ill pass on that one, cause I do want to have something that wont let me use a remote of sorts.

 

Anyone have a TA 201 they would like to sell?

 

You have a 220 circuit. Just look for a used syncrowave or Dialarc HF and be done.

 

The Maxstar 150STL is great and I just sold my Lincoln Invertec V160T because I never used it. The Lincoln had all the features I thought the Maxstar was missing but I was used enough to using my Maxstar that I had to fiddle too much with the Lincoln and never used the extra features. Not to mention the Lincoln needed to be on higher amperage circuits to use the 110V feature, whereas my Maxstar will run flat out on 110V on a regular 15amp circuit. Very useful when not working at home! Only thing I miss on the Maxstar is some way to kill the arc without pulling away from the weld to take advantage of its generous fixed post-flow setting.

I was wary of the high price of the Miller unit, but after finding a barely used one with bottle and regulator for the price of a cheap flux core wire feed machine I snagged it up. After using it for many hours of torch time, I would not hesitate to replace it at full price if I couldn't wait for another good deal.

 

Cheapest I've seen for a clean looking Maxstar 150STL was $450. on the Annapolis, MD Craigslist. Just a bit far from me and I didn't need another welder.