tig welders

[thwang]

hi chaps
can you get decent tig welder for under £300 i,ve been looking at them on ebay and various web sites.clarke seem a poor buy as you have to buy the tig torch on top of the tig unit.
regards si

[baz-r]

what we talking big / small? dc (not aloys) or ac/dc (everyhing)?

you may find a reasonable make s/h (240v) dc unit (avoid scratch start units) but your going to be pushed to find anything half decent s/h ac/dc for sub £500

also you want to x2 your amps in ac so dont even think of anything sub 200amp (min 16amp supply on 240v)

[thwang]

hi
second hand i was bidding on a used kempii and the seller has pulled it thats p+++ed me off bloody localish derby.
thwang

[stew]

i bought a Rtech 161 ac/dc tig a while back. perfect for everything the hobbyist will ever do really, cost me £700 quid. bit over the £300 budget above!!

you would get a dc hf start chinese one off Ebay for around 300 i guess, but its kinda hit or miss sometimes on them, plus no customer support. i only bought my tig for aluminium and stainless steel jobs really. although i can do everything with the mig anyway!

[thwang]

hi stew
just been looking at the r-tech might get the 160 tig i wont begoing any bigger than 3mm.i could always use my works ones we have about 15 of them but i need one at home for a project i,ve been wanting to do for some time.
cheers si

[Davey]

I bought one of these year before last and its been very good on the whole, the pedal control seems to have developed a fault in that when its selected the power just goes flat out but I've not had a chance to look at it. Machine itself still works well with inboard power control.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC-DC-TIG-WELDER-ALI-S-TEEL-UK-SELLER-last-few-329-/170777564651?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27c322d5eb#ht_2587wt_698

D.

[Talonmotorsport]

I bought one of these year before last and its been very good on the whole, the pedal control seems to have developed a fault in that when its selected the power just goes flat out but I've not had a chance to look at it. Machine itself still works well with inboard power control.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC-DC-TIG-WELDER-ALI-S-TEEL-UK-SELLER-last-few-329-/170777564651?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27c322d5eb#ht_2587wt_698

D.

I've got one of these and although it's ok for what it does when you take it out of the box, I don't know any one that has one that all the features still work after 2-3 weeks. The AC has gone pop on mine after an hours worth of work. I agree though that for a budget of £300 you will be very lucky to get a second hand AC tig that is not an old BOC block.

[K4KEV]

I bought one of these year before last and its been very good on the whole, the pedal control seems to have developed a fault in that when its selected the power just goes flat out but I've not had a chance to look at it. Machine itself still works well with inboard power control.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AC-DC-TIG-WELDER-ALI-S-TEEL-UK-SELLER-last-few-329-/170777564651?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item27c322d5eb#ht_2587wt_698

D.
I got one of these too and it has been grafting since August last year,
I can tell you what is wrong with the foot pedal and it is a right bugger to dismantle......I discovered my problem early on when the pedal was doing the opposite to what I was telling it which sounds the same as what you are describing.
Inside you will find two potentiometers or "pots" the one that gave me probs was the sliding one that attaches to the pedal....when I put a test meter on
it was registering 100K then down to 0 at the middle and back up to 100k. This made me think straight away that the manufacturers had used a simple pot from a right/left speaker control. As it happened I had a 100k linear pot lying around from a volume control which measured 0-100k on my meter, so it was a simple replacement and when all put back together it worked 10 times better with a much greater range of control.

[Davey]

I got one of these too and it has been grafting since August last year,
I can tell you what is wrong with the foot pedal and it is a right bugger to dismantle......I discovered my problem early on when the pedal was doing the opposite to what I was telling it which sounds the same as what you are describing.
Inside you will find two potentiometers or "pots" the one that gave me probs was the sliding one that attaches to the pedal....when I put a test meter on
it was registering 100K then down to 0 at the middle and back up to 100k. This made me think straight away that the manufacturers had used a simple pot from a right/left speaker control. As it happened I had a 100k linear pot lying around from a volume control which measured 0-100k on my meter, so it was a simple replacement and when all put back together it worked 10 times better with a much greater range of control.



Cheers for that Kev, I did strip the pedal and as you say its a bugger but didn't getthat far with testing it. I've got a quiet day tomorrow so may just have another crack at it.

D.

[thwang]

hi chaps
cheers for the replys i was going to buy second hand but i keep looking at these 2 tig sets
http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/welding_equipment/Tig_Welder/Tig_Welders_R-Tech_Tig160PDC

SIP 05266 i,ve had sip mig and arc welders in the past and theyve been good
http://www.welduk.com/Details.asp?ProductID=295
cheers si

[Davey]

Cheers for that Kev, I did strip the pedal and as you say its a bugger but didn't getthat far with testing it. I've got a quiet day tomorrow so may just have another crack at it.

D.
stripped and tested the pot today and it checks out ok, 0-100k nice and smooth along its length (ooer Mrs), need to hook it back up and try it again I suppose.

D.

[K4KEV]

Might seem obvious but is it switched for foot pedal use (switch at far right of control panel) and check plug for same resistance value 0-100k....thats all that I can think of unless the problem lies within the internal gubbins:(

[Davey]

Might seem obvious but is it switched for foot pedal use (switch at far right of control panel) and check plug for same resistance value 0-100k....thats all that I can think of unless the problem lies within the internal gubbins:(

Both checked and ok, if it still doesn't work proper then its gotta be internal of the machine itself, might just be a short though.

Thanks for your help, D.

[thwang]

so chaps r-tech or the sip tig set both offer 2 years warranty.
regards thwang

[robo]

If you stretch the budget a tad you could go esab and they are the dogs danglers.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160AMP-ESAB-BUDDY-TIG-160-ARC-STICK-WELDER-HF-TIG-WELDER-/250984990066?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3a6fdf0572

Bob

[MarkB]

If a chink tig set is £300 and say a Cebora set is £2500 for the same size machine it doesn't make the cheap one good value it means it doesn't work.

[andysredmini]

I would possibly look into staying away from sip welders. I am led to believe that they have bit of an industry reputation for being rubbish. I'm only basing this on their mig welders though and I think the main complaint is the wire feed. Obviously not a problem on a tig unit.
We had a sip 130 mig and it was pretty rubbish. sold it and got given a free oxford one which is far better even though its about 20 years older.

[james3004]

I'm a TIG welder by trade and I use a Migatronic or a Fronius everyday, they are Both DC only but are well over £3000 each so would not even consider buying either for home use.

For use at home in the garage I'd look at something like this:

http://www.frost.co.uk/eastwood-tig-200-ac-dc-welder.html

I don't know how good it is but seems about the right price for a decent hobby set

[baz-r]

if you want somthing like that go for a Thermadyne Arcmaster 175 TE.
i have used and sold a few in the past.
everything has estern origin parts in this end of the market but its in the real makes bracket.
what ever you buy keep it dry and clear of any dust and damp as its the main killer of tigs (pcb tracking out)
also keep an eye on your supply as v drop burns them out.

[thwang]

cheers chaps
had a chat with a couple of lads that have r-tech tig sets and one of our stainless welders used a parweld when he was out on site.looks like i,ll be getting a r-tech becaouse they have good backup this is what i will be making
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v710/ambertwang/Photo0167.jpg

simon

[Davey]

Doesn't look much like a Roadster:D :D

D.

[thwang]

nope its part of my bucket list been riding mountain bike since 1988 its about time i built one. i will start my car again after i,ve built my bike frame.
thwang