tig welders

[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-...#ht_2587wt_698

D.

[Talonmotorsport]

Originally Posted by 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-...#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]

Originally Posted by 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-...#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]

Originally Posted by K4KEV

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/weldi...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

[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.

[Davey]

Originally Posted by 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