I spent last week at the SEMA show in vegas and had a little time to stop by the Lincoln and the Miller booths. I looked at the Precsion tig 225 adn the Miller Diversion 180 . The inverter is interesting as I can use the power I have in the garage, 220 50 amp. Is the Miller enough machine for a part time rod builder? I do alot of sheet metal work and occasional chassis work. Very little Aluminum but that's prbably cause I don't have that capability currently. Which machine should I buy?
A buddy who rents shop space with me got the Miller Diversion 180 and boy is it a beautiful machine. I'm not an especially experienced TIG welder, but some of the features are really useful. Bendable torch, thumbwheel control for tight spaces and being able to replace the cable to the foot controller with a common cable, make life alot easier. Welds like butter!!
In the new street rodder Ron Covell has one that he uses to weld back together a model a grill shell that he narrowed and chopped. Real purdy welds
I have the Diversion 165. Bought it a year ago. I'm happy with it. Mine will do up to 3/16ths steel. Covers most of what I'll ever weld.
How much does the 180 cost with all the options? Is the torch water cooled? I'm looking at buying a new tig..
Miller Diversion 180, Best in it's class, by far, customer service #1, I'm a Miller/ Hobart guy of over 30 years, they can't be beat, best of luck!!!!!!!!!BDM
Thanks guys. My concern was it's ability to handle 1/4 inch steel, it's rated at 3/16. The sales guys said it would work on short passes. It does not have any pulse control like the more expensive invertors, That is really bothering me. The price at the sema show was 1650.00 or so shipped to your door.
Pulsed TIG is not really needed. You should be able to weld 1/4" steel even though the rating is for 3/16". I have done so with my Diversion 165. What a lot of guys think looks really nice as a tig weld , the pulsed "row of dimes" is in reality less than ideal as a good quality weld. A good TIG weld is smooth and solid, clean and straight on the edges and well fused.
I have a Diversion 165 and really like it. You may want to look into the Hobart EZ TIG 165i, http://store.cyberweld.com/hotigweez16.html it is the same machine but comes with the foot pedal instead of the thumb wheel torch. (I hated the thumb wheel and bought the pedal for my Diversion) One of the 180's feature is a dual 115/230 set up. If you have 220 the 165 is a less expensive alternative.
check out a thermal arc 185... i've had one about 3 or 4 yrs now, very nice inverter tig.. i'll put it up against a miller or lincoln up to 200 amps.. i really like the digital controls of the thermal arc...... i got it at indiana oxygen.. if i were buying a tig right now i would have to look at the thermal arc or the lincoln precision tig 225... word of advice, go ahead and get a watercooled torch and cooler also... especially if your going to weld alot of aluminum..
dont count out the thermal arc 185... it also has pulse control... plus it weighs 40lbs.. will actually hit 195amps.. again get a watercooled torch and a cooler, or make a cooler.. a cooler is pretty easy to make on the cheap..
i have the miller 165 nice little machine. air cooled, not water. the torch does get hot. sometimes almost too hot to keep welding. spend the extra bucks and get the foot pedal. you wont regret it. nice machine for small stuff. sheet metal, brackets and such. not something you want to build a frame with.
Nonsense to that one. I'm building the frame of my 26 RPU and welding everything with the Diversion 165. No problem at all. It has welded my 2X6 X 1/8" rectangular tubing and every other bracket and piece I have fabricated (all documented in my build thread) perfectly. An excellent machine all around. I also have the foot pedal.
if it is rated at 3/16/ do not plan on 1/4, some people may think they can do more then ratings, but our experiance is that the factory rating is a liitle on the high side. 1/4 is is for frame work, and you will need maximum penitration into the base metal. a weld laid on top even if it looks nice is a failure waitng to happen. 3/16, 1/4 frame work to be done right needs a good mig gun or 7018 stick rod.
Seems that everybody is talking about 3/16" and 1/4" frame work . . . truth is there is very limited material that thick on the common frames that we build. About the only places you might be that thick are the front or rear cross-members, maybe brake/clutch stuff, steering mounts, etc. Dang near everything will be 1/8" or 10 gauge -- at least 95% anyway. It is not to say there might be some things as thick as 3/16", 1/4" or even 3/8", just not very much of it. Sometimes I'll use some pre-heat with a rosebud torch when working with thicker materials (like 3/8" or 1/2"). Also, if you don't have the experience/skills, you dang sure shouldn't be welding critical suspension components anyway (not saying - just pointed it out!). I have a Miller 200 AMP MaxStar TIG unit - as I didn't need aluminum capabilities. I started out with an air cooled torch, then switched over to a water cooled unit. Other than the cooling, what I like the best about the water cooled units is the form factor -- much smaller and easier to manipulate the torch in all the areas you need to get to in a frame --> tubing, gussets, etc.. You can't go wrong with Miller . . . these new inverters are wonderful units!
Bump. Got a chance to buy a friends Miller 180 SD for about a grand with bottle and torch. This would be an upgrade for me as I have an old Econo Twin now. Anyone know what the advantages are of Diversion over the SD?
I have the Lincoln pt225 for about 3 years, for the price having pulse and a foot pedal and AC for aluminum I found it to be a great value even new, I like the fact its harder for someone to walk off with it like an inverter also.I betting the 185 is much alike and youll like it..good luck with it..
My advice is to get a Miller from a welding supply place that has been reconditioned. You get more welder for your money this way and most of the time get all the accessories with it. Get as big a one as you can afford. Sooner or later the one you have won't be big enough no matter how big it is.
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