Just looking at my first TIG machine. Wow, can they get expensive. I stumbled onto the Econotig and it seems reasonable but I wonder if they will hold up?
shit, for the money req'd for a good TIG, i've considered trying these http://classicbroncos.com/homemade-welder.shtml http://www.motherearthnews.com/top_...r_December/Build_a__20_Portable_DC_Arc_Welder
for me the biggest reason to get a tig was to do aluminum nicer then with a spool gun on my mig. the ecno tig is DC only and you can not due aluminum with it. think what you plan to do with it then think what you will learn and be doing in 4 years and buy a machine that will be able to handle what you are going to do in the future. Most times it is cheaper to buy bigger now then buy a small machine now and up grade later.
There a good quality machine for the price! It seems that you can pick one up off of ebay for around a grand set up which sounds great! Grant it if I was buying one that I intended to use everyday or in an industrial fashion, I would opt for one of the more expensive and better built machines becuase therein lies the quality. So for home-use I would say yes, for everyday use i'd say no! If you do need a bigger machine always check the paper! I bought my machine for $400.00 and cleaned it up and got it running, have been using it almost everyday for over a year
Miller says it is AC/DC and that would indicate you could do aluminum with it... Personally I'm still keeping an eye open at the old industrial units... single phase monsters. You can get a pretty good deal on a working one off ebay for about the same price as the econotig. http://millerwelds.com/products/tig/econotig_ac_dc/ Ben
wait a couple months and buy the new miller 180 sd with pulse when it comes out... I have a 180 sd now and like it so far..I will be upgrading when the new one comes out..If you are planning on light duty steel only tig welding, the econotig would be fine...EVILT
yeah if you get an older used unit on ebay do a search from location sort the items by closest first. most of the time shipping isnt offered on the big tigs and you can drive 30 miles and pick one up with EVERYTHING for a couple hundred bucks or more.
I picked up a 25 year old MILLER stick/tig with a full bottle and a professional cart for $800.00 a few years ago......Sumbitch weighs a ton
Actually I used to have an EconoTIG and it was AC/DC. Worked good. The jump starter might sometimes not be as smooth going as a high frequency unit. I think its a good starter.
I have one and although I haven't used it lately it always works just great. Perhaps I should not have done all the aluminum I've already done with it?
I was gonna get the econ but found a welding shop on ebay and got the Synchrowave 180. It came with the whole cart and was fee shipping to the door. It got dropped off from dhl and they just used a pallet jack and got it into the garage.
i started out building chromolly bicycles and the econotig came along so i bought it...it has worked great for everything i have needed it to so far including alot of aluminum...i use it almost every day on my car or something and i havent had any problems aside from the torch getting a bit hot at times....if you wana make a heavy pass you just have to bevel it and make a few passes to get the penetration....and it gets a little finiky welding really thin stuff like razor blades and whatnot...but you can do it... i dont regret buying mine..i have a new miller mig and i havent touched it once...i like the econotig i guess good luck zach
Root my econo tig worked just fine.I up graded to a 250 syncro wave machine.Sold the econo tig to a friend for $700 he loves it too. It works great for everything except thick alumiun,good machine .
Honestly, I have never tig welded. I used to gas weld and I can arc and Mig so I figure I'll pick it up. I might hit a couple of votech classes.
I talked to a Miller Rep @ the DFW Goodguys show last month. He said that the Miller Syncrowave SD 180 was the was to go. Cost Aprox $1700.00 big ones It isn't cheap but, when you are going down the road at 60mph plus I don't want my car falling apart underneath me.I want to know that welds are good. I have a stick welder & a older Hobart Handler that works real well. Miller makes good welders and so does Lincoln and Hobart is a close third. Most og the welding shops here in Texas has either a Lincoln or a Miller. If you will be doing a lot of welding in one sitting then look at the duty cycle of the welder The econ has a 20% duty cycle and the Syncrowave 180 has a 40% duty cycle. I was told that a 30-35% duty cycle for home use is good. Talk at you later 68ragtop
Absolutely! Or, what I should say is, I have only used an air cooled unit, and it's been a long time, but I couldn't believe the amount of power it takes to weld aluminum, compared to steel! I believe it has something to do with the conductance of the metal? Anyways, I would venture a guess that skidmarks is absolutely correct... if you're going to be welding alum all day long, your hand is going to get pretty toasty! This might be another reason to get an old used one... alot of them come setup with Bernard (or other brand) water coolers... Just my $.02 Ben
I've had both the Syncrowave180 and the Econotig. If you're buying new, save up the extra beans and pop for the Syncrowave. It's a smoother, easier to use TIG. If you get a good deal on an Econotig with all the extras under $1100, then go ahead and get the Econotig. It's not junk and is perfectly adaquate for ANY welding required of a grassroots hot rod. FWIW, I traded a Stanley wood plane for my current Econotig with a big bottle, cart, and a pile of supplies - and yes, it does do aluminum. I did my Hallock windshield with it.
Hey glad to see ya modernbeat. Thanks. I am just window shopping right now. I need a bunch of stuff to finish off the shop.
Been using a Miller Econotig for 30 years now. Works fine for home builder stuff. I've used it for DC stick, AC aluminum, and tig. Only gripe I've had is that I cant figure out how to adjust the residual gas timing. I've never had to do any really heavy aluminum but I've done a lot of general aluminum repairs. MIG sits in the corner collecting dust. Built several rods and race cars with the Econotig. Phil
Don't buy one earlier than 2004 model .older models have problems with high frequency start transformer and can blow out parts on computer board cost as much as new machine to fix .if you can find parts . I still have a 97 econo tig burnt out board burnt out high frequency transformer ( replaced 3 times ) and a burnt out compasator that nobody makes any more.Miller knew these were junk when new . Any body need parts for one (other what I listed ) be glad it send it to you for shipping cost. Sent from my VS987 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
When I was looking the minimum amp rating was as important as the max. (probably sounds odd) The crap we have to weld is very thin at times. I went with the sincrowave Does a great job. It is big and heavy though
I need to check voltage tomorrow . but shipping may be costly. Sent from my VS987 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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