A local has an older Miller Tig for sale and I've been thinking about going and looking at it. I have never tig welded before, but know the concept and am confident I can do it with some practice. I want to be able to weld Aluminum and Steel up to .25" thickness. Anyone with experience on this welder or info? Heres the unit in question.
I have a Dialarc HF ( high frequency) of that vintage. It is pretty much the only thing I use. Is the HR an ac/dc machine?
I have a Dialarc 250 ac-dc but not hf, .25 shouldn't be a problem with that machine . Dialarcs are almost bulletproof but sure to test it before buying!What kind of price are they asking? Here is used one I found online that I would buy if I wasn't deadass broke. http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=32010
I have a Dial Arc HF also, pretty much bullet proof. They will easly handle .250 alum. You will need a water cooled torch and cooler though if you do much of that kind of welding. Pull off the tin and blow it out good, clean it up and polish and gap the contacts and your good for a long time!
I have a Dialarc 250 ac/dc hf with water cooled 300amp torch. It will weld 1/4" aluminum with no sweat. This machine actually puts out about 310amp max. I have very easily tig welded 3/8"-1/2" aluminum and have welded .060 aluminum on the low end. Just an example, I tig welded the mounting ears back on a Muncie 4 speed trans case with my Dialarc. Overall it is a very rock solid machine. Parts are still availble and it is a very smooth stick welder. This used to be the standard welder years ago before inverter machines came out. It does require a 60 amp 220 volt curcuit to run this machine.
I also have the same machine with a miller water cooler. It will burn anything you want to in a garage setting. Be sure to clean the cabinet well, set the HF points (credit card worked good for me), and check that the contactor is operating correctly.
I also have a dial arc 250 hf, and along with the rest of these guys , it is pretty much bulletproofg and will handle anything you most likely will do, like they said ck the points for the hf . They are reasonable to repair if ever needed. If you can get it for 500-600 it would be a good buy
You can go to Miller Electric on the WEB, find the literature button and click on it then select manuals for the 250. The down load is free and it has the schmatics and parts list. The Tungston Electrodes are the only consumable item, and there are 2, about $7 each if you need new ones. Good old transformer technolgy here , no semiconductors to fry. They last forever. Very heavy though.
As has said before. These machines are great. They really do define the saying that "They just don't make em like that anymore!" Prices are right, and frankly, once you've got an arc going the new gadgets welders have don't make much a difference if you know what you're doing. Buy it!
I did this for my miller enco 150 tig and I was off and running. If you can gas weld then you can tig it just takes some practice which where I am at now. I have photo's of Brain Bass stuff in the shop for goal setting or run over to Elpalacko shop as well.
Yup ,got one and I have been welding with it for years and has never let me down ! .... I have all the new fancy millers but still use old faithful lots more then the others , Steve
I have a Dialarc HF which i bought about 10 years ago with a full tall bottle, flowmeter and cart for $800. It was so heavy i had to get a tow truck to lift it out of my pickup....Great machine
The price is less than that. I believe the machine is AC/'DC but I have not went to look at it to confirm. Going to pick this beauty up this week and will report back my findings.
*** I know this is an old thread.. during my research i came across this thread. instead of starting a new one thought I would ask here.***** I have cash to purchase a tig welder was thinking of buying a used syncrowave 250DX for around $2500 but I am a novice welder have been taking a class at community college and want to get one for the house.. I found a dialarc for $400.. should I save my cash and get this welder or spend the money. I want to weld 1/4 inch material motor mounts, trans mount that sort of thing as well as some body panels.. if I buy the cheaper welder i can get a mig as well.. thanks for the input.. john
John - I have a Dialarc 250 HF that I bought in 1986 and I still use it today. It will have NO problem welding 1/4" steel or dialing down for sheet metal. Is it as good as the new Syncrowave I use at work? NO but it is still a very good machine that has served me very well. I can lay down some beatutiful welds with it. If it works correctly and is water cooled, for four hundred bones I'd be all over it.
when you say not as good what is the main difference once the arc is struck and you are actually under the hood. thanks for you help john
also may be a dumb question .. but do the older machines use more electricity than newer machines to achieve the same arc.. if my electric bill goes up by double what a newer model would maybe a newer model may pay for its self in the end.. if there is little difference than money saved is money saved thanks again
The biggest difference is the syncrowave puts out a different arc wave that requires less pedal modulation, especially with aluminum. the Pulser controls the heat a little better as well, it just makes things a little easier There are some minor other differences in the way the arc starts and ends, post flow control etc. but none I would consider important for the average non professional welder.
They say the new Inverter technology ones take a lot less power, but I think that is only in the Dynasty series
I bought my dialarc in 1974 & weld with it most days. Water cooled tourch & cooler is needed if you plan on welding heavy alum or steel. Yes these machines use more electricity than the new inverter machines & dont have the various ac wave features but for all round TIG welding they are hard to beat & a dial-arc in good shape is worth almost as much as they cost new.
I just won a miller dialarc H/F with torch and foot controll and all for $587 on Evilbay... I cant wait to get it in the garage and lay some beads... thanks for all who commented and replied to my PM's it helped alot.. john
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