uying a thermal arc welder?

I'm looking to get rid of my older 110 lincoln mig and had thought about going to straight tig, and then i came upon this:

https://www.weldersupply.com/productdetails.asp?cat=Welding+Machines&ID=9&pID=538

Its a thermal Arc 181i, from what I can find online it has good reviews. Wondering if anyone on here has one.

I like the idea of haveing tig and mig still, the stick im not to concerned with i still have my tombstone lincoln buzz box for that.

 

Most TIG/ STICK welders I have seen will not weld aluminum. Some Mig welders can be set up with a spool gun for aluminum(mig)
If this one will TIG weld aluminum it might be a good deal.

Nick

 

I just looked at the Thermal Arc 181i video. No TIG aluminum welding.
You can spool gun it for aluminum MIG.

Nick

 

Josh Shaw uses one.

 

i dont see much aluminum welding, and down the road i could get a spool gun for it. I'm just wondering if its a good all around welder, i know it wont be perfect at everything.

 

I was looking into buying this welder also. Does anyone have any new reviews or comments?

 

My welding teacher says this welder is awesome. He is a veteran tig welder and is buying this to replace his older tig set up since he is retiring. He got a demo from the thermadyne people and said he couldn't believe what it would do for the price. I want to get one. I am using an older thermal arc stick/tig welder right now and really like it. I think it's an arcmaster 185.

I am going to try out a thermal arc 95s later this week, that they just bought. Kinda light duty machine though.

 

Trying to get a car to be a good at off road and street handling will be a compromise in both areas. Get a GOOD tig machine, one that can do atleast 1/4" aluminum as sooner or later you will need to weld some, and a seperate mig welder, they can be had used or new for not too much $$$...jmo.

 

I have a Thermal Arc 240v 200 amp Fabricator MIG - it's a good quality machine and way better than most. I still wish I'd splashed out another 200 quid and bought a Kemppi MinarcMig 200 instead.

 

The only way you are ever going to find out if it is a good fit for YOU, is to go buy it and use it a while. It looks to be a versitile machine, but "changing the set up" may prove to to be a pain. It will be a big step up from what you have now.
The only down side I see is the Thermal Arc machines don't sell as easy as a Miller or Lincoln on the used market if you don't like it after you have used it a while.
The lack of aluminum capability would not bother me, as the only aluminum I've needed welded in the last two years was done by some one else for a total cost of $20.
Don't sell the little Lincoln yet. It may be handy to have for tacking a project before you TIG it or useing where only 110v power is available.

 

I finally had enough today of my old p.o.s. welder, and bought this machine today! I will let everyone know how i like it when i get it!