tig, inverter vs. transformer

I'm shopping for a new tig welder for my home/hobby. I have no tig experience, but would like to learn tig as well as be able to weld aluminum and stainless.

It seems that I've reached an impasse trying to decide between a transformer unit and an inverter unit. The available electric service in my house limits me to 220v single phase approx. 50 amps.

Apart from weight, what advantages do the inverter units have over the transformer units? I need to decide if it justifies the $1000 increase in price.

For transformer units I was looking at the miller syncrowave 200 and lincoln precision tig 225, which are within a few dollars of each other. For inverters I was looking at the miller dynasty 200 and the lincoln invertec v-205t.

Any advice will be appreciated. Mike M.

Reply to
mikemo
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Hey Mike,

Others might correct me, but I don't think you'll be able to TIG aluminum with the Inverter units. They are DC only.

Also, I think the reasons people like inverter units are that they are light weight (i.e. more portable) and more efficient. If someone has to move around a lot, the inverter would save their back. For a big corporation, an inverter uses hardly any electricity when no one has an arc lit. I think the transformer units have a lot more electrical waste whenever they are turned on and just sitting there.

For your hobby usage, there probably would not be any benefit to spending the extra on an inverter.

Now, some> I'm shopping for a new tig welder for my home/hobby. I have no tig

Reply to
jp2express

I have an Invertec 205. It seems to have it all: AC, pulse, variable frequency, variable percentage positive/negative. Nice box.

Reply to
RogerW

I was faced with the EXACT same choice as you a year ago

If you will be doing any mobile welding the Dynasty is your best choice the synchrowave is NON portable

otherwise if you have a dedicated work area with room for the synchrowave then i can guarantee you both machines will make better welds than a hobby user can so it leave the USER as the limiting factor.

If youre welding mainly aluminum you will be able to dial the dynasty in to far closer to ideal welds once you figure it out but that will likely be a long ime after you get to welding aluminum

IN my case i weld some aluminum and lots of stainless in a dedicated area

So the strength of the AC features was not nearly as important as the Presence of Squarewave AC so the extra $1500 to 2000 for the machine and accessories (torch pedal clamp, stinger regulator) for the dynasty was not worth it

I went with a sync 200 and have loved working with it since

Remember that the price of a dynasty is JUST for the machine but the price for the sychrowave is for a pedal ($200) a weldcraft WP17 torch ($125) an argon regulator ($125) and a ground clamp and stinger ($50)

so if you re buying a full welding rig the dynasty needs another $500 of parts on top of the machine price before its usable

2 last things i guarantee my advice is worth what you paid for it ($0) and all prices including the value of my advice was in canadian dollars

Brent Ottawa Caada

Reply to
Brent

I bought the Miller Dynasty 200DX with the contractors kit and have never regretted it. Its a great machine and very easy for the novice welder to use. I am quite confident when they throw dirt on my face I will still be glad I purchased it.

Reply to
bitternut

Well I just saw that Miller Dynasty 200 avaialable with AC or DC and im in love. But at $3500 and already having a Lincon Square Wave 175, I might as well be in love with Christy Brinkly. AC was not available in an Inverter until recently.

Reply to
Anonymous

In my case the 2000 for the Synchrowave Tigrunner (Contactors and torch and all) versus the 3500 got the Dynasty with the contactors and torch was too big of a gulf when mobility was not a critical concern

Reply to
Brent

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