Advice Please!

it is single phase input, so it most likely will do AC welding. it probably is NOT a square-wave TIG, however. But, with a pedal control, maybe it could be. I don't see enough knobs, though, so I doubt it. It would have been a big help if you could read the labels on the panel. Shipping/ability to pick up makes a big difference, though. This thing weighs 600-800 Lbs, and is huge! The $799 buy it now is probably reasonable. I paid $1300 plus shipping for a Lincoln Square-Wave TIG 300, a much more capable machine, with the torch, cooler, you name it. Looks like this one has an air-cooled torch.

If you want to do aluminum, you may really want to go for a square-wave, cyber-wave, or whatever, a more advanced machine for AC TIG.

Jon

Hey Joe!?, What do you plan on welding?(Steel, Alum, Stainless) Does it come with a chiller that chills the water for the torch, or does it have gas cooled torch? How thin is the matl that you're going to weld? Gas cooled torches get hot and uncomfortable under high amperage/long bead welding conditions, where as a liquid cooled torch is much more comfortable and the torch/tungsten may have a longer service life. Ask if you can see the machine in action to make sure that it works. Tracy

Uhoh! Have you read the type platen? Over 90 Amps at 230V? No single phase wall plug will withstand this load. Also, this monster seems to be more than 25 years old. Not that it will not survive another 25 years (Linde / Union Carbide), but you will get something a fraction of it's size & weight for double the starting bid. It's also unclear wether it is AC/DC, and what the knobs are for.

Do you need the 300 Amps?

Nick

Thanks for your input Jon, it is very helpful.

Joe...

Well, it is single phase input, so it most likely will do AC welding. it

Tracy,

I currently own a Hobart Hadler 120. I want something that can do aluminum. This is a pure hobby.

I'm not sure what the answers are to your other questions but I will try to find out.

Thanks again for the help.

Nick,

I don't hink I'll need 300 amps. I am a hobbyist. I would like the capability of doing aluminum.

Thanks afor the >

So about 150 Amps are enough (without knowing how thick the pieces are you want to weld). And you need AC.

Nick

I don't know anything about the device being auctioned, but you might want to check *before* the auction closes, to see whether he will

*allow* local pick-up. Some vendors won't.

Good Luck, DoN.

Jeez, $10 off if you wait for the auction to end! If you're ready to do the wiring that will be necessary and have the power available, it might not be a bad deal for a basic TIG welder. The power requirements will be rather more than a typical house wiring can handle unless you have a full electric house and are willing to not use the water heater, stove and room heat when using it.

-- Why isn't there an Ozone Hole at the NORTH Pole?

Hey Joe,

Ernie Leimkuhler is a welding teacher who inhabits this group and sci.engr.joining.welding. I have never gone wrong following his advice. He has recommended the Thermal Arc Pro-Wave 185 TSW TIG/Stick welder many times as being the most feature packed TIG welder in it's class. You say you want to weld aluminum. I don't know how thick the aluminum is that you want to weld, but the Thermal Arc should be capable of handling 1/8th inch thick stuff (1 amp per 1 thousandth thickness is 125 amps for 1/8th) and will run off of a standard 30 amp clothes dryer outlet. No special wiring needed. The Thermal Arc is also small and compact, weighing about 40 pounds, so in a hobby oriented shop it won't take up as much room as that monster on Ebay.

Ernie also recommends Indiana Oxygen Company (IOC) as an online source for these welders. So do I, having dealt with them myself.

They sell online through Ebay. Here's a link to the Thermal Arc Pro-Wave 185 TSW sold by IOC:

It is more expensive than the one you're looking at, but it is brand new (with a warranty) and I think it will be more suited to what you want to do (assuming you want to weld 1/8th inch thick or less aluminum).

This is going to be a good machine, if it works.. I'm pretty sure it'll put out AC, but there's no guarantee of it without asking the seller.

To answer another poster, the input amperage on the tag will be for wide-open output. I have a Linde mig, pretty old, and it's a quality machine, it'd take a lot for me to trade it off.. so I'd guess this is good stuff also.

The price, however, is pretty high. If you hit some factory auctions you'll likely find a comparable machine for half the price. The seller is most likely not a welder and has few clues as to value, he's just fishing.

I'd write, politely express interest and let him know what price you'd feel is fair. If nobody bites on it and the seller is reasonable then maybe you can cut a deal.

John

Artemia,

Thank you for the response. I appreciate you taking the time to post a reply to my inquiry. You gave me food for thought.

Thanks aga>

Ive turned on several people here on similar welders for considerably less money. One gent here got a Linde 250HF for $75 and another got a Miller Dialarc250 HF for $100 bill, with peddle, torch and regulator (no cooler though..shrug)

Thats a nice old welder. If its working, it will do good work for you, and will weld aluminum ok. There are other newer machines with more advanced outputs such as square wave that make aluminum easier to do. I think that that Linde is worth about $350-500 on the street to the informed. Shrug.

Gunner

"Considering the events of recent years, the world has a long way to go to regain its credibility and reputation with the US." unknown

Gunner,

Thanks very much for your help. After receiving similar advice from other members of the NG, I am going to save my money for a newer more advanced machine.

Thanks aga>

My pleasure. If you were in So. Cal, Id be able to find you something rather cheap. But the big old transformer machines are Heavy..and shipping would eat your lunch.

I got my old Lincoln rather cheaply

a little clean up, fixed a broken wire, made a cart And this is where it now lives I tig'd up a buddy's homebrew stainless steel intake manifold yesterday with it.

I think all told, after all the horsetrading and swapping and whatnot...Ive got less than $100 in it. And had fun making putting it all together, and making it work the way I want to.

Now there is an AIRCO 300 amp square wave sitting in a shop in So. Cal..digital readouts and buttons and knobs and thingies that Im working on getting my hands on......

"Considering the events of recent years, the world has a long way to go to regain its credibility and reputation with the US." unknown