I bought a Diversion 180 last week and got to do some welding with it Saturday. It's a 50lb inverter that runs on 120 or 240, output on 120V 10-125A, on
240, 10-180A. Has AC and DC, AC is auto balanced. Has a digital display of Amp setting and also shows some fault messages. Has controls on torch and comes with a foot pedal. One of the local welding suppliers had it available for $1554.80 This is a complete outfit ready to connect argon, plug in, and weld. To operate you turn the power switch on, set the amps, set AC or DC, and weld.I bought some aluminum from the hardware store to attempt to teach myself to weld aluminum with it. I have done a little with my old Miller 330A/BP but never practiced very much. After a few hours practicing I welded some 1/16" angle and 1/8" flat aluminum. It seems to weld fine to the best of my limited knowledge.
I also bought some steel and some steel rods to play with. It's pretty neat to fuse stuff together using very little filler and having welds that are near flat. I also tried to run some beads on 22Ga sheet, this worked but was easy to get the puddle too big an burn through, I'm sure it would have helped if I turned to the correct amperage for the thin stuff but I left it where I had it for the thicker pieces. I've never tried TIG on steel before nor on DC, very silent smooth arc.
So far all my welding has been done powered by 120V and I haven't kicked out a breaker yet. It doesn't have many adjustments but so far it has all I need. Pre-flow is fixed the best I can tell and Post flow is automatic depending on
I'm still watching for a good buy on a Syncrowave 250 but this little inverter welder certainly has a place in the kind of jobs I'm using it for. I still have the big old Miller TIG, a Mig, and a stick welder for stuff too heavy for this little inverter.
I have a question, this is rated for 3/16" aluminum, is that single pass? Can it weld thicker aluminum with multiple passes?
RogerN