Lincoln or Miller TIG welder?

Question

I checked a couple of local stores and I came up with this...

A Lincoln Square Wave TIG 175 Pro 220v for $1,568 with everything (except the gas)

Miller EconoTIG with everything but the gas for $1,522

It won't be for a while till I purchase one, but I'm getting comments/suggestions now.

What I want it for is basically home use...and one that will have enough amps for aluminum (both of these can handle alum.).

What do you guys think of these prices? I'd rather go local than online for the warranty, etc. It's a hassle sending out a 100+ pound item for warranty repairs (if needed).

Any feedback will be taken =]

Thanks! Ryan

Ernie Leimkuhler · Accepted Answer

The lincoln is the better of those 2.The more comparable machine to the Lincoln is the Miller Syncrowave180SD.The Syncro 180 and the Lincoln 175 are both excellent machines.

Jeffrey M. Borning · Answer

So which is the "better" of the two, The Lincoln Square Wave 175 or the Miller Syncrowave 180SD?

The comparison chart from Licoln make it look like theirs is much better (of course), especially because of the autobalance feature. I wish Miller would have a chart publishing their viewpoint.

Jeff Borning

Ernie Leimkuhler · Answer

The Miller is a little better.It has a slightly greater range and a slightly higher duty cycle, and adigital readout of your amps.It also costs about $100 more on average.We just got 2 of the Lincoln 175's at school and they are nice simplemachines.I like Blue, my boss at school likes Red.We have many Blue machines so we got 2 new Red ones to make him happy.

dave seman · Answer

Well Jeff, ya know they do:

Jeffrey M. Borning · Answer

Thanks for the link. The last time I looked,  the Synchrowave still had thefixed balance control. Now they have made it adjustable. This tips thebalance in favor of Miller.Jeff Borning

Kruppt · Answer

Yeah I think so, after comparing specs, if I had to choose between the two, I think I'd buy the 180 SD, looks to come with a few more features than the Lincoln. I have not owned or used either machine though.

Kruppt

dave seman · Answer

You guys may want to ramble over tohttp: andsee all of the guys who are asking for partsand info. on old hobarts and millers. Judgingfrom the response they get, miller/hobart seemto be able to satisfy the old parts requests just fine.-dsemannews:...

Ryan · Answer

i don't see on the comparison anything about the high current start? do either of these have that?

i'm not sure if that's what it's called, but it makes it so you can jump the gap and create an arc without touching the piece you're working on. I find that crucial to me beings i'm a newbie.

Thanks!

Kruppt · Answer

(Ryan) wrote innews:     HF Control is on both machines (High Frequency)The SD 180 appears to be the only one that has the Adaptive Hot Start for Stick Arc Starts featureon the two camparison machines though.The feature your describing is the HF Control.HF Control  	Set by Process  	Set by Process  	Set by ProcessAdaptive Hot Start? for Stick Arc Starts 	YES 	NO 	NOKruppt

Ryan · Answer

SWEET.Thanks for pointing that out, Kruppt!-Ryan

Lincoln or Miller TIG welder?

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