Welding Tips and Tricks

hello, i am currently a welding student currently on overhead stick welding. and i would like to learn how to tig weld on my own with something a little better than entry level. (1000-2000$ range) (maybe 2500 if theres considerable difference)<keep in mind CAD, not USD . for reference, at our school we do the processes in this order: Stick, flux, mig, tig. and pipe welding is a different course altogether since i live in quebec, our welding course is only 16 months, and is over 75% of the time in the shop.

i would be interested in purchasing a welder mid summer or so for TIG that can also do stick pretty well, but i am not sure what to purchase, i do not own a garage but i own a tempo (its something right), will that help prevent the shielding gas from blowing away right after its output if i weld under the tempo? (i know its made of plastic, but i was thinking that since tig doesnt make alot of spatter, there wouldnt be much of an issue there)?

so i was wondering what semi portable (dont mind if it weighs a good bit) welder would you recommend as i would have to carry it in and out of the house on the daily, also, since argon isnt combustible, i assume that there wouldnt be any issues keeping the small-medium size bottle of it in a shed overnight right? i was looking at the Everlast PowerTig 250EX seemed very interesting as they where many settings that came with it so there would be more to learn and more it could be applied to

(best case is to learn how to tig weld before we learn it in school so i already have experience, because after i think i would like to go into making motorcycle frames and from my research, its all perfect stack of dimes tig welding which i can only assume requires alot of practice)

i know i asked alot of question but thank you for taking your time, and any help, advice or additional information would be helpful and i would love a suggestion on what welder you would recommend!

Have a wonderful day!

regards
Noah/Least Honorable

Welcome to the forum! The 250ex is a work horse of the Everlast line, and would serve you well. Everlast Canada is in Ontario, run by a guy called Duncan, who also oversees Everlast factory production in China. I've heard a number of users report a good buying experience through the Ontario store.

Some other items from your post: If you will be welding outside you'd do well to set up cardboard wind barriers so you could weld seated at a table, for instance. Welding under a car would not block wind and would likely cause you to learn bad habits, or at least make operating the foot pedal difficult!

No worries to store argon in a shed. As you said it's not flammable, but it's heavier than air and may present a suffocation risk if the cylinder was to leak. I've stored argon in my garage (attached to the house) for years with no problems.

Good luck with it, have fun!

thank you very much dave for your information, i was looking into some welding curtains to stop the wind and also to stop my neighbors to accidentally look over and getting flashed or something along those lines

I've demoed the 250ex, The extra 50amps are worthwhile over most in this price range that are at 200amps. Feature wise it has everything you would need. Next step up would be something like the HTP221 then step to a Dynasty..

soutthpaw wrote:I've demoed the 250ex, The extra 50amps are worthwhile over most in this price range that are at 200amps. Feature wise it has everything you would need. Next step up would be something like the HTP221 then step to a Dynasty..

"1 and 3 phase operation 240V (minimum voltage 208 V)" does this mean it does Phase 1 or 3? because i wont be able to obtain a phase 3 plug, but the phase 1 is standard dryer plug (right?), so if you can pick, or it comes w/ both, that is awesome, but if its phase 3 thats a problem, sorry for the confusion that might be obvious, but my english reading skill still needs some work =/

thanks, regards

noah

Single phase 220 has 2 hot legs each has power all the time. 3 phase has 3 hot legs all three have power all the time. There is a lot more to the diferances between the two than just that but for now you just need to know there's more to 3 phase power than just the plug.

Least honorable wrote:

soutthpaw wrote:I've demoed the 250ex, The extra 50amps are worthwhile over most in this price range that are at 200amps. Feature wise it has everything you would need. Next step up would be something like the HTP221 then step to a Dynasty..

"1 and 3 phase operation 240V (minimum voltage 208 V)" does this mean it does Phase 1 or 3? because i wont be able to obtain a phase 3 plug, but the phase 1 is standard dryer plug (right?), so if you can pick, or it comes w/ both, that is awesome, but if its phase 3 thats a problem, sorry for the confusion that might be obvious, but my english reading skill still needs some work =/

thanks, regards

noah

The 250 comes with bare wires, just add the plug you need. Single phase, connect the black and white to hot legs and the green to neutral...

Sent from mobile. Not responsible for Typos

soutthpaw wrote:

Least honorable wrote:

soutthpaw wrote:I've demoed the 250ex, The extra 50amps are worthwhile over most in this price range that are at 200amps. Feature wise it has everything you would need. Next step up would be something like the HTP221 then step to a Dynasty..

"1 and 3 phase operation 240V (minimum voltage 208 V)" does this mean it does Phase 1 or 3? because i wont be able to obtain a phase 3 plug, but the phase 1 is standard dryer plug (right?), so if you can pick, or it comes w/ both, that is awesome, but if its phase 3 thats a problem, sorry for the confusion that might be obvious, but my english reading skill still needs some work =/

thanks, regards

noah

The 250 comes with bare wires, just add the plug you need. Single phase, connect the black and white to hot legs and the green to neutral...

Sent from mobile. Not responsible for Typos

so it doesnt come with its own plug? so do i just get like, a nema 240 volt phase 1 from a hardware store, and fit it on the wires and good to go? or is there more to it? and does it matter what "kind of plug" i pick? im not to familiar with this stuff

and following that, do i gotta do anything to the machine to "Set it on phase 1" or just follow what you said to plug it into and then thats set and done?

thanks again

noah

Least honorable wrote:

soutthpaw wrote:

Least honorable wrote:
"1 and 3 phase operation 240V (minimum voltage 208 V)" does this mean it does Phase 1 or 3? because i wont be able to obtain a phase 3 plug, but the phase 1 is standard dryer plug (right?), so if you can pick, or it comes w/ both, that is awesome, but if its phase 3 thats a problem, sorry for the confusion that might be obvious, but my english reading skill still needs some work =/

thanks, regards

noah

The 250 comes with bare wires, just add the plug you need. Single phase, connect the black and white to hot legs and the green to neutral...

Sent from mobile. Not responsible for Typos

so it doesnt come with its own plug? so do i just get like, a nema 240 volt phase 1 from a hardware store, and fit it on the wires and good to go? or is there more to it? and does it matter what "kind of plug" i pick? im not to familiar with this stuff

and following that, do i gotta do anything to the machine to "Set it on phase 1" or just follow what you said to plug it into and then thats set and done?

thanks again

noah

Correct, just get the plug that matches your receptacle. NEMA 6-50 is the most common "welder plug" but most of my stuff is 10-50

As long as the machine can handle the power what plug you use is up to you. I have about 7 different style of plugs on my truck I just put on the one that matches what ever the customer has. I've even had electricians hardwire me right into the panel with no plug just a breaker.