Welding Tips and Tricks

I'm about to pull the trigger on a tig welder. The plan is to tig a wide range of steel up to 3/16" max and aluminum usually in the 1/8" range.

Not currently being a tig welder I've been reading a lot and watching a lot of videos to get a better understanding of what the various machine features do. As well, price is important as I don't make a living doing this.

That said, I've pretty much settled on an Everlast 250EX ... HOWEVER ... for about the same money I've found a used Lincoln Powertig 225.

Everlast are very good at listing ALL the specs and functionality of their machines. Lincoln, not so much.

So I'm looking for some input here.
What does one have that the other doesn't i.e. does the Lincoln have 2t/4t ?
Which would you go for - used Lincoln or new Everlast?

Space and weight or not an issue so let's leave size out of it.

Thanks,

Welcome!!!!

Do you mean precision tig 225?

Here is a manual from the Lincoln site
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/s ... /im895.pdf

Yes, "precision tig 225"

Looking for some opinions.

If you want opinions...

One thing Lincoln has, that Everlast does not, is a long track record of quality machines.

I'd buy a used Lincoln or Miller in good condition over a new Everlast any day.

MinnesotaDave wrote:If you want opinions...

One thing Lincoln has, that Everlast does not, is a long track record of quality machines.

I'd buy a used Lincoln or Miller in good condition over a new Everlast any day.

I would second that unfortunately a used Lincoln around my area rages from 85% of new to 120% of new.

that being said I am looking long and hard at Everlast TIG machines.

by the time I get "TIG machine spare money" there may be something better out.

let's see, to go with a company that's been a world leader in welding technology for the last 75 years or to go with a company who's main recommendation is a low initial purchase price and dubious customer service? to me that's not a very tough choice but i've always been partial to red.

Used Lincoln: No warranty, unknown condition
New Everlast: Five year warranty

Google the two machines and add the word "review" to the end of the search term.

The PT225 is a transformer machine, generally more durable but uses more juice. Much lower duty cycle as well. The 250EX gives you more amps, more duty cycle, more control of the arc(freq, up/downslope, pulse). Inverters do seem more fragile, but 5yr warranty is quite good. I've been happy with my Everlast stuff. S/F....Ken M

I agree with echosixmike and GWD, for their same reasons. I personally would love to get a new Everlast. But, I have also never had a Lincoln die on me ever. Over 8 years of personal history with Red, from a precision tig 225,squarewave 275 and a power mig 255 and a mig pack 140. I have hit the duty cycle on the PT225, and i love knobs, and i think mine had like 3, a output, stick/tig, and ac/dc+- . the new ones even have pulse control, post flow and AC balance.

The stick feature was virtually useless with 1/8 rods and smoked our ground clamp after the first job.

I am no expert, but I'd take a 5 year warranty anyday, over a used anything.

How much you looking to spend???

Gkent,

I was in your position in 2011, I looked at the material type, material thickness, user controls, and duty cycle up to 3/16 mild steel and aluminum. If the material I am working on is > 3/16 I will MIG it, or for aluminum MIG/Spool Gun.

I looked at price, location of welder (portable vs transportable) and all of the specifications that form my opinion relative to the material. I am very picky about what I purchase as my relationship between me and my tools will be for decades (My Miller AC Thunderbolt is now 30 years old and still working perfect, and I occasionally use it for deep penetration weld requirements.)

With my engineering background I thought long and hard about SCR's vs MosFETs or IGBT's. That said, I narrowed my focus, for my application to one of the following:
* Miller Dynasty 200 DX (Approximately $3,300 to $4,000)
* Miller Synchrowave 210 (Catalog Price $3,197)
* Lincoln Invertec V205-T (Catalog Price $4,409)
* Lincoln Precision TIG 225 (My Purchase Price $2,062)

As you can see the prices of these welders are high, except for the Lincoln PT-225.
When individuals new to welding are ready to buy they typically do not consider the cost of tax, shipping, consumables, non-consumables and the little items that make the TIG experience a pleasant one. With my welder I also ordered a broad array of TIG specific items as metioned previously, so add another $1,200 to the purchase price.

I purchased my welder from IOC (Indiana Oxygen Company), no tax, no shipping and a low price. With my savings on the welder I purchased a 225 Cu.Ft. bottle of Argon locally and a hand held Sharpie Deluxe Tungsten Grinder from Arc-Zone ($279 + extra diamond discs). With a Transformer/SCR machine the user should pay close attention to the included angle when grinding the tungsten. This is critical for shaping the arc cone.

Well, this is what I did, I am very happy with my purchase, it does everything I want it to do (especially on thin material), and then some. Take a good look at this welder before making your purchase, you will be pleasantly supprised.

Wobulate

gkent wrote:I'm about to pull the trigger on a tig welder. The plan is to tig a wide range of steel up to 3/16" max and aluminum usually in the 1/8" range.

Not currently being a tig welder I've been reading a lot and watching a lot of videos to get a better understanding of what the various machine features do. As well, price is important as I don't make a living doing this.

That said, I've pretty much settled on an Everlast 250EX ... HOWEVER ... for about the same money I've found a used Lincoln Powertig 225.

Everlast are very good at listing ALL the specs and functionality of their machines. Lincoln, not so much.

So I'm looking for some input here.
What does one have that the other doesn't i.e. does the Lincoln have 2t/4t ?
Which would you go for - used Lincoln or new Everlast?

Space and weight or not an issue so let's leave size out of it.

Thanks,

The Lincoln Precision 225 tig is excellent machine i have welded 1/4" aluminum, 1/4" mild steel AC and DC the machine does what its says. LOCAL SERVICE and fast, but that being i have never had any problems and i haven't heard of anyone having a problem. lincoln has a long long track record of making excellent machines. good warrenties and they are easy to sell used if you get tired of it and i know you won't, no guess work with the knobs, and straight forward.

I own an Everlast 250EX with the water cooler set-up. This is a serious machine. Take a look at the half inch plate of 6061 I ran at full power just for fun. It ran it without breaking a sweat. The AC frequency adjustment set to 20 hz is amazing on this thick stuff.