Welding Tips and Tricks

I am looking for a tig rig to teach myself to tig. Looking at a dynasty 200dx water cooled. I am in need of some honest answers from members who have one. So here goes
I will only ever tig 1/4" aluminum and 3/16 to 1/4 steel/stainless max, will the 200dx handle that ok? Anything over that I will might or stick.
I have heard others say that the 200dx won't handle 1/4 so I need some honest opinions. I know the 200dx is expensive but I thought while I was buying might as well get something that I can learn on and then keep using instead of replacing a cheap unit later.

I've used a much cheaper cig tig machine and I was able to do 1/4 using 170 amps
U could do thicker but helium would help heaps there.

What input power? That will have some effect. I'm not skilled enough to fully assess the capability, but I think 1/4" aluminum is always at the max, it doesn't leave you with any headroom if you need more heat. I would think the Dynasty 280DX might be a better fit.

My theory of life is to buy one nice machine that lasts a lifetime. Buying an entry level machine, then upgrading a couple of times is more expensive. For capacity, duty cycle, and features I went with the 280DX. I won't sell it, but my wife will get more from it when it is sold.
I didn't take my own advice. I was able to weld 1/4" with a Diversion 180. A year later, it is developing cracks at the center of the weld. Aluminum needs lots of heat, the reason for this is rapid conduction of heat. A weld produced quickly requires less heat overall. Heat affected aluminum looses tensile strength. Ideally, weld quickly, build up the filler metal to compensate for weaker heated metal. Moving quickly limits the width of heat affected zone.

Consider this.

Cyberweld price for the 200DX water cooled package with standard foot pedal - $4995

vs

Dynasty 280DX from IOC - $4427
SSC Control foot pedal - $178
Arctic Chill cooler from USA Weld - $439
CK 20 series torch 25' from USA Weld - $160
Regulator/Flowmeter from USA Weld - $35
Total - $5239

You still need a cart, some coolant, a gas hose from the flowmeter to the machine, and a ground clamp and lead, but you are getting the 280DX, a better cooler, a really nice pedal, and a top notch torch for probably $300-$350 more than the water cooled 200DX package from Miller. I don't think their complete kits are a good value.

To answer your question about 1/4" aluminum, it depends on how big the part is. If it's small and gets saturated with heat, you will probably be ok. I used a friend's 200DX (running on 230V) to weld some 0.200" wall tubing and I had it at 200 amps and pedal floored to get a puddle going. Once the bead was established and I was moving, I could back off the pedal. A little preheat would have been smart, but I didn't have a torch handy. There were a lot of stops and starts, but I still tried to follow the 20% duty cycle of the machine. The 280DX can do that continuous all day long.

like most everything important(weld amps)
Money, T*ts,horse power
some is good ,more is better,and too much is just about right

zank wrote:Consider this.

Cyberweld price for the 200DX water cooled package with standard foot pedal - $4995

vs

Dynasty 280DX from IOC - $4427
SSC Control foot pedal - $178
Arctic Chill cooler from USA Weld - $439
CK 20 series torch 25' from USA Weld - $160
Regulator/Flowmeter from USA Weld - $35
Total - $5239

You still need a cart, some coolant, a gas hose from the flowmeter to the machine, and a ground clamp and lead, but you are getting the 280DX, a better cooler, a really nice pedal, and a top notch torch for probably $300-$350 more than the water cooled 200DX package from Miller. I don't think their complete kits are a good value.

To answer your question about 1/4" aluminum, it depends on how big the part is. If it's small and gets saturated with heat, you will probably be ok. I used a friend's 200DX (running on 230V) to weld some 0.200" wall tubing and I had it at 200 amps and pedal floored to get a puddle going. Once the bead was established and I was moving, I could back off the pedal. A little preheat would have been smart, but I didn't have a torch handy. There were a lot of stops and starts, but I still tried to follow the 20% duty cycle of the machine. The 280DX can do that continuous all day long.

I agree except the 20 series torch. If you trust the specs of the weldcraft 280 torch, it is barely equal to the capacity of the welder. It was developed because the 20 series didn't measure up to the 280 DX welder. I don't think the welder includes the CPU. I don't see that as a bad thing. Flip two switches instead of one. Don't ever forget to turn on the cooler, it'll cost you a new torch cable!

Thanks guys.my plan was to buy a good machine for what I would be doing so I won't have to buy another one later. All the info is very much appreciated and please keep it coming. I did not know about ioc, I thought cyberweld was the cheapest so far. I will give them a look.

Bill Beauregard wrote:

zank wrote:Consider this.

Cyberweld price for the 200DX water cooled package with standard foot pedal - $4995

vs

Dynasty 280DX from IOC - $4427
SSC Control foot pedal - $178
Arctic Chill cooler from USA Weld - $439
CK 20 series torch 25' from USA Weld - $160
Regulator/Flowmeter from USA Weld - $35
Total - $5239

You still need a cart, some coolant, a gas hose from the flowmeter to the machine, and a ground clamp and lead, but you are getting the 280DX, a better cooler, a really nice pedal, and a top notch torch for probably $300-$350 more than the water cooled 200DX package from Miller. I don't think their complete kits are a good value.

To answer your question about 1/4" aluminum, it depends on how big the part is. If it's small and gets saturated with heat, you will probably be ok. I used a friend's 200DX (running on 230V) to weld some 0.200" wall tubing and I had it at 200 amps and pedal floored to get a puddle going. Once the bead was established and I was moving, I could back off the pedal. A little preheat would have been smart, but I didn't have a torch handy. There were a lot of stops and starts, but I still tried to follow the 20% duty cycle of the machine. The 280DX can do that continuous all day long.

I agree except the 20 series torch. If you trust the specs of the weldcraft 280 torch, it is barely equal to the capacity of the welder. It was developed because the 20 series didn't measure up to the 280 DX welder. I don't think the welder includes the CPU. I don't see that as a bad thing. Flip two switches instead of one. Don't ever forget to turn on the cooler, it'll cost you a new torch cable!

The CK 20 is 100% duty cycle at 250 amps, which is higher duty than the 280 DX.

I was just going to say my water cooled 20 series torch is 100% at 250. Plus its small and I appreciate it a lot more after welding with 17's for 12 weeks at the school.