Inverted25
Well-Known Member
I am in need of a welder for my shop at home. I was thinking of getting a miller diversion 180 but not sure I want to spend that much. Any other suggestions?
Best TIG welder
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buzzin77
Well-Known Member
Hey there,
I'm a certified TIG welder (aluminum). If you want to spend less than what the diversion costs, find a used Econotig. That is the model that the Diversion replaced. If you want to know what the best TIG welder is, in my opinion it's the Miller Aerowave. The Dynasty replaced the Aerowave (which I think was made specifically for Boeing), which cost something on the order of $15,000. I used it exclusively at school and it is infinitely adjustable.
One of the welding and fab instructors used an Econotig and welded everything with it. He could weld a snowball to a screen door. You can make good welds with it, but it doesn't have settings except for "hi" and "lo." The amperage adjustment doesn't really do anything, but that's what you get with 110 power. Sometimes you can find good deals on Syncrowaves, too, but those are 220 (and I think pretty much always single phase--I did know someone who had a 440 3-phase econotig but that is pretty odd).
millerwelds.com has really good info. I really don't know too much about Lincoln, but I have used a Precision Tig (that was 60 Hz only) and it welded good too. If you have the money, the Dynasty 200 will do anything. As a matter of fact, my school just switched a couple of the aerowaves for Dynastys. I have used the Dynasty 350 and it is much smaller, more portable (the Aerowave was like 300 lbs), and welds just as good. Because it is smaller, it has an electronic display instead of lots of knobs. I prefer the knobs so you can see at a glance what the settings are without pressing buttons to bring up different displays. Today I welded with a Syncrowave and that's pretty much standard in most shops. If you are just welding thin stuff, the Econotig will probably be just fine. Like I mentioned earlier, one of the instructors used it as his side-business welder and he welded up to 1/4" aluminum with it, but he is "special"
Another option is to take a community college class that let's you use the welders whenever you want, like at my school. So for $400 a class you could weld your heart out 7 days a week, 15 hours a day. If you have any questions just ask, I know some people who know a LOT about welding. If there's a community college near you you should ask the guys and gals there about what they like to use and who knows, maybe you'll find someone with an old econotig.
I'm a certified TIG welder (aluminum). If you want to spend less than what the diversion costs, find a used Econotig. That is the model that the Diversion replaced. If you want to know what the best TIG welder is, in my opinion it's the Miller Aerowave. The Dynasty replaced the Aerowave (which I think was made specifically for Boeing), which cost something on the order of $15,000. I used it exclusively at school and it is infinitely adjustable.
One of the welding and fab instructors used an Econotig and welded everything with it. He could weld a snowball to a screen door. You can make good welds with it, but it doesn't have settings except for "hi" and "lo." The amperage adjustment doesn't really do anything, but that's what you get with 110 power. Sometimes you can find good deals on Syncrowaves, too, but those are 220 (and I think pretty much always single phase--I did know someone who had a 440 3-phase econotig but that is pretty odd).
millerwelds.com has really good info. I really don't know too much about Lincoln, but I have used a Precision Tig (that was 60 Hz only) and it welded good too. If you have the money, the Dynasty 200 will do anything. As a matter of fact, my school just switched a couple of the aerowaves for Dynastys. I have used the Dynasty 350 and it is much smaller, more portable (the Aerowave was like 300 lbs), and welds just as good. Because it is smaller, it has an electronic display instead of lots of knobs. I prefer the knobs so you can see at a glance what the settings are without pressing buttons to bring up different displays. Today I welded with a Syncrowave and that's pretty much standard in most shops. If you are just welding thin stuff, the Econotig will probably be just fine. Like I mentioned earlier, one of the instructors used it as his side-business welder and he welded up to 1/4" aluminum with it, but he is "special"
Another option is to take a community college class that let's you use the welders whenever you want, like at my school. So for $400 a class you could weld your heart out 7 days a week, 15 hours a day. If you have any questions just ask, I know some people who know a LOT about welding. If there's a community college near you you should ask the guys and gals there about what they like to use and who knows, maybe you'll find someone with an old econotig.