I’ve been welding for some time now, I have a Miller mig that works fan-friggin-tastic.
My next toy will be an Aluminum TIG, but I’m lost in that world. I know they require a higher voltage, and I would like something more geared for that application, not an “all in one” mig/tig/multi-metal.
The word synchrowave in the miller series keeps popping up. Does anyone here tig alum? What models have you tried? I havent set a budget yet, but I’m expecting $800+ based on what my Mig cost me.
Bump that price range up. A bottom end TIG will cost you $1k+. Any AC TIG will do aluminum, there is no such thing as an “aluminum TIG”. You also realize you may be able to do aluminum with your MIG too. Aluminum needs alot of amperage, so find out how much service you have in your house/garage/etc and go with the biggest power you can (and within your budget).
I’ve welded aluminum countless times on a Miller EconoTIG, some other kind of much bigger Miller, and on my Miller Syncrowave 180. EconoTIG just doesn’t have enough power for serious work. Old Miller was around 225A, so it had plenty of power. Haven’t done alot with mine, but the Syncrowave technology is nice.
Here’s an idea on price, Miller’s “cheap” AC/DC TIG…
Good TIG machines are expensive, I have a thermal arc that has worked very well. I would say its more reasonable side of TIG machines, but definitely a quality machine. Miller has lots of info on their website, that would be a good place to start.
I’m bumping up the circut in the garage to 240v this week, as I already expected to be running some bigger tools in there by winter. The Mig I have is the millermatic 130. I didn’t think it could do alum very well.
Simply joining two 110V lines to get 240V isn’t always going to work (if this is what your plan was). The voltage will be there, but not amps. My welder for example draws 60 amps and I have it on an 80 amp 240V circuit in my garage.
I wasn’t implying you were trying to half-ass it. You can make a 240v line with two standard 120v 15a circuits coming out of your fuse box. Many people do it this way when they only need a little bit more service.
haha