kanerdog1x1 Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Hey all. A friend of mine is looking to buy a tig welding setup, for ac as well as dc use, probably 95%ac. We have been to look at what r-tech have to offer today, and to be honest we were pretty disappointed. We tried two sets, one was a analogue set which design wise was about a decade old, and while it was 'ok', it wasn't really good enough for producing products to sell. The other unit was a newer digital design, that was nice from a setup point of view as you could see numerically the settings hat were being used, but wasn't very nice to actually weld with. Both units didn't have the ability to come right down to maybe 5 amps when you finish a run, so you always had a crater crack on the last bead. Has anyone had experience with other sets, especially new sets, as I only have experience with 1970's technology? Price wise he is looking at spending up to about £2500, all in including a water cooled torch and cooler, and optimator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garage19 Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 What's an optimator? I have a 250 amp analogue ACDC rtech. It welds ok for me and most of my work is AC. Really could do with a digital memory. One day I will upgrade to a 350 amp miller dynasty but then they are £8k. For the money the rtech with two year warranty is not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porter_jamie Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 What do millers start at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanerdog1x1 Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Miller dynasty 200 is 3k+vat, tho we have been offered one for 2.5k+vat, tho I suspect if he rocked up with a fistful of cash the vat would be ignored. That combined ith a torch, cooler, optimator takes it bak up to 3k. And although the r-tech on paper is a good deal for a machine with all the required settings, it is shit. The hf start is unpredictable, the arc is a bit unstable and the inability to come off the power properly would be a real problem. If you are making things that need to hold pressure, ie a radiator or a fuel tank, you are asking for a leak. The analogue was the nicer of the two to actually weld with, but the dials were a pain in the ass. Imagine if someone knocks a dial, or dusts the front, your settings are gone. And it was really finicky to get even somewhere near. Oh, an optimator. http://www.weldmet.co.uk/shop/productinfo/0797/hwindex.htm?lc=en&cc=global no contest really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmfab01 Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 I am currently looking at getting a used (around 300amp) machine myself, but if I was in the market for a new machine I’d check out a local company called Technical Arc www.technicalarc.co.uk who build (yes there are still a few things made up here) Migs, Tigs & plasma cutters, not only that they do repair's & sell used machines too & just recently have bought the Oxford name www.oxfordwelders.co.uk & are selling a more budget range under that brand name I can recommend their Mig welders as I have had a 400 amp one for around 10 years & it has run faultlessly & there are lots of them in this area & a mate of mine has a single phase Tig of theirs & uses it most of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanerdog1x1 Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 That's a good recommendation. One thing I have learned today is that a test drive is essential. On paper that rtech was perfect. York is a very long way away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmfab01 Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Sorry I can't be more help on the Tig side, but my Mig of their's is as good/better than my other mig which is a murex transmig 353. You can try ringing them to see if they have a dealer in your area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanerdog1x1 Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 I can't Mig for toffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Gringo Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 I can't Mig for toffee. I can MIG and make it look like Toffee.......properly chewed up toffee Interesting notes on the Rtech, i always thought these were the kiddy as far as the lower end of the spectrum went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmfab01 Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 It isn't to hard to pick up, if you've started on stick welding like I did then Mig is much easyer, but I'm interested to see how long it takes to get going with Tig - I have done some brazing in the past so I have done the two hands doing different things - Thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romski Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 Don't get a fronius magicwave as they not very good! We have just bought a small Lincoln unit, no chiller but it has built in pulse, the torch is water cooled and has a gas swirl on the tungsten. We paid 1225 + vat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 17, 2013 Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 I'm using a Lincoln V205-T AC/DC. Brand new it was 2.5k a good few years ago. I quite like it but I've very little experience with anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanerdog1x1 Posted April 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2013 How many of you use a pedal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garage19 Posted April 18, 2013 Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 Can't weld without one. I honestly can see how you could weld ally without a pedal. The range of amps you need to make a single weld is so great you need a foot pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romski Posted April 18, 2013 Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 We use both, but we weld very little ally, we weld a lot of st/st at very amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigkev Posted April 18, 2013 Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 Can't weld without one. I honestly can see how you could weld ally without a pedal. The range of amps you need to make a single weld is so great you need a foot pedal. I don't have a pedal but that's mainly because most of my welding is on site(I'm using an inverter portable) and I have to get into some tight spots. I can do a fair job of controlling the amps by setting the slope down to around 5 seconds and then just pressing and releasing the trigger, similar to manual pulsing I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romski Posted April 18, 2013 Report Share Posted April 18, 2013 try TPS weldtech in alton, see what thay have on special offer. TPS WeldTech Ltd. Unit 1 Omni Business Centre Omega Park Alton Hampshire GU34 2QD Office Tel: 01420 546855 Office Fax: 01420 546856 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 I don't use a pedal but that's just because I haven't bought one yet. It's a pain in the to keep stopping to adjust as the job gets hotter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romski Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 just spoke to the chap from TPS, they do a 200 amp ac/dc single phase unit with built in cooler/chiller, watercooled torch for £1800 +vat. the make is GYS. not used one but they are very helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanerdog1x1 Posted April 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 cheers guys. we had a go on a gys back in january, and while it was ok, it still wasnt very nice. i think my man just has to spend a bit more money. incidentally, we tried a miller dynasty 200dx this afternoon, very impressive. it hasnt got the ooomph that we are used to, but it gives a lovely stable arc. literally switched it on, popped a sharp ungsten in, dialled in the base settings and it was perfect. whereas on the cheaper ones you turn the dials trying to get the settings somewhere near, it is quite the opposite on the miller. try as we might, without dialling in silly numbers it still gave a perfectly good weld. it just goes to prove that what the chap said on wednesday was a complete lie. he reckoned it was 70% user, 30%machine. i think it is 100% user choosing the right machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
div Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overload Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Kanerdog1x1 I'm confused? What does your mate want.....Single or Three phase? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanerdog1x1 Posted April 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Single phase. Apparently the miller is quite happy running on whatever power is available, single or three phase, 110-415 volts. It's got one hell of a power cable on it, and I doubt it would be happy on an extension reel from asda, but it should work ok plugged in next to the cooker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overload Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 It's not a Miller, but the Lincoln Invertec V205-TP which is similar to the dynasty 200dx. Bonus is it comes with a water cooled package and cheaper overall. See the link. http://www.rapidwelding.com/dynamic/DisplayItem.aspx?c=K12021-1WCP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanerdog1x1 Posted April 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Looks suspiciously like a r-tech....but I doubt it's the same. Iv used a Lincoln dc tig, was ok, definately only average. We had the pick of the bunch yesterday, there were sets from esab, gys, infinity, x-caliber, sip... But the miller, although a bit more expensive than the others, it is head and shoulders above them in weld quality. If he were welding steps back on tractors, or if he was grinding the welds back (yuk), any of them would have been fine. But he wants to make to products to sell, and for this reason he needed something good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexp5 Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Should be able to pick up a good s/h Miller Syncrowave for that sort of money, no? I don't tig much, but an old Syncro was one of the nicest machines I've used. Can't really suggest much else as the tigs we use now are mainly little 200amp inverters (Migatronic, Lincoln Invertecs, Green3k / Inverter Fusion, etc) Have you looked at Lorch? I have no experience of them but have heard lots of positives regarding the kit and back-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBS69 Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 I use a Kemppi master tig 2300 mls a work, its single phase no cooler on it but you can it for them, I've used a miller dynasty as well and there's not much in it but I would say the kemppi is a better, it has the better ACX panel with the pulse settings etc. rapid welding has them for about £2300 with touch etc, not sure how much the cooler unit is but worth a look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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