TIG welder questions

[Wayne Suhrbier]

You can weld aluminum with a MIG, but you need to get a special gun. Aluminum MIG welds won't be as clean, nice, or precise as TIG. Mig uses a spool of wire as the filler and the electrode. Tig uses a torch with a tungsten rod as the electrode and you use a filler rod. TIG lets you change power levels and how much filler you use as you work. You preset MIG and weld as you set it. If you want to weld thin stainless, aluminum or titanium TIG is usually the better choice.

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[isotopesope]

Originally Posted by A_PRESS

I would highly recommend the Alphatig 200dx. I bought mine for 750 shipped plus about 300 for a 250 size bottle of pure Argon (40 for a refill).

I've welded various sizes of steel roll bar tubing, 0.040-0.25" Aluminum, and some stainless exhaust work without a hiccup. It has all the settings you'd need for anything on a vehicle. I came from using a high quality water cooled miller unit during school and this one performed just as well for home shop projects.

damn, just looked at this one on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...vincaroncom-20

quite interesting. seems to have a lot of rad features with it being ac/dc, having high frequency start, and having a pulser.

[A_PRESS]

https://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks

This channel has some good tutorials and dialogue and he reviews the Alphatig 200.

Also, the 115v capability is a big plus for those of us who don't have a dedicated 220v outlet in our garage/shop.

[91 RS RA]

Originally Posted by A_PRESS

https://www.youtube.com/user/weldingtipsandtricks

This channel has some good tutorials and dialogue and he reviews the Alphatig 200.

Also, the 115v capability is a big plus for those of us who don't have a dedicated 220v outlet in our garage/shop.

I had actually watched a couple of his videos before. Ive found a few on youtube that have been good for tips and tricks.

We have 220/240v as standard in my country so no worries on that front

[rtv900]

Originally Posted by Profoxcg

Hi guys I am also Considering a welder. Would a MIG not be adequate for aluminum?
I've been trying to understand what is the difference between a TIG and MIG, and their applications. can somebody please break that out for me?

an aluminum migger that will do nice welds will cost a fortune, and it's hard to do lighter stuff
tigging is the way to go for a hobbyist
Aluminum migging is for jobs where you are doing heavy stuff and putting a TON of weld down over and over, or welds over 1/4 to 5/16" where it simply is too time consuming putting that down with a tig
Not realistic for home use.

[tracknerd]

Originally Posted by A_PRESS

I would highly recommend the Alphatig 200dx. I bought mine for 750 shipped plus about 300 for a 250 size bottle of pure Argon (40 for a refill).

I've welded various sizes of steel roll bar tubing, 0.040-0.25" Aluminum, and some stainless exhaust work without a hiccup. It has all the settings you'd need for anything on a vehicle. I came from using a high quality water cooled miller unit during school and this one performed just as well for home shop projects.

Another vote for AHP. I LOVE my Alphatig 200X (got the 2018 model at early release pricing), it's my first time with TIG and I'm finding it way more enjoyable than MIG. I do suggest spending a few extra bucks for a gas lens kit though.

My brother (who has welded for many years, MIG, TIG, stick, ...) visited a few weeks back and was surprised at how good it is for the price, now he wants one too.

[rtv900]

Originally Posted by tracknerd

I do suggest spending a few extra bucks for a gas lens kit though.

^what is a gas lens?

[tracknerd]

Originally Posted by rtv900

^what is a gas lens?

It smooths the gas flow out of the cup, a lot. Search for "tig gas lens" on youtube for loads of good info, both the old weld.com guy and weldingtipsandtricks both have quite a few videos on them (however, both sell them, so they're a bit of a commercial, but the info is good). At least 1/3 of the issues that I was attributing to beginner technique / improper settings when I first started ended up actually being inconsistent gas flow issues and immediately went away when I switch to a lens kit from the cheap stuff that comes with the alphatig.

On the high end are "Furick Cups", I've got a couple now and they really are nice for cases where you need really good gas coverage (tight spots with stainless, anything with titanium, etc), but they're overkill for most things (and they're big so use more gas). For much less money you can get about 95% as good for most use cases. The cheap kit that I still use most of the time is under $19: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EZECHLM. There are even cheaper ones, but I probably wouldn't go much cheaper than that one.