Chinese AC/DC TIG Machines???

"J'-remy

"J'-remy

Member
Boy do i wish i purchased a Miller dynasty when they were 2700. I'm looking at purchasing an AC/DC Tig machine in the 200/250 amp region. Looking at Everlast etc. does anyone have any experience with these or other machines. don't want to get stuck with an easily broken hunk of junk. don't trust reviews anymore any help would be appreciated
 
Inverters are generally pretty reliable .
The boards go out on all of them .
A full time fan vs a as needed would be my choice . As well as 250 minimum . Better too much then not enough .
Austin has a plasma cutter but less then a year on it .
 
I work in maintenance and repair welding, I have an Everlast Tig in my shop, my brother has the plasma, Tig, stick machine at his shop . We have zero complaints. 2 years problem free. I would not hesitate to go Everlast, 1/3$ of a miller 👍🏼
 
In the last few years Everlast has really made strides to cover up, but more importantly rectify the early problems they had with their machines. I'd stay away from the combo tig/plasma cutter machines, but the dedicated AC/DC Tig welders aren't bad.

I personally chose to purchase an HTP, it's not a Chinese machine, it's an Italian built machine. USAweld is the sole American Importer, and distributor for them. I know several high end welders that have used them and said they're as good as any of the other brands they've used. But, they're still $2500-9k. I do own a Chinese Plasma cutter that operates flawlessly inside it's limits, and it will max out a 1.5" severe cut. So knowing what you're getting and using it within it's limits are the most important thing.
 
https://primeweld.com/products/tig-225x-ac-dc-tig-welder

A lot of good reviews on the primeweld unit when I looked into them. Believe LOTOS also had some pretty positive reviews. I think if you stay below 250 amps you can find some decent import welders for the price. Not sure above that there has been enough of a market for them to develop a quality product at a value price point.

Check out Youtube for some "real" reviews. It's usually pretty easy to tell who is bought and paid for.
 
My opinion is to just buy a decent miller arc welder, buy a tig rig and swap the polarity. At the end of the day you really don't need a dedicated "Tig welder".
 
If you want too do aluminum the pulse and foot pedal sure would be handy .
Need ac /dc .
Mine are all old stlye transformers .
Scratch start . No pre or post flow , turn the knob its on .
They are large and consume power.
 
We've got all Lincoln in our shop and am very pleased. I had an import (Italian I think) several years ago tig/mig welder combo unit and it did it's job for small repairs - certainly not a production unit. I picked it up thinking I could use it back when we were traveling with the race car. I like to "think" that I'm a decent TiG welder -- that machine made me look like a monkey compared to the Lincoln stuff I've been used to. The lack of a foot pedal was a real issue for me as well.
I would think that the import stuff has gotten better over time, but here recently, I'd be more concerned with quality. Personally, I'd look for a good used machine (Miller if that's your color) rather than go the import route. If you eve do need service for one of these import welders, who are you going to call?


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all the tricks inverters can pull off is of interest to me. most machines come with warranties. Interesting about the parts when we can access nearly every nut and bolt for a Chinese clone engine lol
 
USAWeld handles all HTP warranties and replacement parts, and Everlast has again made huge strides to get people access to parts and repairs for their units. I'm not pushing them. But, I think they've come a long way.

The inverters besides being amazingly quiet, the tricks are more for very advanced users, and the uses are pretty slim if you don't know exactly what they're doing. But, still nice to have. You can get parameters off wildly and have very bad welding results and not understand why if you mess with those tricks too much.
 
I've had some good luck with Chinese inverter machines. No personal experience with everlast but have heard good things about them.
My home machines are a Vulcan tig and a yeswelder mig. Both work well although the Vulcan gets a little finicky on AC once in a while. Both were priced in the throw away range so I gave them a whirl. If you want something you can have repaired later on I would go with a Miller, Lincoln, or Fronius. According to my repairman and supply rep stay away from anything Esab.
 
Thirteen Machine said:
I've had some good luck with Chinese inverter machines. No personal experience with everlast but have heard good things about them.
My home machines are a Vulcan tig and a yeswelder mig. Both work well although the Vulcan gets a little finicky on AC once in a while. Both were priced in the throw away range so I gave them a whirl. If you want something you can have repaired later on I would go with a Miller, Lincoln, or Fronius. According to my repairman and supply rep stay away from anything Esab.
Click to expand...
Yes, dont touch anything Esab. Avoid that stuff like the plague.
 
Where are you located? There is a nice old school Dialarc in Muscatie IA. Looks like a HF unit with option for remote amperage control. Even comes with a water cooler. $400. Not all the bells and whistles, but probably bulletproof.
 
Austin bought a yes welder ac/dc tig/stick with pulse , lead in and post weld gas flow .
Ramp up voltage.
I used it the other day it was pretty smooth ...
Finally got my little 140 Lincoln rewired for a spool gun . Soldering din connectors is like surgery. Testing soon.
 
Spool guns definitely better for aluminum vs a whip .
Still theres a reason i built water tower's and not rockets :cool:
 
Harbor frieght tigs work really well.my buddy builds up hydraulic shafts and industrial papermillrolls all over the us with them.he flies to wherever and buys one if he dont have his truck🤣
 
I had a chance too use the yes welder for some stick work a couple weeks back . Probably 3hrs each day worked pretty good . Especially for such a small machine . My hobart transformer is probably 600 lbs vs 50# . No way your hauling the hobart over to your buddy's .
 
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