donmarkey Posted August 26, 2006 Report Share Posted August 26, 2006 http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/maxstar_150_sth/ Any opinions? You can get a optional foot pedal. Is the hi freq. worth the extra $300? DC only so no alum. -Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted August 26, 2006 Report Share Posted August 26, 2006 I thought the High Freq was worth it so I got the SD-185 whch I gather is the equivilent of their new synchrowave 200. Just makes welding small part sthat much easier. Fritz might could do it but I'd hate to try to weld some of the small stuff using a scratch start. You won't believe how often you will use a welder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donmarkey Posted August 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2006 I thought the High Freq was worth it so I got the SD-185 whch I gather is the equivilent of their new synchrowave 200. Just makes welding small part sthat much easier. Fritz might could do it but I'd hate to try to weld some of the small stuff using a scratch start. You won't believe how often you will use a welder. Thanks, that's what I was thinking. There non-hf unit also has a lift arc function(they have a demo on the site), but the pulse start would be better. -Don You won't believe how often you will use a welder. You're right there. It seems that atleast one even other week, I'm firing up either my mig or stick welder. -Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritz Posted August 27, 2006 Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 Let me just say this---I would never buy a scratch-start DC TIG welder if I could get the high frequency AC ability for a few hundred more. It all depends on how often you will use it. But I will add this---you won't use a DC non-high frequency machine near as much as you would use the AC TIG machine. There is just so much more you can do, and easier too (I guess that is my reasoning for suggesting it to newbies) with the more expensive machine. The foot pedal is nice, all the industrial machines use it, but I guess you could get by without if. As long as you don't gotta scratch to start, it works on most thickness of gun work. The foot pedal is nice for controlling the heat on thin sections. In aircraft welding, it was essential. But then we were using water cooled torches also for continuous work. I have a cheap adaption TIG with argon for my DC Miller machine. I think I paid around $400 for the adapter including an argon cylinder, but I should have spent that on a high frequency machine. The ability to easily weld aluminum may be important to you in the future. fritz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donmarkey Posted August 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 Let me just say this---I would never buy a scratch-start DC TIG welder if I could get the high frequency AC ability for a few hundred more. fritz What's the difference between scratch start and miller's lift arc? -Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritz Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 I have not used the Miller "Lift-Arc", but here is what they say about it--- "With Lift-Arc, operators simply touch the tungsten to the workpiece, lift and the arc starts automatically. Since there is no scratching involved," he says, "there is no tungsten inclusion in the bead. This lets the operator precisely direct the arc when starting, thus helping avoid arc marks. Mechanical contractors have been looking for an ultra-lightweight inverter with features such as Lift-Arc and Auto-Link for years." It sounds like it is not the old scratch-start, and would be better than the adapted tig setup for a DC machine like I have. fritz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donmarkey Posted August 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 I have not used the Miller "Lift-Arc", but here is what they say about it--- "With Lift-Arc, operators simply touch the tungsten to the workpiece, lift and the arc starts automatically. Since there is no scratching involved," he says, "there is no tungsten inclusion in the bead. This lets the operator precisely direct the arc when starting, thus helping avoid arc marks. Mechanical contractors have been looking for an ultra-lightweight inverter with features such as Lift-Arc and Auto-Link for years." It sounds like it is not the old scratch-start, and would be better than the adapted tig setup for a DC machine like I have. fritz The millrights on my last job used these welder (the non hf) to weld all the stainless in a food process plant. They liked them, just no ac, so no alum. But under $1000 sounds good. -Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 They are quite handy on the stainless because: First, the stainless is pretty thin. Second, they are very portable. Third, they run on 110 V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donmarkey Posted August 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 They are quite handy on the stainless because: First, the stainless is pretty thin. Second, they are very portable. Third, they run on 110 V. Alot of the stainless was 1/4" thick, and these are the only welders they used. I did have to wire them at 208v though, because they had problems getting it hot enough at 120v. -Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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