Anyone Tig Welding with an Imig?

[Kendall]

I'm getting close to biting the bullet and buying a tig kit for my IMig 200. Anyone else doing it and do you have any recommendations for what kind of setup would work best with the Imig. I'm trying to keep it cheap to see if I like it and will probably be buying a dedicated Tig unit in the near future.

[geezer]

I think you would be better off buying a 160 STH,,,it is already plumbed for gas has a torch and a regulator and most important it is wired for a foot pedal and has HF start,,,if you are going to learn tig those are big things to have...sure you can get a valve torch,,, and a regulator,,,but you will find that HF start is much easier to do and having a foot pedal is great for puddle control,,,Tig and gas welding are pretty much the same except with gas if you want to decrease the heat you move the tip back a bit,,try that with tig and you break the arc,,,that's when the foot pedal really shines,,,it gives you that ability to control the heat,,ramp up and ramp down,, you can tig without a foot pedal but why limit your ability to grow..the dollar difference is not that great when you factor in adding these features at a later date...and if you tig for a while you will want those features..then what do you do....start right end right..get something that will make it easy to add things like a foot pedal..

[youngnstudly]

I think you would be better off buying a 160 STH

X2! I love mine (even though I'm secretly hoping it will grow A/C capability overnight)! Right now it looks like you can get 10% off the 160STH (If you were serious about buying a dedicated tig in the near future, the near future is here!):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EVERLAST-160...item4d026b86ab

[Rambozo]

X2! I love mine (even though I'm secretly hoping it will grow A/C capability overnight)! Right now it looks like you can get 10% off the 160STH (If you were serious about buying a dedicated tig in the near future, the near future is here!):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EVERLAST-160...item4d026b86ab

Another option:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0081BF4YC

[youngnstudly]

Another option:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0081BF4YC

Even better! I bookmarked that page just so I know to check Everlast prices there if I need to make a purchase in the future. I guess it pays to shop around.

[Tanh]

Tig and gas welding are pretty much the same except with gas if you want to decrease the heat you move the tip back a bit,,try that with tig and you break the arc,,,

Coming from gas welding, it was soo hard to break habits like that. It's just ingrained into you that you control the puddle with tip manipulation but when using arc, specifically stick, you get wierd affects when changing angle and height. Had to relearn welding by undoing all I've learned when moving from gas to arc. It's worse than if I had started fresh as a beginner. A few tips, namely from the everlast community, helped me out though.

On the whole conversion kit stuff, I can't speak from experience with the kit but generally, if you're adding something like this and thinking it's a cheap solution, you're going to be disappointed. As with most things dedicated is best. If you plan never to buy a tig unit then go for the kit as it will add functionality to your existing setup without a whole lot more invested. But if you might buy one later, why put yourself through the agony of using something halfa$$ed now. It's a disservice to you and the Tig manufacturers because you will not get the real experience of Tig capabilities.

Like previously mentioned, you'll probably put nearly as much time and money into it as it'd cost for a small tig unit that comes with all those features already. Plus throw away AL capabilities with the conversion. It just seems like it's not worth it to me. Just my 2 cents. Cheers.

[Kendall]

That is a great price on the 160 STH. I'll probably just wait till I can afford it and skip the kit. I've already got an argon cylinder so it would pretty much be plug and play. Thanks for the wisdom.