Which TIG to buy?

[mud99]

I currently have a Miller 180HD MIG, and i've been thinking of buying a TIG welder to do some projects with aluminum because the spool gun is pretty difficult to work with. I also want a stick welder for doing quick and dirty repairs on heavier steel. I've done a little bit of TIG Welding, but that was probably 10 years ago, so I don't remember much. I'd like to be able to weld up to 1/4" aluminum.

I drove over to Everlast in South San Francisco on Thursday to look at their welders, they seemed like better quality than I was expecting. I figured since they are local, if I had any issues it wouldn't involve shipping heavy machines around.

I'm currently debating between the following:
-PowerTig 210EXT (Digital)
-PowerTig 250EX (Analog)
-PowerPro 256S (Analog, TIG + STICK + Plasma)

Right now i'm leaning towards the 256S for the following reasons:
-Useful to have the plasma feature
-Higher ampacity

What has me thinking this isn't the right welder:
-It's water cooled which is great, but can I use an air cooled torch if welding at < 200 amps? And then a garden hose attachment dumped onto the lawn for the very few times I need the full 250 amp rating?
-It's analog, I don't really understand the analog vs digital thing. Is this just a difference in how you program the machine? It seems like the analog machine has almost all the settings the digital has, just no presets?

What do you guys think?

Mark

[performance]

The 256 has lower duty cycle than the 250EX. It has the same amp capability, but I do not recommend the multi units with plasma unless you are planning to do occasional portable repair. It is not designed for fabrication or production work.


Digital gives you finer control and more accurate results. Plus wave form and advanced Pulse.

[mud99]

The 256 has lower duty cycle than the 250EX. It has the same amp capability, but I do not recommend the multi units with plasma unless you are planning to do occasional portable repair. It is not designed for fabrication or production work.


Digital gives you finer control and more accurate results. Plus wave form and advanced Pulse.

Hmm so maybe I should get the 255ext. That's probably not in my budget.

[Blaster]

I have the PP256.

This Winter my project was to weld a dozen Aluminum Fireworks Finale pods out of 2" angle 1/4" thick, 1" Square 1/8" thick, and 1/8th & 1/4" Flat Stock. There are 200-300 welds ea. (consuming 6 300ltr Argon bottles) and 1/3 of them the 1/4" and required the Full 250A from the machine. Worked like a charm....

Don't let anybody tell you the machine's not up to it!

[performance]

...And I am simply telling you what it is designed for...
Would you rather buy a unit that is designed for what it is used for or buy a unit based off of someone's experience when there are better solutions? You can look through the site for the 256 and see for yourself. I've never had a single person tell me they wished they'd bought a combination unit instead of individual units. But I have had many people tell me they'd wished they would have bought individual units over the combination unit.

I'd take a look at the 250EX if budget is your concern. IF you are going to be welding lots of thinner aluminum, then the 210EXT is your choice.

[mud99]

So I'm going over to the dark side, I am going to take a look at a used Dynasty 200DX today. After comparing the specs to the Everlast, the Dynasty looks like a piece of junk, but it comes with several tanks and a bunch of accessories and the price on this one is right if it isn't blown up.