miller aerowave vs. 250 ex

[johnson697]

I have a chance to buy a miller aerowave for 1750.00 with torch ,foot pedal and water cooler....but if i buy this i have to sell my 250 ex ...love my 250 but the aerowave is a badass machine...whats everyone think?

[performance]

Well, you'll be taking a step back in many ways. It's like trading a nice new Camry loaded with all the features for a 85 Mercedes S class. It was a nice car when it was made, but then well nice then and nice now are different sort of thing and there are trade offs. The old S class defined luxury, but by today's standards, while it can still perform and rides nice, it may seem rather spartan and offer quite a bit less than what a new car of lesser distinction and heritage can offer today. (not to mention the issues that are common with the mileage and natural issues with aging parts. No different with what you are thinking about here with the Aerowave. You see many differences once you get one. It would be nice to have but you'll notice several things (and likely miss them) right off. Mainly in portability and economy of operation I suspect, but also arc quality etc. But depending upon how it was setup, you could be missing some features and performance you've come to enjoy.

[Rambozo]

There are a lot of versions and options for the Aerowave, so a lot depends on what model and options it has. Mark summed it up pretty good. It was great in it's day, but there is a reason it's no longer made, even though the Syncrowave still is. The Dynasty line pretty much took over that market. One big difference is power consumption. You will need more than a 100 amp circuit to power that beast and it will use all of that. You will also only get full power with a 3 phase supply. More than one shop has said that the power savings of an inverter would more than make the machine payments. John Marcella said now that they switched to inverters (Dynastys), it takes more power to run the lights in the shop, than the welding machines. Moving them is another issue, forklift, crane, palletjack, etc. Inverter, hand carry.

[johnson697]

its the plan jane version ...no pulse or anything else....i have used 1 for the past 16 yrs . and it has all the bells and whistles...but i see your point on this and have decided not to get it...but i have been thinking of getting the 255 tig..just need to sell a few things to make it happen...i have been doing more and more work out of my little shop so i want to expand in space and machinery..even thinking on a loan.