Product Buying Guide Part 7

As great as the little dynamo of a welder that the PowerTIG 185 is, the limitations of it are clear.   It does not have pulse or slope control, and of course, it does not easily weld aluminum of ¼”, with an inverter requires a little more power.

If more is needed than the limits of the 185 amp welder can provide, then the PowerTIG 200 DX is a great choice.  The ¼” limitation is effectively dealt with in the PowerTIG 200 DX.  Both duty cycle and amperage match up to the requirements to get to the ¼” mark.  Adjusting frequency and balance appropriately help to create better penetration will get you to that mark.  The old rule of thumb is you need 1 amp per .001 inch of thickness to weld aluminum, but that is easily surpassed with inverter welder.

Although it will weld aluminum up to ¼”, don’t think that this is your limit.  Multiple passes can always improve that for you.  The pulse capability of the PowerTIG 200 has recently been upgraded in late 2012 to 150Hz, just in time for the early 2013 release of it’s new updated look.  The pulse formerly was limited to 25 hertz, which worked great for manually controlling the weld appearance, but was limited in it’s capability to focus the arc.

Also added was the preflow and panel adjustment feature for the PowerTIG 200 DX.  Both of these features extended the adjustability and capability of the welder.  Of course in comparison to the competition, the 200DX wins hands down on duty cycle at 60%.