[dom14]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for an AC/DC TIG welder with A/C frequency adjustment capability.

If I understand correctly, A/C frequency adjustment & Pulse frequency adjustment are two different things?! Right?

I'm after a unit with the ability to adjust A/C frequency 'cos of I thought it's a very good feature to have when welding Aluminium as a noob.

I located this unit of ebay, but not sure whether the mentioned "Pulse Frequency Adjustment 0.5- 300Hz" is any good with A/C frequency adjustment.

Bossweld 200 Digi Tig AC/DC 240V

Any advice, tips, directions will be greatly appreciated. The price of the above or less is what I prefer to pay with the mentioned "needy" features above.

Thanx

 

[dom14]

Or this.

New Unimig 200 Amp AC/DC RazorWeld Tig Welder KUMJRRZ200ACDC | eBay

 

[dom14]

Or this

**EOFY SALE** ALU-TIG 200P AC/DC PULSE INVERTER WELDER (OLYMPIC) | eBay

 

[JFF45]

Yes, A/C frequency adjustment and pulse frequency adjustment are 2 different features.
I don't have the A/C adjustment on my sub $800 machine but it does have pulse which I find I'm using less now that I've gained a bit more experience with foot pedal control and rod feeding.

Pulse is handy for controlling heat near edges of thinner material if you can't get a heat sink in there but I've done practice welds on 19mm square alu tube with 1mm wall thickness with no pulse. I'm practising before I weld up my rear drawers cage from the same stuff.

Remember to include gas bottle purchase and other consumables in your budget.

I preferred not to purchase from Ebay so I could drive back to the shop with it in case of warranty issues rather than have a frustrating email exchange in poor english with someone who knows nothing about what they're selling online..

You've seen my thread and my experiences with what I bought. Still very happy with it and have a good list of projects for the future..

 

[shanfab]

Personally. I would go the unimig. They're sold almost everywhere and do work pretty good for the price. I would opt to get the foot control with any tig as they just make life easier imo. The other thing to look out for is a machine with HF start . And obviously duty cycles if your planning on using it alot. That unimig you posted has all the key features other that coming with the remote foot pedal. Its duty cycle is a bit on the low side at max amps . But still not bad .

 

[DieselTuner]

The renegade series at trade tools is hard to beat for the money mate.
https://www.tradetools.com/product-...00amp-inverter-ac-dc-tig-welder-35-duty-cycle

The one I got has a digital interface like a kemppi welder does, but I reckon the individual dials like the above one is better. personal preference really.

Best thing is, if there is any dramas just walk in the shop and drop it on the counter.
Anything you buy online or ebay etc... The hassles with warranty are just beyond a joke and will cost you a ton in shipping if it comes to it.

 

[dom14]

Personally. I would go the unimig. They're sold almost everywhere and do work pretty good for the price. I would opt to get the foot control with any tig as they just make life easier imo. The other thing to look out for is a machine with HF start . And obviously duty cycles if your planning on using it alot. That unimig you posted has all the key features other that coming with the remote foot pedal. Its duty cycle is a bit on the low side at max amps . But still not bad .

Hi mate,

I reckon anything above $600 or so usually comes with HF start. Yes, the foot control is a very handy one, but some of those AC/DC ones with adjustable AC frequency want an extra $200-300, just for that. So, I'm looking for a deal with included foot pedal. I also like the ones with knob on the torch to control amps, but apparently, not all of them come with that.
Since I'm hobby dude, the duty cycle is not that crucial. For the amount of money I would end up paying for a hobby welder, I would definitely looking for a unit with a lengthy and headache free warranty deal as well as a reliable unit without many hiccups. Since, american units are beyond my reach, I obviously gonna end up with chinese ones, but trying to find a good chinese made unit with good reviews. I find it is hard to locate any reviews on those plethora of different branded chinese units though.

Thanx

 

[dom14]

Yes, A/C frequency adjustment and pulse frequency adjustment are 2 different features.
I don't have the A/C adjustment on my sub $800 machine but it does have pulse which I find I'm using less now that I've gained a bit more experience with foot pedal control and rod feeding.

Pulse is handy for controlling heat near edges of thinner material if you can't get a heat sink in there but I've done practice welds on 19mm square alu tube with 1mm wall thickness with no pulse. I'm practising before I weld up my rear drawers cage from the same stuff.

Remember to include gas bottle purchase and other consumables in your budget.

I preferred not to purchase from Ebay so I could drive back to the shop with it in case of warranty issues rather than have a frustrating email exchange in poor english with someone who knows nothing about what they're selling online..

You've seen my thread and my experiences with what I bought. Still very happy with it and have a good list of projects for the future..

Hi mate,

Yes, the pulse adjustment is a secondary need but probably not that crucial for my needs, but apparently the AC frequency adjustment is important, hence the reason I'm thinking to get a unit with that feature.

I have no real aluminium welding experience or AC/DC machines.

Did you indicate that the adjustable AC frequency may not be that important to do good thin aluminium welds?!!

Let me know.

Thanx

P.S. BTW, I'm using ebay to locate cheaper but good units. I won't be necessary buying them off ebay unless the ebay seller has a reputable longstanding business with a shopfront or a warehouse. If I find a good unit in Melbourne I would definitely drop into the shopfront and purchase that way. I'm also open to the idea of used units 'cos I'm not all that loaded with cash right now. It will be a credit purchase if I buy new.

 

[DieselTuner]

You 100% need frequency adjustment if your welding various alloy components.
Picture it as the difference between a shot gun and a rifle. Both are good in their own regard but depends on the job you want to get done.
Very high frequency narrows the arc considerably for a given output, high accuracy.
Low frequency is a nice wide arc good for pumping alot of heat into the component.

You can do almost everything you want to on 100 hz, but having that adjustability will greatly improve results once your confident in using it.

 

[dom14]

The renegade series at trade tools is hard to beat for the money mate.
https://www.tradetools.com/product-...00amp-inverter-ac-dc-tig-welder-35-duty-cycle

The one I got has a digital interface like a kemppi welder does, but I reckon the individual dials like the above one is better. personal preference really.

Best thing is, if there is any dramas just walk in the shop and drop it on the counter.
Anything you buy online or ebay etc... The hassles with warranty are just beyond a joke and will cost you a ton in shipping if it comes to it.

Hi mate,

Thanx for the link. That's the best AC/DC deal I've seen so far.
I'm guessing it's higly likely AC frequency adjustment feature to come with that price.

Am I putting too much stress on adjustable AC frequency?
My aim is to be able to weld pretty thin aluminium like 1mm, if not even thinner, like coke cans. I thought adjustable AC frequency is crucial for that, or am I wrong about that?

BTW, I've got no aluminum TIG welding experience, thin or otherwise. But, I'm pretty serious about it 'cos I will be doing heaps of aly welding hobby projects in future.

Thanx

 

[JFF45]

I have absolutely no experience at all with adjustable A/C frequency. I haven't found a need for it with what I do.
As Lindsay mentioned, there are definite advantages depending on what you do. You can even go further and get a machine with adjustable waveform as well.

 

[dom14]

The one I got has a digital interface like a kemppi welder does, but I reckon the individual dials like the above one is better. personal preference really.

Yeah, I also prefer rotary analog looking individual dials.
They are a lot easier to quickly access settings as opposed to digital ones, I reckon.

 

[JFF45]

The link Lindsay posted is the machine I bought. It has pulse and HF start but no A/C frequency adjustment. It's sub $800 after all..

 

[dom14]

The link Lindsay posted is the machine I bought. It has pulse and HF start but no A/C frequency adjustment. It's sub $800 after all..

Have you used it on aluminium welding?

 

[JFF45]

Have you used it on aluminium welding?

Revisit my thread on Tig cast alloy. I posted pics of some of what I'd done
Also my airbox thread. I remade my steel airbox in aluminium.

Not professional welds but it shows what can be done after a couple of months of practice.

 

[dom14]

Revisit my thread on Tig cast alloy. I posted pics of some of what I'd done
Also my airbox thread. I remade my steel airbox in aluminium.

Not professional welds but it shows what can be done after a couple of months of practice.

Cool, thanx mate.

 

[festerGU]

Hi mate,

I reckon anything above $600 or so usually comes with HF start. Yes, the foot control is a very handy one, but some of those AC/DC ones with adjustable AC frequency want an extra $200-300, just for that. So, I'm looking for a deal with included foot pedal. I also like the ones with knob on the torch to control amps, but apparently, not all of them come with that.
Since I'm hobby dude, the duty cycle is not that crucial. For the amount of money I would end up paying for a hobby welder, I would definitely looking for a unit with a lengthy and headache free warranty deal as well as a reliable unit without many hiccups. Since, american units are beyond my reach, I obviously gonna end up with chinese ones, but trying to find a good chinese made unit with good reviews. I find it is hard to locate any reviews on those plethora of different branded chinese units though.

Thanx

It's funny seeing what features all the different people seem to need/like.

I've never had a foot pedal and don't miss it and also see it only being useful about half the time in our workshop. OK if all your welding is sitting down or basic position. I don't use A/C frequency control all that often but it is there for the occasional need. What I miss more than anything at this workshop than the last is no machine with pulse control. That is the feature I liked and used most.
We have 2 machines at work with amp control on the hand piece. One being a $1600 CIG unit that never worked properly and used to cycle amps of it's own accord, even within the warranty period. When second torch played up we tossed it and put standard one back on. Since then we put one on once again when it was all the rep could get and everyone hated it and we taped it up. Since ditched it again for a standard torch. I hate that machine in general because it has a really long reach from the button to the electrode and at my age I find it hard to keep controlled in all positions. The other welder with hand piece control is a Kemppi and I actually really like it and use it a lot but only because you can set an amp range for the wheel. I find if you don't set a range then when you bump it, and you forever are, the amps can swing widely. This is why the other guys don't use it, they don't know you can set a fairly narrow range and then when you bump it, it only varies a couple of amps. (One day I might teach them how to set it )

That renegade unit looks OK, even oldmate from Caboolture recommends it. I do actually like the digital set up though like on the Kemppi, especially the one at the old work cause it had memory setting for programmable favourite settings.

 

[dom14]

Hey Guys,

I just found the below unit. that comes with AC frequency adjustment as well as choice of waveform(four wave forms).
They also include foot pedal. Says it comes with a three-year warranty. Brand name is Olympic.
Have any of you fellas come across this particular brand/unit?
I can't find any reviews.
The price is pretty good for all the features it offer.
It doesn't come with the argon regulator, but that's fine.

**EOFY SALE** ALU-TIG 200P AC/DC PULSE INVERTER WELDER (OLYMPIC) | eBay

Any opinions or experience with this particular machine?

 

[dom14]

It's funny seeing what features all the different people seem to need/like.

I've never had a foot pedal and don't miss it and also see it only being useful about half the time in our workshop. OK if all your welding is sitting down or basic position. I don't use A/C frequency control all that often but it is there for the occasional need. What I miss more than anything at this workshop than the last is no machine with pulse control. That is the feature I liked and used most.
We have 2 machines at work with amp control on the hand piece. One being a $1600 CIG unit that never worked properly and used to cycle amps of it's own accord, even within the warranty period. When second torch played up we tossed it and put standard one back on. Since then we put one on once again when it was all the rep could get and everyone hated it and we taped it up. Since ditched it again for a standard torch. I hate that machine in general because it has a really long reach from the button to the electrode and at my age I find it hard to keep controlled in all positions. The other welder with hand piece control is a Kemppi and I actually really like it and use it a lot but only because you can set an amp range for the wheel. I find if you don't set a range then when you bump it, and you forever are, the amps can swing widely. This is why the other guys don't use it, they don't know you can set a fairly narrow range and then when you bump it, it only varies a couple of amps. (One day I might teach them how to set it )

That renegade unit looks OK, even oldmate from Caboolture recommends it. I do actually like the digital set up though like on the Kemppi, especially the one at the old work cause it had memory setting for programmable favourite settings.

thanx mate.

Kemppi units are bit too pricey for my reach I reckon.

I am guessing adjustable AC frequency is a pretty handy feature to have for a aluminium welding noob like myself as I don't have any experience whatsoever with aluminium welding with a TIG machine. So, this will be my first time.

Can you have a look at the below link(above post as well) with this Olympic brand unit?
Price is good and so are the semi-advance features like waveform selection.
It is a fully digital control unit by the looks of it. No knobs to turn. I prefer to turning knobs, but happy to
move onto digital controls if the machine is good.

**EOFY SALE** ALU-TIG 200P AC/DC PULSE INVERTER WELDER (OLYMPIC) | eBay

Thanx

P.S. That Renegade unit posted by DieselTuner is a good unit and a damn good price, no argument. But, I reckon the AC frequency adjustment to the range upto 200Hz is a need for me 'cos I wanna weld aluminium as well as other possibly different alloys.

 

[dom14]

Check out below unit. They offer five year warranty including a 30 day moneyback return guarantee(even if I use the machine).
They pay for the return warranty claims postage including 30 day returns. Sounds good. Dunno whether the machine is any good though. It comes with digital controls, just like the Unimig unit above. It hasn't got the waveform controls but the warranty deal is pretty good by the looks of it. They are promoting it pretty well. I like lengthy warranty periods for the peace of mind.
They are located here in Victoria.

SWS ALUMTIG 200 Amp AC/DC Aluminium Welder TIG & STICK portable inverter | eBay