Thread: Tig Welder Advice

Hi all,

I'm after some advice on a new or secondhand Tig welder. Not interested in chinese, have a budget to suit a commercial type unit.

I have three phase but would also consider any single phase recommendations. The unit will be used for aluminium boat fabrication primarily.

I currently use an old Transtig 250 but looking for something a little more up to date. My three phase supply is limited to 20 Amps at 415 Volts.

As an aside is anyone interested in a Transtig 250 AC/DC with leads, foot control, regulator and a pile of bits and pieces?

Cheers Silas

Originally Posted by silash77

have a budget to suit a commercial type unit.

What's that mean exactly? $5000, $10000, $20000?

Budget is 5-10K but happy to buy secondhand to get a better unit.

Kemmpi or if you want to part with more $ Fronius but you will get better support from kemppi.

Fronius MagicWave series is excellent. You'd be looking at a 2200 or 2500 with that budget if you want a new one. I think a 2200 is about $7-8k and a foot pedal is $1k.

Kemppi are apparently also fantastic, but I've never used one. Someone here could probably comment on which models are good.

Are you looking for something compact ie inverter or will a larger transformer based machine be fine?

Keep in mind you will be up for big $$$ when things go wrong with the inverters compared to transformer based.

A lot of large fabrication places stick with transformer machines because of this. Depends on your needs though, if you need to move it around a lot the inverter might suit better.

Worth checking out the new BOC/EWM Smootharc Elite TIG 230 AC/DC rrp $5030 inc. Seriously price competitive compared with others which are closer to $7000+ (Fronius, ESAB) Competition should theoretically drop prices in response considering the falling Euro and rising Aussie dollar.
http://www.bocworldofwelding.com.au/...230-ac-dc.html

It appears to be a rebadged German EWM Tetrix 230 AC/DC
http://www.ewm.de/produkte/wig/tetri...159-00502.html

Has the same EWM 3yr warranty; 5yrs on transformers and rectifiers.

Appears to have all the same innovations as Fronius and Kemppi have been doing for longer - active arc control, spot, one dial settings, etc.

Programmable to run off 10A mains at reduced power and protected to not blow up if plugged in 400V. Also runs on 230V -40% +15%.

The latest BOC catalog suggests they have dropped Kemppi in favour of EWM for their higher end range with a new range of EWM TIG torches. Also a cheaper chinese-looking model at half the price.

Have been pondering getting an AC/DC tig for hobby welding (Al, SS, etc) for some time. The combination of German engineering and local BOC support looks pretty good.

For boat building, I presume you are better off with water cooled + 3 phase power - models higher up the range....

I bought a 240V Kemppi Mastertig 2300 with the pulse panel last year and their claim is it will run to 230 amps at 40% ed. Haven't gone there yet but every function seems to work flawlessly, with easy setup. 15kg. 15A connection, 32V MMA. Basic box with torch and leads cost around $4300 IIRC, + pulse panel+foot pedal.

Best price I have seen in the last 12 months for Kemppi MLS2300ACX (pulse panel) is around $4700+GST.

Yep, mine WITH pulse $4600...PLUS GST.

Hi all,
Thanks for the responses. Kemppi are certainly getting good feed back. Have been looking at several of their units. Will let you know how I go.

Cheers Silas

If the BOC/EWM had been available last year when I was looking at the Kemppi I would have also considered that. You can't ignore the benefits of a 3 year warranty.

I saw Kemppi MLS2300ACX (pulse) at BOC for $4200+GST (on special). I presume they are running out Kemppi now that they have a deal to rebadge EWM machines. That price makes them a few hundred dollars cheaper than near equivalent BOC/EWM SmoothArc Elite TIG 230 AC/DC.

just won a tig $350 i think its a bargain but now the foot pedal worth $265 any one have one of these tigs.

Pulse TIG Welder Fully Featured Welding IGBT - eBay, Welders, Welding, Industrial. (end time 28-Apr-10 21:36:05 AEST)

Originally Posted by lornety

just won a tig $350 i think its a bargain but now the foot pedal worth $265 any one have one of these tigs.

Pulse TIG Welder Fully Featured Welding IGBT - eBay, Welders, Welding, Industrial. (end time 28-Apr-10 21:36:05 AEST)

In your case, a handbag would be more appropriate...