http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221678359282 ... EBIDX%3AIT

it has 2 years warranty, australian manufacturer/distributor... has had pretty good wrap

reckon this is good enough ac/dc tig for a hobbyist ?

cheers

I`ve never heard of that brand, not sure who makes their software/circuit board, but at that price to get started in tig welding compared to a miller or Lincoln, that's a great price, I didn`t see where it said it was water cool capable and believe that is a very nice option to have,... also as long as you have a place that will repair it and not have to send it out for weeks at a time, the inverter style machines have many settings making welding on thin aluminum or steel much easier

Also not sure what your budget is but Everlast and HTP make quality machines at a much lower price than Miller and Lincoln, Everlast is made in China , but has received great reviews, I have an HTP invertig 221, with water cooling and I paid 2,900 for everything, its an awesome machine with the same options as the miller 350DX which cost three times as much

here in australia weldsmart use the same boards of unimig, BOC, and other brands that are sold here as australian, they are all made in china... I dont imagine the parts are readily replaceable but most of the reviews have been good here...

this has more options/comes with more stuff than the everlast tig

http://www.everlast-welders.com.au/prod ... TIG_185-TS

this has none of hte options like
downslpe, pulse control, etc, its 2x the price and has 5 year warranty

the better everlast one is 2000, yes it has plasma but its 2 grand thats way more than I want to spend...

I only want advanced tig function so I am thinking that I could spend money buying 2x of these welders and still spend less $

this is the other one - aus brand with 3 years warranty 2x the price
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/UNIMIG-Uniti ... 4623fc4fd3

the other model unitig had the same board/layout as the weldsmart so I am thinking they all use the same supplier in china, and skimp of quality of various other parts like torch etc to keep prices competitive

I think the weldsmart is a brilliant package its $650 because it comes with foot pedal and it has advanced tig controls, 2 year warranty and everything...

I think If I get stung and it fails I will frk out for an awesome one.

it doesnt say watercool capable anywhere.. so is watercooling really vital?

is water cooling necessary ? no not at all, but when your practicing and you start pushing the amps that torch will get hot !... the best all round tungsten to use with the inverter is 2% lanthinated

No idea what that tig is like. Alot of the cheap ones you get what you pay for. Best to stick with one that has alot of reviews.

Water cooling can always be added later, the machine just won't power the pump.

I don't have a water cooled torch and use a Miller 280 dynasty at work. I aluminum weld in the mid 200 amp range at times. I don't weld for any great length of time in one shot. You can do quite a bit with the air cooled torch. Best option I find is a flexible torch.

thanks for the feedback

I wont be doing anything massive or extensive so I think air cooled will be ok ... .

I think considering this welder is from the same factory as unimig and boc I probably am nt going to have TOO much trouble sourcing parts or servicign for it...

the next reputable brand tig with the same features is more than 2x the price. thats just out of my price range.

I will get what I paid for I know that, but I've had good luck with cheap tools in the past. if it fails i'll be out 650 --- not too bad a good welder could still fail out of warranty and cost me $500

I have to agree that being out $650 isnt that bad if machine burns up in a few years but if it goes out in first few times you use it then its bad. Being able to send it out for repair would be my biggest concern no matter what the machine brand.

Have to admit I have been looking at those China made units myself because of Price as I want all the features. I been looking at Everlast and another Blue one on Ebay and the one Noruns has But I stay with Miller because of one thing: being able to take it any were in USA and being able to get it fixed no matter how old it is.
I was sold on Miller when a friend of mine had a 20+ year old unit that needed repair and Miller had the part to him in 24 hours, You just wont get that with many other company's.

Also why I keep looking at an used Miller Syncrowave machines in the $2000-$3000 range. Some day I will get a Dynasty 350 but at $8000 price tag its a nice dream.

In the long run WE are all only talking about welding THIN sheet metal and all these machines are over kill for that purpose, A basic Tig welder will do it My $1300 used machine is evidence of that it doesn't have any of these fancy features and I am able to use it to weld thin sheet metal, while the additional features are nice for welding Aluminum I finally figured out how to run my big bazooka shopmaster 350 to weld a couple beer cans together myself Not the prettiest welds that I would like or will show off but I'm still learning but I did do it!
Guys used to use machines like mine back in the day to do it so it can be done & you don't absolutely need one of those fancy Inverter machines to do it so you don't need to go broke buying fancy equipment.

In my quest for welding thin sheet metal panels I have went back to gas welding myself the bead is just softer & easier to work with and with a tiny gas welder a tiny bead is possible with good tight lay up, heck you can even weld Aluminum with gas. either way there is a steep learning curve to get over when welding thin stuff no matter how you go
it just takes a great deal of patience and practice especially when your gonna be your own teacher all the books in the world wont help that much either! Its just something that requires Patience and a whole lot of Practice and more Practice.

I ended up discovering my MAIN problem with my Tig was a Major Argon leak in my torches main hose covered in its shielding! after I replaced the hose I can weld really good now but dam being my own teacher reading all the books trying to figure things out for myself. what a pain! My point being your gonna be teaching yourself, Its even harder if something is wrong with your equipment and you don't know it!
I was able to call and talk with many different people who were familiar with my machine and all said the same thing "It sounds like your doing every thing right it should be welding nice" but it wasn't! Being able to call some one about your machine that actually uses one is a Big plus! being able to talk to people about it I was able to figure out what was wrong in this case a hole in My Argon hose I had flow out of the torch but it wasn't enough.

Thats whats nice about HTP, they are located in the state of Indiana, and you actually talk to a real person, a 90 day try it if you like it agreement,

well this company has 2 year warranty and are located here in australia (theyre an australian company rebranding chinese welders / importing etc) they seem to honour their agreements by what I hear other people on the web say...

in terms of repair the hose etc components are generic, the internal components are likely chinese generic and replaceable if you know how to source them...

I am thinking I will get one of these, I want a tig to do expansion chambers, sheet metal, aluminium all this sort of hobby stuff I do on 2 strokes performance wise etc... I know I dont need a fancy one to get welds but I may as well fork out once and get something good... by that I mean options wise, not necessarily best brand ever wise..

for now its just a hobby, I dont know if I'll have time or money for it in a few years so I dont want to go crazy