WannaBeTigger
- WannaBeTigger
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Joined:Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:56 pm
Hello all. I have never done tig welding and I am interested in learning. I have been seriously looking at the Lincoln Square Wave Tig 200 and ESAB ET 186i. There's not much I can find about ESAB but lot's of good and bad about Lincoln SW 200 including DOAs. Could you share your opinion and bits of advice in these two units? Thanks in advance.
noddybrian
- noddybrian
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Joined:Thu Jan 24, 2013 12:13 pm
The 186 is I believe a thermal arc been painted but has a very solid reputation & there are several members here own them so hopefully as time allows they will pitch in - mate of mine has / had one treated very badly as his emergency portable rig spends most of it's life rolling around in his van or falling off scaffolds ! think it's still going - the square wave I've heard good & bad but far more bad - can't say if it's just a volume thing that the more of a model is sold the number of problems is higher that you hear about - I heard from more than one person that it was a rushed model launch & they are playing catch up on getting them right - I would hope by now they have been out long enough to have it sorted - sorry don't own either myself so it's kinda 2nd hand info.
Both are good boxes. This may sound strange, but if you want to dabble as a hobbyist and you want a pretty full featured box, have a go with PrimeWeld AC/DC unit. It’s $800, fully equipped and the “responsible” reviews I’ve seen of it, have unusually surprised looks on their faces at the end. Worst they say about is the pedal sucks but you can see swap that out for another brand you like.
The one strange thing I’ve heard about the SW200 is that it does not have Lift Arc, only HF. That is an overlooked feature in my book.
The Esab get strong reviews and thy have tons of different models in the price range. Any will do you well.
The one strange thing I’ve heard about the SW200 is that it does not have Lift Arc, only HF. That is an overlooked feature in my book.
The Esab get strong reviews and thy have tons of different models in the price range. Any will do you well.
I picked up a PrimeWeld a few months back, only used it once to verify that it worked and took it up to our cabin to use for odd jobs. It seemed to have a nice arc on both DC and AC, HF is a little weak but for $775.00 bucks it's no bad at all. Granted I only used it once but I didn't think the foot pedal was that bad, like CJ mentioned you could always upgrade it, I thought about adding a Tig button to it??
Pete
Esab SVI 300, Mig 4HD wire feeder, 30A spool gun, Miller Passport, Dynasty 300 DX, Coolmate 4, Spectrum 2050, C&K Cold Wire feeder WF-3, Black Gold Tungsten Sharperner, Prime Weld 225
Esab SVI 300, Mig 4HD wire feeder, 30A spool gun, Miller Passport, Dynasty 300 DX, Coolmate 4, Spectrum 2050, C&K Cold Wire feeder WF-3, Black Gold Tungsten Sharperner, Prime Weld 225
WannaBeTigger
- WannaBeTigger
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Joined:Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:56 pm
Thanks for your inputs. I looked up the PRIMEWELD TIG225X but it seems to be unavailable. It does look like it has a good review. I initially purchased an AHP 200X but received a 201XD instead and it was DOA. The company said it was the same machine only the newest version. It had a very good review but due to the experience, I am kinda hesitant to give it a second chance. I'll wait for a few and hope to read more input from the forum. Again, thank you all.
noddybrian
- noddybrian
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Joined:Thu Jan 24, 2013 12:13 pm
I know a few people with the AHP albeit in various other colors / stickers & I mostly heard good reports - the original Mk 1 is not great it has fixed AC frequency ( 60hz )& a very strange " fuzzy " arc generally ( I still have one & it's seen a lot of hours at the high end of duty cycle & is still working - can't be bad when bought in a hurry to do one job for the princely sum of £400 delivered ! )I believe the new versions have improved in features with customer feedback so your DOA may be an unlucky fluke - not sure if they test them at all or just ship them & obviously they are Chinese so always a chance of a bad one - only consistent negative on them is the retarded toe pedal thing they insist on using - but you can change it - I don't think I would buy another as the market has changed considerably since I got it & there are many far better machines on the budget end of the market if your not a sticker snob.
I got a SW200 about a year or so ago and have been perfectly happy with it. I have no idea how it compares to the other machines being discussed here and as I am in no way an expert, my opinion may not carry all that much weight.
Before I got it I considered a number of similarly priced machines at the time. The various Everlast machines were the closest thing to the SW200 at the time and generally offered a bit more in the way of features for about the same price. In the end I finally settled on the Lincoln mostly because I could purchase it locally from a shop that I liked dealing with and can have at least some level of local support should I need it. Luckily for me so far I have not. In any case, while I don't use this every day or run it anywhere near its limits, I do use it regularly and it has done just fine by me.
There seem to be quite a few more to choose from now. I suspect that most of them will work just fine for you so long as you use it within its design limits. For me it was worth it to spend a few extra bucks to buy from a local place, but that is not right or wrong, it's just my preference.
Before I got it I considered a number of similarly priced machines at the time. The various Everlast machines were the closest thing to the SW200 at the time and generally offered a bit more in the way of features for about the same price. In the end I finally settled on the Lincoln mostly because I could purchase it locally from a shop that I liked dealing with and can have at least some level of local support should I need it. Luckily for me so far I have not. In any case, while I don't use this every day or run it anywhere near its limits, I do use it regularly and it has done just fine by me.
There seem to be quite a few more to choose from now. I suspect that most of them will work just fine for you so long as you use it within its design limits. For me it was worth it to spend a few extra bucks to buy from a local place, but that is not right or wrong, it's just my preference.
WannaBeTigger
- WannaBeTigger
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Joined:Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:56 pm
Well, I finally decided to go with the Lincoln SW tig 200 and ordered it from Welder Supply from IOC. Seems like for learning how to tig, it is the best for the money in the average of reviews particularly in warranty and support plus IOC has a 50% off on helmets with purchase of any welder. I tried local but none have it and in addition, I could use the 10% tax to buy the additional 2-year warranty. Thank you all and hope that I could ask for your inputs on tigging and problems that I may encounter.
IOC is a great retailer to deal with. I’ve bought q-u-i-t-e a bit of equipment and gear from them. Never missed a beat with them. Buddies even bought their AiPaks and PipePros from them. I think you will do well with the SW.WannaBeTigger wrote:Well, I finally decided to go with the Lincoln SW tig 200 and ordered it from Welder Supply from IOC. Seems like for learning how to tig, it is the best for the money in the average of reviews particularly in warranty and support plus IOC has a 50% off on helmets with purchase of any welder. I tried local but none have it and in addition, I could use the 10% tax to buy the additional 2-year warranty. Thank you all and hope that I could ask for your inputs on tigging and problems that I may encounter.
WannaBeTigger
- WannaBeTigger
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Joined:Tue Jan 29, 2019 1:56 pm
Sure will. Thank you all