Do Fancy Welders Make Your Work Better?

Chips O'Toole · Sun Oct 18, 2020 9:29 pm

I am curious. I seem to be doing fine with my Harbor Freight Titanium MIG, and I never feel the need to fire up my old Lincoln PowerMIG 180, but I wonder...what am I missing by not blowing a mountain of money on an ESAB?

Oscar · Sun Oct 18, 2020 10:11 pm

Define "better".

JayWal · Sun Oct 18, 2020 10:15 pm

The only feature I can think of off hand that id pay more money for is a machine withpulse spray capability. Makes for a lot nicer and generally spatter free welds. With some practice it can be run in all positions unlike just good ol spray transfer which is flat only. Very good for some hot and heavy welds.

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DennisCA · Sun Oct 18, 2020 11:39 pm

I'm not paying for fancy features myself, I want a machine that is durable and lasts a long time, which means a manufacturer that uses quality components.

Preferably a machine I can keep going myself indefinetly, so not too modern either, transformer based switching for one, 2nd hand machinery. My most modern machines has few features, just power and quallity. Does have spot, intervall welding* and continuous modes.

* like a simple pulse function

Oscar · Mon Oct 19, 2020 12:11 am

JayWal wrote:The only feature I can think of off hand that id pay more money for is a machine withpulse spray capability. Makes for a lot nicer and generally spatter free welds. With some practice it can be run in all positions unlike just good ol spray transfer which is flat only. Very good for some hot and heavy welds.

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Then how come you haven't gotten a ProPulse 300 yet?

JayWal · Mon Oct 19, 2020 12:34 am

Other machines besides HTP do exist...[emoji16]

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Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:19 am

it depends on what you use it for.

pulse is handy for mig aluminium, especially on thinner material.
double pulse if you want the stack of dimes look.

synergic i don't like, much prefer to set my own because conditions always change.

the other fancy feature is storing settings.
not uncommon to get machines that allow you to store the settings your using (job) and allows you to recall that later on.
store 20 different job types and select the one suitable for the work, fine adjust if need be. just a quicker way of having a cheat sheet. really good for commercial use, not so much for hobby work.

BillE.Dee · Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:29 am

what I've found is the newer inverter type machines use less power to do the same work than the transformer type machines use....class for class. My wife gets in my poop when I use the old machine when she sees the electric bill. The newer machines have more functions and help to get the look I'm wanting. Probably me but ....

Mon Oct 19, 2020 7:47 am

In my opinion, in Australia at least, welding equipment can be cataloged according to price. Too cheap (avoid) cheaper (OK for home/light use) medium (should be able to be used regularly without any issues, a good investment) high (should be able depended on to perform most tasks well enough for business purposes) very high (high end equipment that has lots of features that can pump out the work day after day with no trouble.

In Australia, for example, in an ac/dc tig you have no name ebay brands for about 600-800 bucks. Not going to be good. Then you can step up to around 1200 bucks for a machine for home, then 1600 for a nicer machine that is going to dependable. Then we start going into over 3 grand. Good brands with good backup and good equipment. Over 5 grand for a 200 amp tig gets you to the miller dynasties/kemppi /fronius. Buy these for your business but only if you can take advantage of the benefits and get returns from your money.

What I'm saying is, do the research on money and don't get confused by marketing.

Chips O'Toole · Mon Oct 19, 2020 3:42 pm

It sounds like a lot of the money goes toward reliability and features that help people who do the same thing over and over. So it's not like welding helmets, where a $300 helmet really will help you do better work.

Louie1961 · Mon Oct 19, 2020 3:46 pm

Chips O'Toole wrote:I am curious. I seem to be doing fine with my Harbor Freight Titanium MIG, and I never feel the need to fire up my old Lincoln PowerMIG 180, but I wonder...what am I missing by not blowing a mountain of money on an ESAB?

Without looking up the features of the titanium unit, in general, yes the features can make for better welds. Things like run in speed, burn back, spot and stitch times, and inductance can all make for better welds. Once you have those controls, you may never go back to not having them.

BillE.Dee · Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:56 pm

This whole post is a lot different than my wife picking out a new car. She only needs 2 things ... full tank of gasoline and an on/off switch....

Oscar · Mon Oct 19, 2020 5:08 pm

JayWal wrote:Other machines besides HTP do exist...[emoji16]

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That are better, or even at the same level with regards to pulsed-spray, as the stuff HTP imports? Hardly any, in my unbiased opinion, and the ones that I've read about that are really good are not available in North America.