What are some good older machines?

[CATM93]

For those of us on a limited budget, what are some of the better old TIG machines we might keep a lookout for? What accessories should we look for with them? Putting together a shop on a limited budget, but still want to get some good equipment.

[vicegrip]

Are you aware that the further down the price tag & time-line you go
the HEAVY'ER the machine is likely to be?

ranging around what 350 400lbs. for a DialArc to 965lbs.
for my good Ol' Linde UCC 305. Miller AP/B 330 around 700 lbs. (estimate).

Even SyncroWaves I think go around 500lbs. for the 350.
=======================
Not trying to knock you off the sent, just pointing out the
"Tonnage" you might need to handle...........

There are advantages to old-tech.
I have a Miller AP/B 330 from 1968 that still works 100%
And a friend has an even older Miller AP/B 230 that still works.
Both are even selenium rectified.

Cheers
vg

[snoeproe]

Do you need an ac/dc tig welder with hf start (aluminum) or just a dc tig weelder (steel, stainless)?
If you dont need to weld aluminum it opens up a much longer list of machines and costs much less.

[usmcpop]

Though you didn't mention the size you might need, here are several to consider:

DialArc HF
Syncrowave 250
Idealarc 250

http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtal...inions-please&

[Roger]

Often you will see higher or same amp welders with same features and condition priced lower than most other welders because they require 3 phase power not available in most small shops.

[monckywrench]

Are you aware that the further down the price tag & time-line you go
the HEAVY'ER the machine is likely to be?

ranging around what 350 400lbs. for a DialArc to 965lbs.
for my good Ol' Linde UCC 305. Miller AP/B 330 around 700 lbs. (estimate).

Even SyncroWaves I think go around 500lbs. for the 350.

Anything too heavy to manually pick up...is a reason to weld up an angle iron dolly with casters....or bolt it together until you can weld it. Hunks of pipe make nice rollers if needed.

They are tough and harder to steal, what's not to like?

[Pin Head]

Be sure to get the foot pedal or finger external control unit, because they are hard to find and the units don't work well without them.

Linde Heliarc is another oldy but goody.

Another bonus of the heavy old transformer units is your friends won't ask to borrow it.

[usmcpop]

As mentioned, some of the older units require a foot pedal with a huge internal resistor and these are hard to come by (Dialarc hf, for example). A Syncrowave takes a much smaller resistor and third-party foot pedals are available at reasonable price.

[BD1]

Hi, MERRY CHRISTMAS, I have a 180SD miller single phase transformer tig and stick machine with foot pedal. Got it cheap and it is awesome. Runs on single phase 220 volt and 50 amp breaker same as my Miller CST 280 inverter. got the 180 with pedal,tig torch, and stick leads for $800.00.The Miller 200 is about the same machine but a little more money. The inverters are nice and portable and some can be ran on 110 volt if you plan on out of shop work. Not sure where you are but try craigs list. Heres two in denver

http://denver.craigslist.org/tls/2717119209.html

http://denver.craigslist.org/tls/2717119209.html

[CATM93]

I finally lucked out and found a Miller 330AP/B for a little over $500. The guy threw in two sets of torches with it and a coolant tank. Unfortunately, there wasn't a foot control included with the deal. How hard will it be to come up with one that will fit this machine? You were right when you said this was a heavy unit. I welded up an angle iron cart to move it around with, but now have to figure out what other things I will need to operate it. Any suggestions or words of warning? I already signed up for a course from a local Junior College to get the basic of TIG welding down. I'm going to look for tanks and regulators next.

[usmcpop]

First, you have to figure out exactly which foot pedal you need. I believe it's one of the various "rfc23" types, but Miller made a lot of different ones including RFC-23A, RFCS-23, RFC-23AG, RFC-23GD25A, etc. They also made quite a few variants of the 330 welder. I think Vicegrip on this forum has the 330AP/B model. Maybe he can tell you exactly which model pedal he's using. Or call Miller.

[vicegrip]

I finally lucked out and found a Miller 330AP/B for a little over $500. The guy threw in two sets of torches with it and a coolant tank. Unfortunately, there wasn't a foot control included with the deal. How hard will it be to come up with one that will fit this machine? You were right when you said this was a heavy unit. I welded up an angle iron cart to move it around with, but now have to figure out what other things I will need to operate it. Any suggestions or words of warning? I already signed up for a course from a local Junior College to get the basic of TIG welding down. I'm going to look for tanks and regulators next.

(1) I think I have the PDF manual for the newer "Diode"-bridge version.
(2) I might also have the PDF manual for the older "Selenium"-rectifier-bridge version.
(3) The H.F capacitors often fail with age and leak a black tar.
The caps are TAN colored. They are under the "flap"

Does it have a long assembly of orange fins in it?
Or big plug-style diodes?

You want a 23 pedal 15 ohms I think
NOT a 14 which is something like 10,000 ohms.
LIKE THIS ONE.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Miller-RFC-2...item5ae4503747
Kinda pricey, don't pay that much, I can sell you a 23 that I bought
and found it to have a 14 coil in it. Dang it!
The right ciol is about $50 I think.

Structurally the same, 23 has thick wire-wound resister-coil .025" dia wire.
14 has thin wire-wound resister-coil .006" dia wire.
You can type in your serial number on Miller"s site but the manual
might be a few days to turn up on older units.
==========
2 of mine have an early version of "Lift-Arc" which even works with
heavy stick-welding.....very handy to start a repair arc in tight difficult spots.

[usmcpop]

If you download the foot pedal manuals from Miller, one of them contains about 6 variants, with different plug ends/wiring and several different resistance and wattage values. Confusing.

[vicegrip]

If you download the foot pedal manuals from Miller, one of them contains about 6 variants, with different plug ends/wiring and several different resistance and wattage values. Confusing.

Good point BUT as long as you get 15 OHMS and 150 watts.....
you can deal with the plugs for the right price.

By removing the top you can see the pannel rheostat..........
It will be labeled as to watts.
The pedal needs to match it.

[brucer]

Hobart TR-250-HF
Linde/L-tec Heliweld 306