Since people we talking about welding aliminium i decided to have a look about to see what the dollars are, and ive been keen on one for some time.

Anyone got an opinion on the Cigweld Transarc 161VRD
There is a secondhand one for sale here

Transmig 161 vrd

looking about, the going price new is $1500, so for $500, its not bad value. I havent checked postage yet, so that might kill it anyways.

All I would use it for is light alloy fabrication,... like making rocker covers for datsuns!
I have to run single phase 15 amp as thats all i can get at my place.

new transmig 161VRD unit

Cigweld website

Check that the welder has a/c current for aluminium it looks like d/c only

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/WeldSmart-200- ... m19b3a1b644#ht_5491wt_962

I'm not a Tig welder by any standard we had one of these where I used to work and it seemed to melt aluminium together fine and for the extra $600 I would get this one.Its new and in Perth

Cheers for that.

Im always wary of the chinese made stuff, and it seems thats what they supply.
I know that if you pay the chinese realy money, they can make good quality stuff. Its just that people want to pay them nix and then resell for big profits.

I also aware that you pay a lot for brands like cigweld, miller, thermadyne etc, but you pay for the quality and realibility for that. I know that most stuff comes from china now, but the bigger brands will pay them to make the right stuff.

Since they are in Perth, the next time I go down ill go down see what they have to say.

Any other comments?

i bought a little china made dc tig off ebay for 250 delivered, it doesn't do aluminium but does up to 15mm stainless steel and around 10mm carbon steel it struggles with the thicker stuff a little but i think thats mainly because i cut the 15amp plug of and put a 10 amp on it.

for what it is and how much it cost im very happy with it, my old man even reckons it goes alright and he's a pressure pipe welder. only thing is i can't remember if i got a tig torch with it but if i did it was #OOPS# so i got a new one

here's the link to the same model as mine http://cgi.ebay.com.au/LIFT-ARC-TIG-W ... 2a07f1c74d#ht_4128wt_1026 also depends what you want it for to, if your gonna spend 1000 dollars on one you might as well spend a bit more and get one that plasma cuts too

Do you really need a TIG for alloy?

I've been reading about MIG for alloy... since I already have a MIG I was contemplating some mods to make it run ally wire

you can use a mig for welding ally but the problem being it has to be at least 5mm think or thicker, or it will just melt the ally to nothing

I also have read up about using a mig.
You need to run a trimix gas (argon, co2, helium) and use it with ally wire or s/s wire depending on applicaition.

I believe that you can use your standard mig shield (arogn, co2) with a proper tig

The chinese units that you see about.
They list all the specs of the known brands, and some offer better specs, for significantly less.
Some people, like above say, yeah fine.
Some say, you get awsome units and some crap units. its a lottery.
Some say. just keep away from them. Crap, with no spare parts available and unrepairable.

For me, i want to make sure that what ever i buy its the right tool. If that means you have to spend some real cash, then i just have to save up. Buying something at half the prie only to have to replace it sooner, is not cost effective.

well buy a fronius there pretty much the best you will pay out the ass but there awesome my dads got one and it does everything

perhaps I need to clarify.

Buying the most expensive/best quality item is not always the answer. I have a friend who does that, and he burns cash like its going out of fashion, which I cant do, despite what people might think.

Its got to be value for money, which is what we all want regardless of what you buy. Value is of course an unmeasureable, personal, qualatative process.

What I mean by all this is
When im looking at an item, i decide what i plan to do with it, my constraints, and then look at cost last. If I have to spend the cash to get what is the best option for me, then thats the way it will be, but if I can satisfy my needs with a cheaper model, then why put your hard erned cash into someone elses pocket.

With that in mind, i havent heard of Fronius. ill have to do some research on them and have a look at what they offer and the average cost.

Haven't seen the specs of that cigweld but I'm picking it will be DC only so no ali welding.
When buying chinese, they are not all created equal, even though they all look very similar. Basically I think the old rule 'you get what you pay for' still applies.
I did a bit of research and ending up buying a Jasic 200A AC/DC which retails in NZ for NZ$2500-3000. It is nice to use, but has broken down three times. And that's supposed to be a good one. the repair shop said they are pretty reliable and told me the unit BOC used to sell was the same welder rebadged. Also Excel-arc, same welder. I don't use it everyday or anything but have given it a pretty hard work out on several occasions.(ie in a commercial setting, handpiece getting so hot you can't hang onto it even with good leather gloves)
Yes it has broken down but including repairs it would still work out way cheaper than an equivalent Kemppi, Fronius, Miller, Lincoln or whatever. I would love to have a nice Kemppi don't get me wrong but on my budget at the time it was chinese or nothing, and I'm quite happy with it.
Mig welding alloy is ok, but it brings it's own issues which you don't get around without spending big money on the right machine either.