been tig welding for 22 years here's my 2 cents, combination tigs are great (mig and tig or tig and plasma) but when one breaks you lose 2 tools while it's being fixed no tig or mig to use.
I've used everything from water cooled 700 amp kempi to $10000.00 ac/dc millers.
there are a few things to consider when looking for a tig no matter what size or brand ,look at the specs in particular the duty cycle the higher the number the better( you should be looking at atleast 90%) the lower the number the worse it will perform on an extened weld eg.. the amps will slowly drop the higher the number the less drop..
the best brands are esseti, caddy ,miller and kempi , here's my rule the more nobs and the more settings you have to play with only make for a bigger headache to get it right as these machines are never very forgiving if not set quite right pulsed tig is fantastic if you use it everyday and have the time to get set it right.the tig I have at home cost 300 bucks has 2 nobs on/off and amps and it works great i grind near it I've dropped it and I don't have to worry cause it did'nt cost me 2 grand,for any alu welding I need I just take to shop to have done (on that note most people don't realise that alot of migs can weld alu with few minor changes)having said all that crap tig welding is pretty easy to learn , it's not until your under the car and that blob of hot stuff has gone down your sleve and is rolling aroung your back that you find out how much fun it is..

Few pointers for potential TIG buyers.

You NEED separate TIG gas. You cant use MIG shield, you need to use pure argon. In addition you cant use TIG gas on a MIG.

I got a 200A AC/DC pulse TIG at home which I make all my manifolds, pipe works, exhausts, everything with. Its a cheap UNIMIG branded one from Nubco and it Only cost me $1500 (and it has warranty) new so I was stoked.

Heaps of grunt, I cant weld all day on it and it has a good amount of controls on it (pre/post gas, ramp down, current, pluse freq, pluse hi current, pluse low current, arc force and a few I've forgot).

On 200A You can weld 8mm Ali ok, any thicker and you need to preheat or you waste gas heating the job with the arc. Also remember, its a TIG - you dont use TIG to do gorilla jobs like 10mm plate etc. That stuff is for MIG's.

And use proper TIG gloves! So much better.

Thanks for the feedback.

I already own a small collection of welders,(150amp gasless mig, 280 amp arc, 220amp mig, 100 amp arc) and not a big fan of combo stuff as a general rule.

Ill do some more research particulary o the token tools, and the boss unit and get back with some info for others.

Cheers

Trans Tig

Saw this ad on Guntree this morning.

Looks to be an older tarnsformer type unit. Cant tell if its single phase or three phase, although its only a 150 amp unit so it could be single phase.

Any opinions?

yeh used one before very good welder except the hot start on ours kept breaking,( it used what could be described as a set if points for the hot start but they were prone to becoming dirty ) but they were aesy to clean and cheap to replace. oh yeh and ours was single phase.

Quote:

What brand and model is it?

Anyone know anyting about the Cigweld Transmig 150amp units

This one is single phase AC/DC and it seems reasonably cheap since a new 200 amp Cigwled unit goes for over $4000.

It must be the older line of machines, since the Cigweld website doesent even list a 150amp unit anymore, only 200 amp stuff.

Since its CIGweld, then spare are available and are repairable.

For those dollars it seems like a good deal. Anyone know anything about the Cigweld 150amp units?

And Since it is my bday, if anyone wants to buy me a present.....

gumtree ad

You'll probably want to ask them if they have the hoses, fittings and regulator for the gas. Another thing to think about is the gas. Straight Argon isn't cheap.

Just spoke to him about this. Seems like a winner. its about 10 years old and works a dream according to him.

It doesent have the regulator and hoses, but thats not mega expensive. Im thining this cuold be my bday present to myself!

I ended up buying this unit.

Its very clean and tidy.
Came with a ton of filler rods.
Brass/copper (I think), stainless, and mild steel.

So now a happy owner of a 150amp Cigweld TransTig.

Went a bought a 2.4mm tip and have been praticing with the mild steel in DC mode to try and get my hand/eye in for it.
Will be getting some better gloves as my normal gauntlents are just too clumsy for the filler rods and the handpiece.

Have played around with the settings knobs.

Anyone help me out with what they all do exactly?

Post flow and pre flow- I know thats the timers for the gas flow before and after the arc.

The amps setting makes sense. Its a pity its not measureed in amps. Its a scale of 1-10.

Its the other one that im not sure how to set properly. (on the far right in the pic)
Arc Force? set on a scale of 1-10. What does this adjust? and how does that relate to amps?

And what is with the black sections on the knob scales? are these 'ideal' setting ranges? If so, ideal for what?

Pic of the exact same unit as my new one.
http://www.nzwrs.com/t_tig150



I havent been able to get anything online yet. Plenty of general information, but nothing for this model.
The thermadyne website has nothing, and general web searches dont bring up any specific for this model.

I think ill try contact Thermadyne direct and request an owners manual if they have them.