Budget TIG welders? HF/Eastwood/AHP..?

Anybody have experience with inexpensive TIG welders from the likes of Harbor Freight, Eastwood, AHP, Lotus, Forney, PrimeWeld, etc? I'm not quite looking to stoop to the level of $100 Amazon specials, but I'm looking for a hobby TIG welder for aluminum and stainless. I have a Hobart Handler 210MVP for mild steel if that gives you an idea of what level I'm at - not pro, not horrible, don't want complete junk. It will do aluminum with a spool gun, but I am/was much better at TIG on aluminum, but it's been years.

I have a hard time spending $1000 at Harbor Freight for something like the Titanium 200... because I have a HF bias and $1000 should buy a truckload of tools, not one tool... cuz IME they are cheap...



Eastwood has their 200 Amp AC/DC TIG on sale for $700. Not sure if it's any better than the HF unit, but it has more switches and knobs, so it gots to be..??




AHP is pre-ordering their newest machines, the 225XI and 203XI. Estimates ship date December 29, just late enough to miss my time off over the holidays. Their older machines aren't even available on their site.



I've looked at Lotus before as well, but don't honestly remember what's good/bad about them. Seem cheaper to me...






Good, used welders are slim pickin's around here on the Craigslist and such.

Any experience? Any advice (other than you get what you pay for)? I honestly paid less than most of these welders for my Hobart a few years back and it has been excellent for my needs. TIG is a different animal and I'd like to try it out again, but don't want/need the $2k+ buy-in from Miller/Lincoln/ESAB/EVERLAST. Not knocking those machines one bit, just a little out of my price range for my needs.

 

Few questions for you:
-are you committed to an AC/DC unit for aluminum?
-need HF start?
-Amp/material thickness needs?

Keep hunting local for used and you might be able to save some money on a nice reliable name brand. The pro with that versus a no name is parts and repairs if you ever need it. Also check with your local welder supply to see if they have any off lease units. My local ARC3 deals with a lot of race teams and shops that use them for a season or two then they resell them. Of course those are usually miller dynasty models so that doesn’t really fit your budget! However they might have leads on some local used models. I’ve had an older Tweco (now ESAB), and a couple Everlast AC/DC models and for the money, especially the digital models like the powertig ext it’s hard to beat. Everlast has some deals going right now with upgraded torches, pedal, etc. so definitely worth a look, I’d go green over harbor freight any day. Also good support for parts and service if needed. I also run Miller and Lincoln for other processes so I’m not brand loyal.
If you really just want to get going with DC you can always go old school and scratch start a cheap stick machine too!

 

Good points. I’ve considered some of them, but you bring some that I ought to consider. To answer your questions:

- I’m not necessarily committed to Ac/DC for aluminum, but it seems the most versatile route for finer control? Admittedly, I am ignorant of many welding specifics and standards, but I am a quick study and willing to learn.

Understanding welding was a required part of my schooling, but proficiency was not, if that makes sense. we learned the basics of MIG, TIG, stick, even some splatter, most of which I started learning in high school. They wouldn’t let use C4 to friction weld, though…

- I would prefer HF start, but I’m sure I could get by without it if it were a deal breaker.

- I suspect I would limit aluminum to 1/4” max; stainless would prolly be sheet goods in the 18-14 gauge range - maybe 1/8”. Maybe…

But I know SS likes amperage; I don’t think a 120 machine would do it - or maybe just not well - so I’ve been looking at 120/240 machines. I could very well be wrong about that. But that’s one reason I chose my Hobart - I can wheel it outside the garage and use a regular 130 outlet or throw it in the trailer and grab my small generator (didn’t have a 240 Gennie when I bought it), or I can take advantage of my 240 lines at my workshop or house shop and really burn it in.

I will check the local welding supply house as you suggest. I own some tools that will be at end of service simply because of (the lack of) parts availability, so that’s a good point to stick to name brands. Unfortunately, I’ve been burned a few times in used gear that worked for a short while, then failed catastrophically. Usually, a post-mortem revealed duct tape, bailing wire, and bubble gum spliced in to the inner workings somewhere, so I’m a little gun shy and prefer to buy new.

So I guess that’s the crux of my dilemma - look at cheaper, inexpensive machines understanding that they will be used sparingly and not relied upon for sustenance, or look for a quality used machine in the same price range that I hope wasn’t used to train all the rookies, rode hard, and put away wet. I also don’t like buying cheap tools unless I know it’s temporary to get me by until I can get the machine I really want. But that’s usually need based instead of want, like this tool.

Typically, I can justify the cost of buying a new, quality machine but this is a little harder pill to swallow. Says the guy that just burned down his card on Black Friday deals for his tundra and his wife’s sequoia…

Thanks for your advice.

 

I got a PrimeWeld TIG225X. Not the cheapest, but it does all the stuff you'd need a tig welder to do, and you can usually find them on sale.

Also, in case you haven't seen, you can get filled argon tanks from Primeweld for like $300 delivered to your door. Way less $ than anything I was able to find locally