Found a local Miller Econotig for sale for $900, has all the stuff except for the bottle (foot control, and other goodies needed), anybody have one or used one with good or bad experiance??

Usually they go for about $1300 or more so saving some money is always a good thing....I cannot afford a $2500 welder so this one caught my attention...

It'll do aluminum which is a plus (up to 3/16" norm with thicker material if you preheat from what I hear)



thanks !!!

I have seen some fair deals on TIG welders on Craigslist lately but they usually go fast if it is that good of a deal. Can you get the rest of the parts needed to make it complete and still be in your price range? If you feel it is a fair price, go for it. Then I will know where I can go to have some TIG done

My friend had one for years and liked it and he welds quite a bit. The only gripe
he had with it was you can't weld thin material without burning thru. He sold it and
got a Lincoln similar to the Miller. The Miller only would go down to 30 amps and the
Lincoln goes down to 10 amps and is more adjustable. So if your not going to weld thin stuff it should be alright.

Good too know . . . there are econotigs for sale quite a bit in the papaer around here I always wondered if they were any good.

If you are TIG centered, then thats alot of cash just to TIG. A gas cooled TIG setup runs about $200 with the gage and all at most welding suppliers. You then get a cheap arc welding buzz box at Lowes or Sears or something. To Tig, all you do is reverse the polarity by switching leads on the TIG kit and you can arc weld 3/16 rod on heavier stuff. You can do well with $400 or less with new stuff.

Thats scratch start but I've used both and for our stuff, it really dosen't matter for either one.

Interesting.

I had one for about two years used it to weld body panels it was a nice welder for the money I paid 1300 thru cyberweld.com I liked it alot it was easy to learn to use never had TIG welded before I got it I would get the thumb wheel if you are going to be welding in hard to reach places.

$200 TIG that welds aluminum?

Show me a link.

I have one of those $200 harbor freight units, I don't like the scratch start (got any tips on getting a good start without the damn tip sticking to the metal????)

I bought a old Hobart cybertig off e-bay for $600, bought a new foot pedal, a used water cooled torch, and built my own cooler. Went to the Linde store and leased a bottle for 10 years for under $100. All said and done I have around $1000 in the set up. I can weld a pop can up to a bridge with this thing. It's old but I have used the new one and like what I have!! The square wave machines I don't think work very good on old aluminum, like the sign wave ones do

I have a econtig and I am taking a advance class in tig welding right now. At school with have small units to units used in aircraft and Motorsports. There are many ways to hold and run a bead with a tig. even if you have 30 amps for thin stuff change your angle of the tip less heat on the project. I love the Econotig, it runs cool and is fast to set up. Also changing the size of your Tungten will allow you to weld thin. IMO

Mike I don't think you'll have any time on your hands to weld When your running the Mill making Taco Plates