MIG or TIG?

[IH8Wood]

I learned to weld about 20 years ago with stick and gas and was pretty good. I really liked gas because of the control. I want to start welding again. I'm thinking about going TIG because it seems more versatile and appeals to my obsessive nature.

So my big question is, are there're any disadvantages to TIG and why is MIG more popular?

I can get a screaming deal on a Miller Dynasty 200 DX but I can't find the power requirements for it. I have 220v at 50 amps. Is that adequate?

Thanks in advance - Seth

 

[Wile E Coyote]

Relative to MIG:
Disadvantages to TIG? Cost of welder, slower process, more sensitive to poor fit-up, and a bit more power hungry to enable single-pass welding of thicker materials esp. when welding aluminum. These are very subjective disadvantages, and clearly none should be considered non-starter issues in your case. Your available 50a service diminishes the 'power hungry' description for example.
Advantages to TIG? Versatility and asthetics of finished weldment (looks 'better'). Versatility is king, here obviously.

MIG is more popular due to it's friendlier learning curve (generally), it's more forgiving fit-up requirements, availability of cheaper 110v hobbyist machines with quicker startup procedures and fewer adjustments, etc.

For a guy that's good at Oxy-fuel welding, TIG could actually be the easier of the two processes to learn.
Your 50 amps should feel that Miller okay, BTW.

 

[Pin_Head]

I also learned stick and OA in class and the only things I ever welded on the job was muffler tube, which was all OA. I found that TIG was very similar to OA with even more control of the heat with a foot pedal. It is a slower process, but being able to weld aluminum and stainless is a bonus. I tend to pull out the TIG torch if I have a choice.

 

[IH8Wood]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for your input. I'm going TIG.

 

[bugsnbikes]

I can get a screaming deal on a Miller Dynasty 200 DX

can others get a screaming deal on a Miller dynasty 200dx???

 

[IH8Wood]

can others get a screaming deal on a Miller dynasty 200dx???

Craigslist

 

[fj40pants]

Buy the dynasty, hands down. I am assuming the dx also has ac for Tig welding aluminum. you can turn it so far down you can weld Monster cans together. The only issue I have had with mine is when welding at a higher amperage, the tig gun tends to heat up quickly. A plus, the dynasty will take care of all your stick welding applications

 

[fj40charles]

Buy the dynasty, hands down. I am assuming the dx also has ac for Tig welding aluminum. you can turn it so far down you can weld Monster cans together. The only issue I have had with mine is when welding at a higher amperage, the tig gun tends to heat up quickly. A plus, the dynasty will take care of all your stick welding applications

Yes, it has AC for aluminum. Water cooled torch is a nice option.

 

[byrd_hntr]

Looks like I might be in the market for a welder and this thread helped me make up my mind. Now where is that screaming deal.... LOL.

 

[tarmacblack]

Craigslist

All I can say about buying a used Dynasty is make sure you check that everything functions correctly before you hand over your cash.

Dynasty repairs aren't cheap. I'm $1k into my Dynasty 200DX for parts that were bad when I purchased it. For the price I'm into it now I could have bought a brand new welder with a 3 year warranty.

Be careful, these Inverter machines are awesome, but they are also much more expensive to repair than the transformer machines.

 

[yotawheeler]

tig is actually very forgiving for fit up...running open roots on pipe with tig is 100x easier to fit up then when running them on stick, tig you just add more filler into the gap. i tend not to use a foot pedal when doing steel or stainless but it is almost mandatory when running aluminum as it conducts heat so much better and heats up the whole piece quickly. running a water cooled torch can be nice but really not needed, i prefer a the smaller torches because they are more nimble, welding with a water cooled torch is kinda like welding with a broomstick and after a day of walking the cup with that ur wrist will be sore. best part of tig is that once you get good at it your welds will look beautiful and its a very clean weld, no prep to do really when doing a multi pass weld other than a quick brush, the downside is that even when you get good and are welding at higher amperages (thus faster) its still much much slower than MIG will ever be. MIG is fast, little clean up, easier to learn and usually a cheaper machine compared to similar tig setups