I had considered the Synchrowave series but they were just too big and not portable enough for what I needed at the time . Bought a Dynasty 200, now about 5yrs old and have never regretted it a bit .
One word about spool guns- be really careful how you use them. I've had to re-repair a lot of parts that were spool welded with DC on aluminum. If your gun has a speed knob learn to use it to prevent blobs and overbuild, it leads to problems with leaks in pressure applications and really doesn't get good penetration. That is the one thing about TIG process, you can clearly see and understand what the base of the weld puddle is doing . It took several months and a lot of swearing before I was comfortable enough to work on pressurized parts due to variations in aluminum alloys . Read the manuals, research on the net and learn to use those balance/frequency controls, really makes a difference.
Sarge
I'm with Sarge on this one, the new small inverters are very sweet packages but they can be pricy. I sell this stuff for a living and have connections to get most any of big name welders at a discount. I have a small shop in my pole barn and this years winter project is a 16' 1985 Lund fishing boat that I've stripped and am re-outfitting to my liking. I needed a new TIG with good versitility and low end, after looking at all my options I went with the Miller Dynasty 200, I really think it offered me the most bang for the buck.
When I selected this Miller I considered the Diversion 180, ESAB and Lincoln welders. As a rule I'm not a Miller guy but really liked the features and arc of Miller best so I waited till a Reconditioned unit came up at Miller and ordered it. I had to do some convincing to my wife why something so small was so pricy compared to my other welders (she is over it (I think))
I have a quite a few shops that TIG weld and a few that really pound on this 200 and they hold up quite well so I'm confident in it's durability. Right now I'm running it air-cooled with a 125 amp torch and a ProFax foot remote and I really like the set up, if I had lots to weld or put it in a commercial shop I would recommend water-cooling.
As far as MIG vs TIG like everyone I have an opinion: if a strong cosmetically pleasing weld is needed TIG will almost always be my preferrence, this is especially true for aluminum. TIG costs more initially and is generally slower but the results (when correctly applied) are typically superior.
With this said in my welding sales world over 90% of what I sell MIG because pretty in not always important, speed is what drives labor costs down and MIG rules here. I've been doing this a long time and lke my job because I get to see thousands of different projects from 1-offs to super high production, it keeps me busy and pays the bills.
RIght now my pole barn weld shop has:
(1) Miller Maxstar 200 (my favorite)
(1) Hobart TigWave 350 (old with a bad low end)
(1) Hobart 175 Handler (good for .030 and down wire)
(1) OTC 270 MIG (made by Thermal Arc, good with .045 very good single phase MIG arc)
(1) THermal Dynamic 40 amp plasma (works sweet on the .062 dimaond plate right now!)
