Im in the market for a tig welder. Im debating between the Syncrowave 200 which is at the local welding supply store, they want 2K for it on sale right now. Looks like a great tig and I can weld aluminum with it w/ ac hf. But I was cruising ebay and found the econotig for about 1500 shipped, but it doesnt look like it has high frequency but is ac compatable. I dont really want scratch start but to save 500 bucks it might be worth it. There are alot of great welders on here that know alot more about these then I do, anyone w/ first hand experience w/ either of these could you give your opinion?

 

I have a synchro an its better than pockets in my underwear

 

Im looking at the 08 lincoln catalog and that looks like a pretty nice machine but I cant find if it is high frequency?

 

The Econotig must have HF to do aluminum. You cannot scratch start aluminum; you will contaminate your tungsten. I believe the difference between the two is that the Econotig has regular AC for aluminum while the Synchrowave has square wave for aluminum. I used the Synchrowave 250 at school on our MiniBaja project. That thing rocks! If you're doing a lot of aluminum, you might want the Synchrowave, otherwise, the Econotig is fine.

 

yeah the syncrowave is better in my opinion as it has a higher duty cycle then the econotig, i think the econotig has a max of 150 amps at like 20% duty cycle. that means in 10 min you can weld for 2 min befor you have to let it cool down.

found actual specs
econotig 20% @ 150 amp 15 volts
syncrowave 40% @150 amp 25 volts

 

Used econotigs go for around 1000-1200. Between those two, I'd get the syncrowave. It doesn't seem like you have weighted all you options either, keep reading before you spend $$$.

 

http://www.millerwelds.com/diversion...FSY1agod6SG0lQ

like 1400-1500 bucks.

 

That looks pretty sweet. I think if I were to buy a nice 230V welder I would go with something like that. I'm a hobbiest, not a pro