I have not had too many calls for a tig welder, but occasionally need one. Fortunately I have a friend that owns a fabrication shop and can take care of my tig welding needs. Now to the point. I got a flyer from Harbor Freight tools, in it is a Chicago Electric tig welder. It is only $199.99. Dirt cheap for a tig welder. Most that I have priced are about $1,300.00 to $1,700.00. Has anyone here ever had any experience with this welder.
Any Tig Welders Here?
- Thread starter Lazy D
- Start date
I have bought stuff from them. It is all imported but seems to be fairly good quality. I am no TIG expert, but I know that to become one takes a lot of practice unless you want to ruin the work. I think you can get one for around $700; whether it would be any better than that one, I don't know.
Needless to say, the "Chicago Electric" welder has never been anywhere near Chicago, unless Chicago moved to China or India.
Jim
Needless to say, the "Chicago Electric" welder has never been anywhere near Chicago, unless Chicago moved to China or India.
Jim
cntryboy1289
New member
Lol
How true that is Jim, I have heard of folks doing some light TIG welding with one, but they just don't offer much to the average welder.
If it was me looking for a TIG welding machine, Miller and Lincoln both offer a AC/DC, arc/TIG machine for around $1200 that has the HF built into it. I wouldn't waste my money on th HF unit myself. Just not enough control over it nor will it do heavy work.
How true that is Jim, I have heard of folks doing some light TIG welding with one, but they just don't offer much to the average welder.
If it was me looking for a TIG welding machine, Miller and Lincoln both offer a AC/DC, arc/TIG machine for around $1200 that has the HF built into it. I wouldn't waste my money on th HF unit myself. Just not enough control over it nor will it do heavy work.
cntryboy1289. I think you mean a non HF unit is no good?
without the HF unit you are on scratch start which is hit and miss and you cant weld stainless or aluminum without it. The other thing is stability, the more dollars you pay the better the tranny and circuits, cheapos have ally wire trannnys, and weeny circuits so the voltage and current are all over the place, therefore sso is your weld. Been there done a bit and now have a $1500 unit
without the HF unit you are on scratch start which is hit and miss and you cant weld stainless or aluminum without it. The other thing is stability, the more dollars you pay the better the tranny and circuits, cheapos have ally wire trannnys, and weeny circuits so the voltage and current are all over the place, therefore sso is your weld. Been there done a bit and now have a $1500 unit
cntryboy1289
New member
LOL, HF=Harbor Freight in that sentence
LOL, guess that was a little misleading. The Econotig uses HF to start the welds if I am not mistaken. It comes in around $1200 which if you price a HF unit, they are giving you the welder for $400 bucks, so it's not a bad price for an AC/DC welder with the TIG thrown in.
I scratch started my welds for years, I just didn't do a lot of TIG work and didn't see the need for the HF unit. I spent a lot of time grinding on the Tungsten and used a copper plate to start my arc on most of the time. Now that I ponied up for the HF(HIGH FREQUENCY this time) unit, I can't see how in the world I ever made it without it.
I guess I need to keep Harbor Freight and a High Frequency Unit very separate,lol, one helps you weld and the other is a piece of sh*t.
LOL, guess that was a little misleading. The Econotig uses HF to start the welds if I am not mistaken. It comes in around $1200 which if you price a HF unit, they are giving you the welder for $400 bucks, so it's not a bad price for an AC/DC welder with the TIG thrown in.
I scratch started my welds for years, I just didn't do a lot of TIG work and didn't see the need for the HF unit. I spent a lot of time grinding on the Tungsten and used a copper plate to start my arc on most of the time. Now that I ponied up for the HF(HIGH FREQUENCY this time) unit, I can't see how in the world I ever made it without it.
I guess I need to keep Harbor Freight and a High Frequency Unit very separate,lol, one helps you weld and the other is a piece of sh*t.
I have a Lincoln Electricc Precision Tig 185 myself ... IMO those Chicago Electric TIG welders are not something you want to waste your money on. Cheap parts ,gun transformers and more.
I'd stay away from 110-120v units too. If you're trying to weld Stainless or Aluminum , they're not gonna cut it. They're really only good for sheet metals, IMO.
BTW : $199 for a tig welder ?!? Even from Chicago Electric , that price can't be right.
I'd stay away from 110-120v units too. If you're trying to weld Stainless or Aluminum , they're not gonna cut it. They're really only good for sheet metals, IMO.
BTW : $199 for a tig welder ?!? Even from Chicago Electric , that price can't be right.
Ive got the Lincoln 220 tig and I have had no problems with it. Like country boy I used to do the scratch thing for years, then I wanted to do some stainless work and dug deep for the new unit, what a blast, foot pedal start, instant arc-up way to go! I agree the 120v units are not as good if you want to do more than sheet metal, but if your just messing around they are ok, I like the Miler units too, I would be just as happy to go for one of theirs, they have a good name.
U.S.SFC_RET
New member
Tig is all about current control and you can't really get it with that model. IMHO you get what you pay for every time. Save your dollars.