TIG Welding?

[Huzzer]

I have a ton of aluminium things that I want to weld. I've been MIG welding most of my life, and can arc and gas weld sufficiently but I've never TIG welded before.

I am keen to get a decent unit for use at home (no work duties). I've seen plenty of the ebay specials, what I can make out is that a half decent unit starts at around $1000. i guess the cheapy ones would be useless. I've also seen them costing $25 grand, clearly I dont need anything as good as that.

There are tons to choose from, does anyone have any recommendations? Advice?
tig welder | eBay

Plasma cutter function would be useful too.

My other question is about the gas. I know that usually you need to rent a bottle in order to have it refilled and that they won't refill any thing else. Is there a way around this? Buying a bottle, does any one fill these? As I won't be using it that much, I don't really want to rent a bottle.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[kennyboy]

for welding ali you want a ac/dc tig, you cant just use any tig welder. and as far a gas goes your very limited, but i think boc is doing a small bottle you can buy thats pre filled and you throw out after but it only last for like 20 min of welding.

AC/DC TIG WITH PULSE, INVERTER WELDER, PLASMA CUTTER | eBay

like this one, this is low end of the market=ghey

this one will cost more but will work well, stable arc and easy start. will do all stainless, mild steel, ali. pretty much anything you can weld it will do.
http://www.lincolnelectric.com.au/pr...ecision-tig225

if you want it to do plasma aswell and be half good to use and not frustrate you no end and make you want to smash it dont go cheap. cheap welders are shit to use and you will spend more time cleaning up the shit you make then doin the job, but im sure you know this using mig.
its like comparing gasless mig to normal gas assisted mig

[robwas]

Have a look at Gentronics in Welshpool. They are very helpfull and have quite competetive pricing most of the time. They are also the AirLiquide agent so can set you up with the gas as well.

[kennyboy]

yea i was going to suggest gentronics also, the fronius range is pricey but good stuff. you would have to seriously think about what kind of thickness your going to weld and get the lowest amp welder to suit to keep the cost down.

[Huzzer]

Thats great, thanks for that.

I'll check out Gentronics.

[quinn]

Also be mindful of the power outlet required....you may find that the higher rated machines require a 15A outlet, not the domestic standard.

[kennyboy]

Alot of ac/dc tigs are 3 phase also

[Mattpack]

Its the old "get what you pay for" when it comes to tigs. For production work or non critical that doesnt need to be perfect, have a google at 'token welders'. They are a single phase 200amp AC/DC, air cooled torch tig machine. I use one on site for ally plate work and stainless handrails and works a treat. But for fine finish, 'stacked dimes' or paper thin stainless work you cant go past a Fronius as mentioned earlier. Bit pricey, but well worth the investment. Great machine to use.
TIG Welding Equipment | TransTig | AC/DC | Fronius

As for gas, not much you can do. Keep in mind the smaller bottles can often be more expensive to rent (cos they go missing on building sites) and would only be a few cashies for friends over the year to pay for the gas anyway.

[MJ58]

E size bottle of argoshield cost me about $100 a year to rent from Boc and roughly the same to refil/swap.