TIG welder....110V.....such a thing?

[Kokamo]

Hey guys, I recently had the chance to get a hold of a very large TIG welder and do a couple of 4" passes on some alluminum. The guy explained how to do it and the very first try I got a near perfect weld just like his 20 year experienced welds. Now these weldes were about 1/2" across, so I don't know if it's one of those things.....bigger is easier....but I feel like I did a pretty good job on my first try. I guess I got some help with my 10 year experience with MIG welding.....dunno.

ANYWAY, what I am asking.....I am looking for a TIG welder that will plug into a home 110V outlet. Is there such a thing? I don't need to weld anything large at all. I want to TIG up some alluminum air intake tubing, make some custom brackets for a supercharger install on my LS1, maybe even build a stainless fuel tank someday.

I just don't want to have to run 220 into my shop. It will take more than what a welder is worth to run 220 so I kinda want to rule that out. Like I said, small stuff is what I am looking to weld.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your time,

Joe

[amx2334]

A quick check shows both miller and lincoln have them. now you have me looking at and wishing for the portable miller tig. thanks alot.

[MrQuick]

Good job, you might be a natural. Check this guy out for the best prices. I shopped around and he beat everyone I checked on.

http://myworld.ebay.com/weldfabulous/

[jilge71]

i have a snapon mig welder that has a tig attachment and a spool gun for welding allum but its not very cheap, but is a awesome welder.

[JMarsa]

Do you have a sub panel in the garage why not just wire a 220V circuit?

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/220outlet.html

--JMarsa

[Kokamo]

Do you have a sub panel in the garage why not just wire a 220V circuit?

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=Improve/220outlet.html

--JMarsa

Just like I stated in my first post.....I don't want to. It will cost me alot of change to do that. I have a garage that is not connected to my house. There is already an in ground 110 feed thats in the ground. I don't want to have to dig a new trench and go thru all of that stuff to make a 220 volt welder work. Besides, I don't need one that runs off of 220, I want one that will do small stuff and will run off of 110.

Thanks for the link Mr. Quick. I just may take that guy up on a welder. He does have one that is a 110V TIG.

Appreciated guys,

Joe

[MrQuick]

No problem.

Are you looking at the miller listed? I think that one is DC only.

See it he can get this model. http://www.millerwelds.com/products/tig/econotig/

[toxicz28]

Any welder you get should be run on a dedicated circuit. I have a Miller Maxstar 150a stick/tig welder that can run on 110 or 220 that needs a 35 amp circuit for itself. The 50 feet of wire attached to the breaker had to be 8 gauge wire because of the length. Total cost of $50 to wire it. Instead of asking people on the internet, why don't you consult an electrician before you burn your house down. At the least, when you figure out what welder you want, download the manual. The electrical requirements are in them.

[JMarsa]

edited my comments....


And about the manual stuff...my 110v Miller plasma cutter's manual says 20A breaker. Had to wire a 30A since it was drawing 26A at peak.

--JMarsa

[quadfather]

miller dynasty 200dx . works great on aluminum has a built in pulser and will run off 110 / 30a or 220 460 self ajusting for voltage . it's one of the new inverter style machines so it's very compact it only weights 45 lbs. it's an incredible little machine.

[David Pozzi]

Aluminum welding draws a lot more amps than steel welding. I'm surprised you can weld anything aluminum with a 110v tig welder. How thick can you go on aluminum?

I noticed it's 110v 30A source. Most home circuits don't supply over 110v 15A and the wire size would be too small to just increase the breaker and outlet, also wire length is an issue. A lot of the 110v welding equipment requires higher amps than you'd expect. If you need to run a larger wire anyway, might as well make it a 220 wire.

[Mathius]

Aluminum welding draws a lot more amps than steel welding. I'm surprised you can weld anything aluminum with a 110v tig welder. How thick can you go on aluminum?

I noticed it's 110v 30A source. Most home circuits don't supply over 10v 15A and the wire size would be too small to just increase the breaker and outlet, also wire length is an issue. A lot of the 110v equipment requires higher amps. If you need to run a larger wire anyway, might as well make it a 220 wire.

Listen to this guy, he's giving you good advice.

These 110v TIG welders won't weld aluminum. It takes too much amperage.

The other thing they don't tell you is yes, those are 110v machines, but most of them draw 30 amps.

Finding a 110v/30amp breaker is few and far between.

We have one of these at work that we take into the field and we pop a LOT of breakers trying to stick weld with it.

Need an extension cord? You just cut your power some more.

These things are cool if you need to stick weld something up to 3/16" or 1/4", but as far as TIG'ing with them, you'll have to stick to mild steel.

Oh, btw. They only run 1/8th rod.

You _might_ be able to find some aluminum stick rod and run that, but I wouldn't count on it. You still need the heat.

If you don't want to add a 220 outlet and you want to weld aluminum, you're going to have to get a gas setup (oxy-acetylene) and find someone who carries aluminum flux and figure out how to weld with that. Nice thing about oxy-acetylene, is once you've got the setup, you can pretty much weld any material, any thickness with it, if you can figure it out and don't mind buying tips. Tips aren't that expensive either.

Mathius

[quadfather]

before you guys jump all over my suggestion . try one of the new (INVERTER) style machines they draw much less amperage than transformer styled machines of the past. theese machines are very capable of welding 1/8 " aluminum and since . his intentions are to weld thin aluminum tubing for his intake. usually only .065 . he should be fine.

[ls1 nova]

Just my .02

14 ga is good for 15A
12 ga is good for 20A
10 ga is good for 30A

Check your wire size out to your garage. Over distance these numbers are not accurate. Welders can easily make your wires crispy especially if you are not on a dedicated cicuit. Just my opinion run 220. A lot more usefull in a garage(welder,compressor,plasma cutter,washer,drier ect!)

I have used a couple 110 welders. Some are complete crap. Others will do as stated but if you are anything like me small projects get big very quickly. 110 welder just did not cut it for me.

Sorry to ramble

[Ollie8974]

For 220 singel phase you do not need to run bigger wire to the garage. 220 single phase is a double circuit braker and both lines are 110, the same as the kitchen stove or cloths dryer. There are 30 or 40 amp 220 v single phase cb. Then run the heavy wire from the Panel to the outlet

[bochnak]

How many circuits/amps do you have in your garage? I have 1 15amp circuit, and it pops with all lights and compressor on. I plan on trenching a subpanel (and a gas line) of at least 60amps this summer. Then comes the heater, 220v compressor, welder, etc… it just never ends.

My circuit is buried romex, maybe yours is run in conduit/rigid pipe and can pull another circuit?

[Kokamo]

How many circuits/amps do you have in your garage? I have 1 15amp circuit, and it pops with all lights and compressor on. I plan on trenching a subpanel (and a gas line) of at least 60amps this summer. Then comes the heater, 220v compressor, welder, etc… it just never ends.

My circuit is buried romex, maybe yours is run in conduit/rigid pipe and can pull another circuit?




Yeah, it's buried romex. I might as well go ahead with trenching and install a 220 cable. The reason it was going to be so expensive is because the shop (since it's an annex) is "supposed" to be running off of it's own power from a pole. You see where I'm going? Right now it's coming from the house (it's not supposed to be), but I figure I can do it again with 220 this time and keep the costs down. If they find out, oh well.....I'll play stupid.

I guess I can look at it this way......I manage an equipment rental shop, so I figure I can work in a rocksaw/trencher for cheap.:naughty:

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'm just gonna bite the bullet and go with the 220 because one day I will need it to do some heavier welding.

Thanks all,

Joe

[bochnak]

Yeah, it's buried romex. I might as well go ahead with trenching and install a 220 cable. The reason it was going to be so expensive is because the shop (since it's an annex) is "supposed" to be running off of it's own power from a pole. You see where I'm going? Right now it's coming from the house (it's not supposed to be), but I figure I can do it again with 220 this time and keep the costs down. If they find out, oh well.....I'll play stupid.

I guess I can look at it this way......I manage an equipment rental shop, so I figure I can work in a rocksaw/trencher for cheap.:naughty:

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I'm just gonna bite the bullet and go with the 220 because one day I will need it to do some heavier welding.

Thanks all,

Joe

Wire is VERY expensive. I priced out wire for 100A and it runs about $600+ for a 500' spool. Luckily, my friend owns an excavating business. He said I can go on site and pull out all the wire I need that he usually sells to scappers. Not to mention a heater! The wait will be worth it.

[ls1 nova]

How much wire do you need? I have about 250'-300' of #2 THHN(100a) wire left over from my garage. PM me if you are interested.

[MonzaRacer]

Thermadyne makes a small tig for under $500 called a Dragster 85 ,its a scratchTIG. BUT you need frequency control of larger units to do good job on aluminum.I do bbeluieve they have a step larger but not sure of the frequency control ability. Also look around for the Miller add on setup for a Linxoln ac/dc arc welder. Called a welder friend of mine and he said its real hard to find good unit for aluminum in the 110 range, try Thermadyne and ESAB.

[Hammered]

I think the Dragster is a DC only machine. Your choices are basically Dynasty 200dx, Lincoln V205-t and Thermal Arc 200. All run off of 110 or 220. The dynasty even runs off of voltages in between and up to 440. These machines will run off a 30A 220 at full power but a transformer machine of the same size needs a 50A line. I have a Dynasty 200DX and it works just fine on my 20 A 110v garage circuit. Go search the forums on www.weldingweb.com and you'll find a lot more info.

If you're going to get an inverter machine, just get it and see if you have a problem before running a new circuit. If you're thinking of a transformer machine, plan on running a 50 or 60 A circuit.

[meenaggie]

Need a welding machine with AC for aluminum . . . DC is the standard for GTAW (a.k.a. TIG).

Try the Dynasty 200 DX machine from Miller ($3300). It draws 20.7 amps on 1-phase 120V at lowest setting.
http://www.millerwelds.com/pdf/spec_sheets/AD4-8.pdf

Also try the Invertec V205-T AC/DC from Lincoln. It draws 20.0 amps on 1-phase 120V at lowest setting
http://www.mylincolnelectric.com/Catalog/equipmentdatasheet.aspx?p=50702

And yeah, the wire for the 220V outlet would have to be pretty expensive to offset the cost of these machines.