tig & plasma.. Opinions???

dont know much about the TIG, but my brother has a similar miller version of that plasma cutter. its great for everything we do in his little shop. it runs off 110v or 220v and have cut up to 1/2" with it on 220v. the bad is i think it cost double what that Hobart one costs lol. just make sure you got a good air supply if your gonna be making long cuts or thick cuts. it will drain your tank fairly quick if you dont have a good supply of volume.
 
Everlast and longivity have units that will do both in one unit. I know they are chineese imports. Lots of people have good luck with them. I personally have no experence with them. There is alot of chatting about them on pirate.
Some people say that sometimes they are junk right out of the box, but the companies usually make it right.

Something to look into.


Adam
 
I have no experience with either of those models but FWIW I have a Hobart MIG and it is a good machine and their customer service is awesome. I would definitely step up to a 220v plasmas machine. I got my Hypertherm PM30 for $800 used and have seen a couple others go for around that same amount and it is an awesome little plasma.
 
I have the miller diversion 165 and that hobart is an exact clone of it except for color.
Mines been flawless!
 
BigYellowIron said:
Everlast and longivity have units that will do both in one unit. I know they are chineese imports. Lots of people have good luck with them. I personally have no experence with them. There is alot of chatting about them on pirate.
Some people say that sometimes they are junk right out of the box, but the companies usually make it right.

Something to look into.


Adam
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I'm surprised, but my Longevity is still kicking after a year and a half. Had an internal air leak when I first got it, but that was remedied by opening the case and pushing the hose back on the fitting.
 
Do you need to do aluminum work? I have tig, mig, stick, and a plasma cutter. The migs get used way more than anything else, but when you need a tig (tiny parts, or aluminum) they are a must have. I've got a Hypertherm 45 that i bought specifically to destroy NFA items. I use it about once or twice a year for about 5 minutes.:doh: Honestly, i rarely see a welding machine that doesn't work well. Even the cheap stuff from Harbor Freight seems to go for years.
 
i think thermal dynamics is the only way to go for a plasma cutter. we had a miller in our shop that was supposed to do 3/4" in single pass and it sucked. thermal dynamics cuts 1" for breakfast
 
^^^What he said. All plasma's are trying to match the Thermal arc's performance. Shop for a used Miller TIG and a Thermal Dynamics plasma cutter. You can find both used and stay under the budget. That chinese inverter garbage will never perform to half the potential of quality tools. I tried using just the import consumables on my Thermal Dynamics PAK 10 and the cuts were crap, jagged and full of slag. Switched back to the name brand consumables and the cuts returned to slag free smooth cuts.
 
I've used many plasma cutters. All work fine but if your buying one make sure its220 and buy one bigger than what you need. If they say it will cut 1/2" get one that will cut 3/4 and it will actually cut 3/8" well.
 
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