Is this a good tig welder

looking to buy a tig to start out with. Have a mig and stick machine
want to tig.. Is this a good first machine?

Yes sir. It should work very well for making repairs no one will ever see.....

Glenn F.

Good point Glenn, all my welds look so much better when you can't see them. :lol:

lol heres the link my bad


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Miller-HF-251D-1-Arc-Starter-Stabilizer-/251183673633?pt=BI_Welders&hash=item3a7bb6b121
Untitled URL Link

That is just a high frequency source. It is meant to go (usually) with an engine drive welder to allow tigging of aluminum.

That's not a bad price but it IS NOT a welding power source. It is just a High Frequency unit that can be added to an existing welding machine. It would be a good unit to add to a machine like Dialarc 250 AC/DC or Idealarc 250 AC/DC if you wanted TIG capabilities for any type of metal. Lincoln used to make a similar unit called the Hi Freq.

We must have typing at the same time. For aluminum you need AC current in addition the high frequency. There are a few AC or AC/DC engine drives but they aren't nearly as common as straight DC engine drives.

what would be a good used unit to look for? i know i can go buy new fro 1800-2500 but dont wanna spend that starting out. any help is appreciated. i want to be able to tig aluminum.

The HF unit would work excellent on a Lincoln Idealarc 250 AC/DC or a Miller Dialarc 250 AC/DC. They sell used from about $200 up to around $800. The Idealarc is a better machine than the Miller but The Miller is still good. Most used Miller, Lincoln, Hobart, Linde and Airco are good TIG machines but you need to be able to try them out. A Lincoln Square Wave TIG 175 would be a good starter machine. Lincoln might have a 185 too but not sure. A Square wave TIG 225 is newer but a good machine. Lanse has one. A Square Wave TIG 255 with digital controls is a good machine if the panel isn't fried. I bought one new and really liked it. The problem with the digital control was that people would go to turn their heat up and poke the hot tungsten through the control panel. A Miller Syncro Wave 250 is a good machine too. I think Miller made a smaller TIG welder in the 175/185 amp class as well. If you can find a Miller Dynasty in your price range, they are an excellent TIG welder but not the best for stick. Puddles has a Dynasty 300.

You might want to see if there is a Red-D-Arc near you. They are the largest welder rental outfit in N. America and sell used machines with a 90 day warranty. They will even load test machines and let you try them out. Bigger welding supplies or repair shops may be able to put you in touch with welding shops or welders upgrading to newer machines and wanting to sell their old machine(s).

I see Dynasty 200s going for close to your price range on Craig's list every once in awhile. If you could swing a Dynasty trust me it would cut your learning curve tremendously on aluminum Tig. But like stick weld says they suck for SMAW! I bought a little Everlast PA-200 for $315.00 FOB my front porch that runs circles around my Dynasty 300 for SMAW. Makes me wonder, what was Miller thinking?

The newer Dynasty's might be better on stick. Maybe
there's a demo booth at a Miller dealer or warranty
depot to try one out?