New Meber Intro and Looking For Advice

New member here, though I've lurked for a few weeks. It's been more than a few years since I've welded, stick and MIG only, and I'd like to get back into it.

Like my username says, I'm a metallurgical engineer. I make a decent living scrutinizing material properties, reviewing/approving WPSs and PQRs, pondering weld arc and puddle physics, conducting all kinds of weld testing, and a bunch of other stuff that's very interesting but nowhere near as fun as actually welding. My head's full of plenty of great theory, but I dearly miss the hands-on element.

SO, I'm going to get back into welding (not that I was ever that great at it), which means I get to shop for welding equipment! I'm looking for a little advice/opinions on what machine to get. Let me decribe what I THINK I want:

• I love stick welding so I want GOOD stick welding capability
• I'd also like to learn TIG. I don't have any particular projects in mind right now but I can see it coming in handy for occasional sheet metal work, and besides, I think it'd just be fun to learn.
• I figure I'll mostly weld carbon steel and some austenitic stainless ocassionally. I don't plan on any aluminum welding, but maybe that's short sighted?
• 6010 capability would be nice but isn't absolutely essential for me. Most of my welding will likely be 7014/7018 for CS and 308/309 for SS.

There's no doubt that the PA200 will do a great job stick welding and I really want one, but I'm wondering if getting a TIG machine suitable for stick would be a better choice. Budget is also important. I'd love to buy a PowerTIG 250EX, and it's not that I can't afford it, it's just that I can't justify the expense at this point. You could certainly classify my usage as "hobby" for now but I can't stand using tools that don't do the job well, no matter how infrequently I might use them. Here's two options I'm considering right now and hoping I can get some comments on:

• Option 1 - Buy the PA200 and enjoy its great stick welding performance. Take the time to re-learn everything I've forgotten and develop skills. When I feel like tackling TIG, get a gas-valve TIG torch and argon bottle and live with scratch-start only. Maybe I can even get by with small-diameter electrodes for stick welding thin stuff ocassionaly?
• Option 2 - Buy the I-TIG 200 becuase it's not much more than buying the PA200 plus TIG equipment. I know it's DC only but I don't think I'll be welding aluminum so maybe that's not a big deal. But how well does it stick weld? I know the stick welding duty cycle isn't as good as the PA200 but I doubt that would become a limiting factor for me.

Thoughts anyone?

Welcome to the group, the I tig 200 would be your best choice, considering that you get all of the Tig features and equipment for a few extra bucks. How does it stick weld, dunno cause I haven't tried one but I expect it will do fine considering it is an inverter welder. My I mig 205 welders do stick very nicely as does my EX250 and of course my PA 200 is made for stick. If I had to choose between all my welders, it would be the Img 205, it does mig, has enough power to do decent stick, and with the spool gun I can do aluminum and/or add a small 17v tig torch to it.(that's why I own 2 I mig 205 welders). The Pa 200 is still the best buy for the buck and the 250EX is the Caddy of tig welders.

What ever you choose, you cannot go wrong, price and performance wise if you buy an Everlast product.

Check out the 200DX. Stick, DC Tig, AND AC tig for those "just in case I need to weld aluminum" moments...

You might want to look into one of the MTS units, man. I have seen one of these over at Mark's place but never did get a chance to weld with it. I also own multiple everlast products and overall have been very satisfied. I almost bought the I tig 200 myself a while back because it is dual voltage. Let us know what you decide!

I am in the same boat as you. I am going to get a stick welder first, then a 250EX TIG welder. I like the idea of keeping the TIG welder always set up for TIG'ing. Also, if one breaks, you are not without a welder.

My first Everlast purchase was a 200DX, I wanted AC and DC capabilities, and also the option to tig or stick weld. I later purchased a power arc 200 that I use quite often, and absolutely love. The 200DX is a heavy machine to lug around for stick welding on a job site(very good machine),but it is an excellent stick welder(no 6010). If your like most of us, money is hard to come by these days, and want to get the most for your money. I personally am not big on multi-process units, that's my personal opinion, I like having a mig, tig, stick, and plasma all individually, but that is my personal preference. With Everlast you get some versatility with their welders, I have an Imig 200 that I can stick weld if needed. I think it's about figuring out how much you want to spend, and how to get the most from it. You could always go with 185micro and power arc 160 and stay close to the 1000 range. I like the functions of my 200dx, it's a better machine than I am a tig welder! 200DX is also a very reliable welder, there seems to be very little complaints or issues with this machine. It was my first purchase, and also the reason I have made 3 more purchases with Everlast.

Well, I sure appreciate everyone's comments. After thinking about it a bit more I've pretty much decided to get a good standalone stick welder for now and if/when I decide to add TIG, I'll buy a dedicated TIG machine and enjoy the higher reliability/redundancy of having two welders instead of one. The PA200 is so darn cheap I'd be a fool not to get it. That is unless Everlast have any new/improved stick welders coming out in the near future? :)

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Originally Posted by metallurgist

New member here... a metallurgical engineer... pondering weld arc and puddle physics

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This is a touch late (I've been out of town), but welcome to the boards! Speaking for myself the posts I enjoy the most are the ones that delve into the theory and chemistry of metalworking, so please do stick around.

Good luck with your purchase- your list says you don't have any aluminum projects in mind but I'd allow for that!