Hi, new to the forum and am looking to purchase a tig/stick welder in a few weeks

[cbmkr]

I have owned The PowerTig 185 and now own the 200DX both are great machines and will do a wide variety of welding jobs, My first Everlast machine was the 185 which was tig only or i would probably still have it. I moved up to the 200DX to retire my old miller stick welder and gain the pulse function on the 200DX. Both are good machines and you will get a lot of support from forum members on suggestions and settings for the machines. With your background you should be just fine with either machine and will get to enter the field of aluminum welding with its little quirks and picky settings. Aluminum is like painting a show car clean clean clean and everything will be just fine.

Good Luck on your Decision

[mrflashlite]

I looked at the machines that just tig and I agree with you that the tig/stick seems to be the way to go. If I have my choice I will tig it if I can, just don't trust what they put in the coatings on those welding rods but I guess as long as I've been breathing it now is not the time to start worrying about it, but there are times that you need to stick weld something heavy. Did you get the dual voltage 200dx and does it have the new type of foot pedal. I saw on the 2013 review of the 200dx that they changed it to where you set the max amps at the machine and when you have the pedal depressed all the way you get those amps and as you let off on the pedal the amps go down as you pull out. I have never used a machine where the pedal set the amps and over rode the panel but I guess it is what you get used to, I used a tig torch with a slide control for years and when it broke the gave me a new one with a thumb wheel and I hated it took me months to get used to it. Thanks in advance for any feedback on the machines, Ed.