Welder selection

[plumber]

Hi- I wish to buy a welder but cannot decide which one best suits my needs. The majority of my work is welding sched 40 pipe 2 1/2 to 12 inch with 1/8" 6010 or 6011. (I'm tired of dragging around the big heavy transformers)I do want a machine that will weld aluminum for some marine fabrication. (1 1/2 6061 annodized tubing.) Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

[sw2x]

For schedule 40 your gonna need some amperage depending on the diameter. I have Tig welded 1.5" schedule 40 stainless with my 225LX and it does a beautiful job. Nice controllable arc, reliable arc starting. Overall a very good machine. I think the 225LX is the ideal TIG machine for most. Its got the amperage and duty cycle to do some thick materials if you need to and is also super smooth for ultra thin materials. It also doubles for SMAW although I have never used the arc welding function of mine.

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[sportbike]

I think you will be better suited to look at two machines. A small, portable smaw machine for the steel and something else for the aluminum. You will be compromising quite a bit to get both in one machine, namely portability for the stick welding of the big pipe.

[plumber]

Thank you. I kind of expected that. What machine do you like for sticking 2 1/2 to 12" sched 40 steel pipe?

[performance]

Use either the PowerArc 200 or 300 for stick applications. The TIG/Stick units are fine stick welders for g.p. use, but not designed for cellulose rods...for the rest the PowerTIG 200 DX

[sportbike]

Thank you. I kind of expected that. What machine do you like for sticking 2 1/2 to 12" sched 40 steel pipe?

I don't really know, some others will chime in with what they use. I pretty much only do lighter gauge tig work. the only time I have even used stick on my machine was to burn some 7018 to test it out initially.

[plumber]

Thank you. I ordered a PA 30 for now and will look into a tig later. maybe a 210.

[DaveO]

Welcome, Plumber! When you first posted about 6010/6011 and aluminum for a minute I thought you meant stick welding the aluminum. What kind of work are you doing?

[plumber]

Hi Dave- Thank you. I should have been more clear. At my day job we stick mostly black sched 40 gas piping. I wanted the alum tig for my own marine pipe work on my boat. I think the PA 300 will work out at work. Like I said, I'm tired of lugging around the big transformers.

I have another question: When the work is away from the electrical panel, would you run a 220 extension cord to the inverter and then have short leads, or would you leave the welder at the electrical panel and run lead to the work like I would with a transformer? I would like to keep the inverter close to the work so I can tweak the settings as the conditions change, but am unsure of how the inverter will react to this. With the transformer, I usually pick a happy medium setting and deal with it rather than running back to the welder. Will the PA 300 handle hundreds of feet of lead if need be? Thanks.

[Rambozo]

I have another question: When the work is away from the electrical panel, would you run a 220 extension cord to the inverter and then have short leads, or would you leave the welder at the electrical panel and run lead to the work like I would with a transformer? I would like to keep the inverter close to the work so I can tweak the settings as the conditions change, but am unsure of how the inverter will react to this. With the transformer, I usually pick a happy medium setting and deal with it rather than running back to the welder. Will the PA 300 handle hundreds of feet of lead if need be? Thanks.

With the current price of copper and the weight factor, I would go for putting more lead between the panel and the inverter. As a bonus inverters draw much less power than transformers, so the input wiring doesn't need to be near as big. Another option that is a lot more feasible with an inverter is to use a generator for power. Sometimes that's easier than lugging and winding a bunch of heavy long cable.

I'm not sure if there are any issues with really long welding leads. There will be some voltage drop, so 6010 may not like a really long cable on an inverter.

[Tanh]

I'm with Rambozo on this one. I had the same concerns with my PowerArc 140ST setup. Decided that a long extension from panel/plug to welder was a cheaper and better alternative than extra long leads. It puts the welder closer to the work as well if you need to change any settings. If you're going mobile, this is a big plus.

Since I have the 140 and use it for nearly everything that's what I'd recommend for a mobile package. Unless you can't do multiple passes for some reason or need huge amps, you can't beat the portabiltity/versatility of this unit. This is speaking as hobbyist. For a pro the PowerArc 200 would be the ticket, I'd think. More amps and duty.

[plumber]

Thank you for your input. I like the idea of having the welder close by.

[geezer]

I believe the PA 200 would be a better choice for you than the PA 300, the PA 300 requires a higher in rush of amps to fire it up, so that sort of limits you from using a genset for portabilty, the PA 200 is capable of burning 1/8 rod all day long and sched 40 pipe is not that thick, so 1/8 rod is plenty...as for welding alum...a tig , machine of 200 amps or more would be a good choice for general purposes..

[performance]

I believe the PA 200 would be a better choice for you than the PA 300, the PA 300 requires a higher in rush of amps to fire it up, so that sort of limits you from using a genset for portabilty, the PA 200 is capable of burning 1/8 rod all day long and sched 40 pipe is not that thick, so 1/8 rod is plenty...as for welding alum...a tig , machine of 200 amps or more would be a good choice for general purposes..

Geezer,
The max inrush is not demanded unless he is welding wide open. I think the 300, which the customer already has bought, will work well for him. He's in a situation that he will be able to support the power requirement it appears.