Hello from Roatan Island

[RoatanBill]

For future reference, I post my specifics here if anyone is interested in my background.
I'm a Professional Software Developer / Electrical Engineer, now living on the island of Roatan. We use a freight forwarder in Miami to move US goods to the island.
I've welded with a Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 MIG welder for the last 12 years using only straight CO2 as the shielding gas. My projects are for my own needs to support business I own here (Bakery, Sandwich Shop). I've only welded mild steel in the form of 1/8" angle iron (3/4", 1", 1-1.2"), flat stock (1",1-1/2",2",3") and square tubing (1",1-1/2"), as the welder limits what I can attempt. Everything I do is first put into CAD and then I build from the drawings. Because I'm an engineer, I can't build anything sloppy; everything needs to be precise. The MIG process and my puny welder have made jobs more difficult and less precise than they could have been.
Filling a 40 with CO2 (1500 psi) costs $100+ here and takes 3 weeks to get my tank back. I haven't investigated argon yet. I'm interested in the TIG process because it is so controllable. I'd like to consider welding aluminum and stainless (repairing kitchen equipment). I'm leaning towards the PowerTIG 210 EXT because it uses numeric displays for all settings as opposed to a knob that points somewhere in a range and because its single pass specs are more than I think I'll ever approach. I've also considered the PowerPRO 205S but I've only wished I had a plasma cutter once and then I just used a jigsaw to cut some circles.
I need a welder that's not going to need repairs as that means shipping it back to the US and lots of customs paper work, a lawyer (required), fees (numerous), ship transportation charges, etc, etc, etc.
I've watched as many TIG videos by weldingtipsandtricks as I could find. He's the real Mr. TIG IMHO. There is no TIG expertise on the island that I can use to acquire skills, so I'm after books, videos, and generally Internet related resources to get me up to speed on TIG.

[DaveO]

Welcome to the forum. If co2 is that expensive, i imagine argon will be devastating. Can your Miami freight contact include gas cylinders when they ship to you?

[everlastsupport]

I too am a software developer and EE. Welcome to the forum. TIG is a more detailed and smaller process, but we still MIG as well, for larger projects and quite repairs. I would not recommened a multiprocess unit. One tool breaks and all are in for repair also the plasma board runs when not in use and generates extra heat. Latest toys for me (non welding) is the ESP8266. $2.50 and wifi onboard a uC. Most projects are PIC and AVR hooked into my homemade etched board.

[RoatanBill]

I'm going to get 2 filled 125's shipped in when I order the welder. That should last me for quite some time. Even asking the local rep about Argon didn't give me any confidence in his answers. If I ordered Argon locally, I have no idea what I might actually get.

[mts211si]

I'm also a software engineer with a BSEE.

Good luck!

[zoama]

I'm also a software engineer with a BSEE.

Good luck!

Got any projects to share? I'm a shade tree electronics mechanic.

[everlastsupport]

Got any projects to share? I'm a shade tree electronics mechanic.

Latest toy for me. Raspi 3 on order and havng a blast with ESP8266-03 and -12 running LUA. On battery no less. 2 GPIO pins on -03, about $2.50 a module. WIFI onboard too, AP mode as well to control house or car from your phone with simple wgets, sockets or HTML. He just made 4 water sensors, that text it water touched the probes. Under sinks. We more sinks, also thinking about the emergency drain pans for the HVAC as well. 89 total units, might send out, as we did first 4 by hand.