[Cooper]

Originally Posted by RCP57

Keep in mind I know nothing, I'm not a welder, and I have no training. I started out with a Miller Diversion 165 TIG(inverter type). They no longer make it as it was upgraded to a 180 I think. It does AC/DC and welds really nice for a beginner machine. I started building headache racks for trucks and it was maxed out constantly to weld 3/16 so I started looking for a bigger welder. I came across a 3 month old Lincoln Precision 225 TIG for sale locally. The guy had it bought it for a job thinking there would be more jobs but there wasn't. Him and his GF were moving and he needed cash. It was literally brand new. I called the local Lincoln rep and asked him what it was worth first and then made the offer. I ended up getting it for $1000 less than retail and it came with a bottle on top of that. It is big heavy welder as it is a transformer type. It has a few options but nothing like a full blown pro welder. More than I need though. The diversion had more than enough stank to weld up toys. I built my boat, Euc and parts of my excavator with it. The 225 does have more power but I rarely use more than 120amps working on our stuff. Keep in mind that buying a larger one will let you weld heavier things and that may come in handy(wheels larger frame pieces ect). I wouldn't take that and go out to buy a 400amp welder though either.lol I have a couple of different torch heads. 150 amp that the machine came with and a 200 amp for larger stuff. Whatever you buy I'm sure you will be welding like a pro in no time. I'm not very good at it really so the only advice I can give is be patient and don't use too much heat!

Thank reg, guess I'm going to keep looking a little bit