Best AC TIG Weld for the Price

If you are looking for information on "What is the Best AC TIG welder for the price",

I have some videos on this page showing the capabilities and settings of the PrimeWeld TIG225. 

Watch some Videos and then you can make a better decision on what is the best ac tig welder for your budget.

In my opinion, the primeweld 225 is one of the best choices in affordable tig welders.

The problem with most other really affordable tig welders is usually the foot pedal and the torch are just bad and clunky.

Primeweld went to extra expense to include genuine ck torches with superflex hoses along with a smooth SSC style foot pedal.

They also have a responsive primeweld equipment users group on facebook and also have demonstrated great customer support

Watch some primeweld videos and you will see what I mean.

What is meant by Dual Voltage?

The Primeweld tig225 is a dual voltage welder.

What that means is that you can use either 115 volt or 230 volt power.

Of course you are limited to around 140 amps while plugged into 115 volt power but there are a lot of small tig jobs you can do with 140 amps.

I usually run off 230 volt for my videos, but occasionally, I will shoot a video making a weld on 1/8" or thinner aluminum and 115 volt input power handles that ok if I only weld around 6 inches at a time.

On 230 volt input power on a 30 amp breaker, I can easily weld 1/4" thick aluminum without maxing out the machine.

AC Balance Setting on the Primeweld TIG225

AC balance lets you adjust the level of Cleaning action according to the level of oxidation on the aluminum you are tig welding.

Heavily oxidized areas weld better with more cleaning action while brand new aluminum does not need quite as much cleaning action.

Cleaning action comes from the electrode positive part of the AC cycle so the more cleaning action, the more the tip of the electrode heats up.

An AC balance setting of 30-33% cleaning is usually about right on the Primeweld tig 225.

Argon flow rate and humidity also factor in so adjust your AC balance to where you get a clean shiny puddle with some evidence of an etching zone outside the weld bead.

AC frequency settings on the primeweld tig 225

There are no hard and fast rules for AC frequency settings but 100-120hz is a great place to start.

Older machines are fixed at 50-60hz depending on your country.

A decent rule of thumb that works for me is lower frequency settings like 50-60hz work well to get the most out of a 200 amp welder while higher frequency settings help to focus the arc for thinner aluminum or for smaller beads on thicker aluminum provided you have enough amperage.

Setting AC frequency too high on a 200 amp welder will limit how thick of aluminum you can weld.