Miller AEAD 200LE capable of tig?

[Chili Dog]

I have an old miller aead 200le gas drive welder with very few hours on it. My dad has had it for years and rarely used it is basicly sat in the garage until I would use it. My question though is, can I tig with it or is it strickly a stick machine?

[triggerman]

AEAD-200LE tig

The AEAD-200LE is a FINE tig machine. As long as you understand your limitations. I was tigging mild steel as well as stainless with mine until I got my Trailblazer. The biggest drawback is the lack of remote capability. Use it like any other lift-arc machine.

Best of luck.

[Chili Dog]

Thanks alot. I thought I could i just wasn't sure and I didn't want to try it and be wrong and end up hurting the machine.

[triggerman]

You're welcome, dude.

... I didn't want to ... end up hurting the machine.

That is one tough a$$ little machine you've there. I've had a lot of fun with mine and made a little money along the way. Feel free to post some pics.

CU

[Aeroweld]

My first engine drive was an AEAD. It came with a High-Freq box and I used it as a main portableTIG machine for 4-5 years until I bought my TB 250. As someone mentioned the only real problem is lack of remotes.
I had a number of years TIG experiance at the time so it was not a real big problem for me to pre-set the amps as needed, however I wouldn't recommend it for a "newbe" trying to learn TIG welding.
I still have the machine and use it as the house generator when the power is out. Really like that it makes power at "idle" and is much quiter as a generator than the TB 250.

[imported_smitty]

tig attachment

what brand tig can be added to the legend? thanks

[Aeroweld]

what brand tig can be added to the legend? thanks

Mine is the Miller HF251. Although i am not familier with it I suppose the Lincoln box would also work on the AEAD. All you are doing to feed the HF box is supplying weld current and a source of 110v power.

[Red0ktober]

Forgive my newb question, I haven't TIG'd in years (just metal shop class in high school). When you say no remote capability, are you talking about not having a foot-pedal?

I'm looking for a first welder to re-learn TIG, though I have a friend who is a professional welder and would probably use it more. There is a AEAD 200 LE on the local craigslist right now for a good price, and I'm wondering if I should jump on it. I don't NEED an engine-driven welder, but the option to use it as a standby genset is appealing.

Anyone know if the welder can also be run on utility power?

Is this something I should even be looking at? Was owned by a school and "...maintained by the students on a regular basis as a part of their training." Supposedly the engine "runs strong and welds smooth with a 100% duty cycle." Price is $450.

[Aeroweld]

That is correct. No foot pedel capability with the AEAD. For DC TIG you have to manually set the amperage you are going to weld at before you start the weld.

While the machine does have AC output for welding, you will still need an add on high frequency unit to do aluminum.

If you mean also powering the welder off of the utilitiy companys power instead of the engine; No

If you are looking to re-learn TIG this is probably not the machine for you. For the money you can pick-up a good used Miller Dial Arc 250HF which is a good basic machine capable of doing both steel and aluminum with remote capabilities.

[Red0ktober]

My friend wants a Miller Dynasty, but those are a little out of my price range as a starter hobby welder. Maybe if we could (would) make money off of it I could justify such a purchase. I'll see what else is out there, thanks for the info.