Miller's new Tig

[tasslehawf]

and dont tell me to check craigslist because in my area most people are asking more or about the same for a used welder.

Up until now it was rare to see any decent used Miller equipment. I hate to say this, but as the economy worsens, I think we will see more used welders coming down in price. The only way you used to be able to find that equipment used was to buy it at auction or on eBay.

[ASKANDY]

Edancas,
I just got delivery of mine for our race teams to use and we have been using them the last 3 weeks.
I think the Diversion will fit your needs well. for the most part unless you are planning on doing a bunch of 1/4" thick stuff, the Diversion is well suited for materials under that. The only thing I would do in your case would be get the foot pedal. It may be easier to start learning that way.
The only thing I don't like about the torch is that I wish the control was a little closer to the torch head. It would make less torch movement when adjusting it it was closer to the head. It still works fine the way it is but I can see where a beginner might have a good bit more torch movement while adjusting power.

Good luck with your classes.

Andy

[fun4now]

for home hobby, its right on target.

as a hobby welder i think its right on, and what people have been asking for for a long time. a chance for us on a tight budget to get into TIG. with input power being a big problem for many, myself included. the list of stuff around the house and garage the 165 could fix is almost endless. true it has its limits, for off road truck parts i think you would want a bit more ooomph. although i have to admit i have not done truck fab, but see 165amps as a possible safety problem. i would also caution against any auto work being done by a new welder without proper experience and training.
wile i don't see the div165 as in the same league as my TA-185, had it been out at the time i would have gone with the Div-165 over the TA-185 for my needs. although it not having stick would have been a big disappointment. i got TIG to play in my home shop and learn TIG and stick. nothing against the TA-185 its a great TIG/stick unit with a stand up reputation. i just don't need that much for playing at home.

tasslehawf

Up until now it was rare to see any decent used Miller equipment. I hate to say this, but as the economy worsens, I think we will see more used welders coming down in price.

unfortunately that is very likely to be the case. as of late i have been thinking more and more of letting my TA-185 go to help cover bills. i hate the idea of ever selling any tools, but family obligations will always come first in my house. i suspect i'm not the only one feeling the long tern effects of high gas and food prices. its likely soon many others will be parting with home shop toys.

[edancas]

Thanks for all the great information. I am going to take the class then decide on which one to buy.

[StillBoostin]

James,
There is a rotary dial that you push forward and back to adjust amperage (starts at low amperage but not 0, or so I am thinking), and there is a momentary switch that initiates the arc, and shuts it off, reguardless of dial position. Best part that I liked is that you can use it one of 2 ways.

1-push and hold the button(over 2 seconds), this allows you to make spot weld at a fixed amperage (seems to be a combination of dial setting on the machine, and control setting on the handle), the arc stops as soon as you release the button. I really liked this for tacking sheet stock as the amperage was the same every time.

2-push and release, this starts the arc and keeps it on, allowing you to adjust the amperage with the dial on the handle as you weld. tapping the button again stops the arc.

I really liked being able to tack with a hand control, that didnt involve running the control wheel all over the place to start and stop the arc. Just hold the button, make the tack, and release! Being a torch welder originally, I tend to control weld size uniformity by travel speed more then amperage adjustment, but the resolution was really nice.

Maybe it is just me, but I kind of felt that the "welding for dummies" book did something really smart, it left the door open for further educational information by being vauge....notice neither it nor the video tell you about any filler materials etc. in detail. Seems like it would easily lead into more specific books aimed at different users. Like a book on autobody restoration welding, Decorative art welding, or Aircraft welding, where you would be able to put all the specifics of process, materials, hints and tips etc etc, and not have to try to make a book to cover all.

Oh and Idont think I have to worry about the Home Depot selling 4130....they are all closing up around me! But if they did im guessing they would put it right next to the RED fluxcore welder .

All in all I still feel that the way to give the home user the best chance of making a reliable part, is to put a reliable tool in their hand, and the proper knowledge in their head. Add a dash if inspiration and you have the recipie for creation and invention. I personally believe Miller is really trying to tackle the first two ingredients, for those who have the third.

-Aaron

Aaron great right up on the machine and the torch. I sure hope this torch is coming out for a 14 pin units. Most tig machines of Miller's are 14 pin.

James

Just hinting to Miller

[grey]

Hello everyone,

I hope this explains things. If not, please feel free to contact me personally or post a question here. I'd be happy to answer them.

Thanks,

Okay, I have the book and the CD now. It arrived about 2 weeks ago. Thank you.

I also registered for the give-a-way. I realize this isn't an essay contest, but I would like to plead my case for a free welding machine. As I informed you on the survey, John Swartz-Product Manager Miller Electric Mfg., Co., I am beginning a fairly thorough welding course at a State University. However, there is always more students than machines. Simply put, I need a welder for my school work. Please consider my request.

And if the rest of the community would add their thoughts, I would be delighted.

Thank you.

P.S. Mr. Swartz, you might even sell a few machines to this school, I know they need them.

[Tailshaft56]

All I can say about this new Diverson is that welds kick ***. Tig AC rocks. Made me look like I knew how to weld. Also the "RONCO" set it and forget it makes great chicken !!!

Sorry to discourage you but when you get a RONCO set it and forget it the instructions tell you that's not quite true. You are right about them making great chicken. As for the Diversion the name pretty much shouts of the market you're shooting for. Had they been out when I bought my TA I might very well have a Blue tig instead of a purple one.

Dennis

[Runkster]

I placed my order for the Diversion 165 yesterday and got it at a local dealer for $1275.65. I would like to mention the distributor but not sure if that is appropriate. I opted to pick up the foot pedal control at the same time (I love having options). It was nice to finally see a name brand welder that I know is well built and will probably outlast my span of usage.

I will not be building any airplanes, race car chassis, or welding boiler fittings. I just want something to use for basic work that comes up. I has several small projects lined up already (broken stuff that needs fixing). I have MIG experience from the past (miller borrowed from a friend), it turned out well but just wanted something with a cleaner result. Spatter was not excessive but seemed like extra duty to have to clean it up.

I have a tendency to research and absorb as much knowledge as possible before starting a project regardless of what it is related to. I fell the cushion of research eases stepping over the edge into what requires experience to master.

Options that would have been nice would have been 110/220 auto switching but luckily I have 220 run out to my garage already for my compressor. The option to set the gas post flow would have been nice but I am assuming it is auto adjusted based on the amperage setting. Polarity markings and amperage display would have been nice but I thought I read these were on the unit but I did not see them in the pictures shown.

I saw reference to guitar hero and how it simplifies the learning of the actual instrument. I have a son who started his musical obsession with that game and now owns 2 guitars and practices for at least an hour every night. Soon he be able to play music I can't which will be nice.

Anyway, I cant wait to get it home so I can get to practicing welds.

[Andy]

If portability isn't too high on your list, I would carefully consider the Syncro 200 if you are afraid you'll outgrow the Diversion. I personally find that I rarely need more than 150A of output for most of my fabrication needs.

Since I rarely ever weld aluminum, I was able to pickup a used Maxstar 200DX that more than meets my needs.

The maxstar is my first self-purchased welder. The sycro 180 is my dad's.

I'd agree that you don't need more than 150A for most things. However that 20% duty cycle is going to get annoying when working on larger projects. I would consider myself only a hobby welder. I bought an econotig. At the time I had only done stick and didn't know if I'd like tig or how much of it I'd be doing. I didn't want to drop a chunk of money. I picked the econotig for the price, AC capability, and since it included everything I needed excluding the cylinder. After a month or two I was already wishing I'd bought a larger machine.
When working on a project I'll get everything squared and tacked. Then spend the rest of the time cursing when I hit the overtemp protect. I want a 100A 100% duty cycle machine. Yeah, it's called a dynasty200. I'll eventually get one or whatever new model comes out. In the mean time I'm limping along at 20%

For heavier structrual steel stuff (trailers, plows, shops) I ususally use the cheap red AC cracker box. I've abused it heavily and never had a problem out of it. When it fries I'll probably go down to the local bigbox store, plunk down my $250 and get another one.

[Miller Swartz]

I placed my order for the Diversion 165 yesterday and got it at a local dealer for $1275.65. I would like to mention the distributor but not sure if that is appropriate. I opted to pick up the foot pedal control at the same time (I love having options). It was nice to finally see a name brand welder that I know is well built and will probably outlast my span of usage.

I will not be building any airplanes, race car chassis, or welding boiler fittings. I just want something to use for basic work that comes up. I has several small projects lined up already (broken stuff that needs fixing). I have MIG experience from the past (miller borrowed from a friend), it turned out well but just wanted something with a cleaner result. Spatter was not excessive but seemed like extra duty to have to clean it up.

I have a tendency to research and absorb as much knowledge as possible before starting a project regardless of what it is related to. I fell the cushion of research eases stepping over the edge into what requires experience to master.

Options that would have been nice would have been 110/220 auto switching but luckily I have 220 run out to my garage already for my compressor. The option to set the gas post flow would have been nice but I am assuming it is auto adjusted based on the amperage setting. Polarity markings and amperage display would have been nice but I thought I read these were on the unit but I did not see them in the pictures shown.

I saw reference to guitar hero and how it simplifies the learning of the actual instrument. I have a son who started his musical obsession with that game and now owns 2 guitars and practices for at least an hour every night. Soon he be able to play music I can't which will be nice.

Anyway, I cant wait to get it home so I can get to practicing welds.

Thanks for the input. The unit does have a "Polarity/Material Selecton" switch on the front panel. The Diversion 165 doesn't have a digital meter interface, so the "Amprage/Material Thickness" dial is the indicator as to what amperage you are using. The post flow is auto-set based on the amperage being used. It has a minimum of 8 sec from 10-80amps. From that point on for each additional 10 amps, another 1 second is added to the post flow. This means at the maximum 165 amp setting there is 16.5 seconds of post flow.

I hope you enjoy your machine and please post your feedback here on the forum once you've had a chance to take it for a test run. I enjoy reading everyone's thoughts about our products and it helps us design better machines that fit your needs as customers.

[Broccoli1]

John,

getting any closer to some Swag

[KB Fabrications]

John,

getting any closer to some Swag

Shameless I tell ya , just shameless.

[StillBoostin]

I'm still pullin for you Broc. !!!!!

James

[Broccoli1]

I'm still pullin for you Broc. !!!!!

James

Thanks brutha- worth a shot ain't it

[flux]

Quick Question

Thank you everyone for the feedback you've provided on the new Diversion 165. I have a question about the 10-165A range.

1) At 10A, how stable is the arc on this unit?

2) At 10A, how thin of a material can I weld? down to what gauge sheet metal? down to what wall thickness on tubing?



- Lukasz