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Bought a TIG

I bought a Primeweld this spring as well. Love it and how you can control your weld vs Mig welding.

My biggest issue has been fillet welds in aluminum. I solved that with an 8’ chunk of 4”x1/8” flat bar that I cut in coupons.

Switching hands for better welds is a catch 22, we all weld better with one hand but with Tig, there will always be a time when you use the other one unlike stick or mig.
 
SimonM said:
I bought a Primeweld this spring as well. Love it and how you can control your weld vs Mig welding.

My biggest issue has been fillet welds in aluminum. I solved that with an 8’ chunk of 4”x1/8” flat bar that I cut in coupons.

Switching hands for better welds is a catch 22, we all weld better with one hand but with Tig, there will always be a time when you use the other one unlike stick or mig.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree on being ambidextrous. I’m practicing using both but feeding with my right hand is definitely better than with my left hand.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hey @David_R8, I finally got my hands on a PrimeWeld machine and wired my garage up with 240v. I haven't used it yet and just turned it on but I notice that the fan is fairly loud. It's on par or louder than my 60fb air compressor. Is yours the same and just to be expected? Of course this is my first machine and just want to make sure I didn't get a lemon and this is normal. Hope your TIG adventures have been going well!
 
architect said:
Hey @David_R8, I finally got my hands on a PrimeWeld machine and wired my garage up with 240v. I haven't used it yet and just turned it on but I notice that the fan is fairly loud. It's on par or louder than my 60fb air compressor. Is yours the same and just to be expected? Of course this is my first machine and just want to make sure I didn't get a lemon and this is normal. Hope your TIG adventures have been going well!
Click to expand...

Awesome news!
Yup mine is the same. Funny thing is that the fan in my Millermatic MIG 130 is always on too and about the same volume and I never noticed it.
It would be nice if it came on when needed but honestly I barely notice it now.
 
Fan in my TIG is lauder then in my stick - with stick having 2x the power. More expensive welders have variable speed fan or a fan that is not the cheapest you can get per unit of air flow. It seems cooling is where the cuts are made.

Not as laud as my compressor but close. Like a small jet taking off.
 
I suppose if it bothered a person enough the fans could be replaced with quieter units.
 
David_R8 said:
Awesome news!
Yup mine is the same. Funny thing is that the fan in my Millermatic MIG 130 is always on too and about the same volume and I never noticed it.
It would be nice if it came on when needed but honestly I barely notice it now.
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I've only once in 10 yrs. had the fan in my Millermatic 252 kick in. I was welding a bunch of 1/4" tubing and I didn't know what it was when it came on.

Scared the flux out of me.
 
So MIGs are generally less fan noise than TIGs?
Not that we buy welder types based on their dB level, but I just figured amps were amps & both probably had similar whirly things to keep things cool.
 
PeterT said:
So MIGs are generally less fan noise than TIGs?
Not that we buy welder types based on their dB level, but I just figured amps were amps & both probably had similar whirly things to keep things cool.
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No, not at all. It really comes down to amps and machine size. A MIG 252 is a much bigger machine and more industrial than a smaller TIG. Bigger components don't heat up as fast. And because I rarely run mine at close to full power or long enough, the fan almost never needs to kick in. But a smaller machine will heat up faster at even 30% of max power, thus the fan kicks it sooner and more often.
 
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Additionally, because of the increased electronics in inverter based machines (such as smaller TIGs), the fans either kick in sooner, longer, or are always on. This is compared to a large transformer-based TIG machine such as a Miller SyncroWave 200. Actually, the fan in my SyncroWave is quieter than my big MIG.
 
The price and offerings of this package was well worth it and I wouldn't have changed the decision based on db alone. Having said that, the DB does bother me and this is why I have a relatively quiet air compressor and also motorcycle helmet that perform better in high wind speeds. Eventually I will look into replacing the fans or hope there's someone that will post on Youtube how to do it. I would have spent an extra $50 easily if came quieter!
 
architect said:
The price and offerings of this package was well worth it and I wouldn't have changed the decision based on db alone. Having said that, the DB does bother me and this is why I have a relatively quiet air compressor and also motorcycle helmet that perform better in high wind speeds. Eventually I will look into replacing the fans or hope there's someone that will post on Youtube how to do it. I would have spent an extra $50 easily if came quieter!
Click to expand...

I did see a post somewhere by a guy who made the fans operate on demand.
I’ll find it and post it.
 
Glad you are happy with it. Before looking at changing out the fans, investigate the baffle first. A big part of fan noise is the baffle on the case designed to protect your fingers. I learned that years ago with a modem. Otherwise you risk buying new fans and having the same issue.
 
My experience is the same as @CalgaryPT - My Miller MIG fan has come on once in 20 years; in my big Miller TIG, the fan has never come on. The 'EconoTIG' as it is called is an old-school transformer type.

Although these old machines are workhorses that will outlast me, they lack things like pre-flow, pulse, AC balance, and other things that guys expect today. It takes a lot of work to get a nice weld from them.

The welder that @CalgaryPT has is about 15 years newer than mine, and has some sweet features. The newer inverter welders are very sweet, but the fan noise is what you pay for all those features!
 
At my age my hearing isn't too sensitive. So any comments on loudness have to be taken with that. My KMS Magnum TIG has thermostat controlled fan. It does kick on but isn't annoying. It runs after shutdown for awhile.
 
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