Need some TIG machine buying advice

[57Racer]

I am looking to get into TIG for hobby welding and working on the truck. Oh, and I am on a budget.

My truck cage is .120 wall DOM and I cant see me working with steel plate thicker than 1/8" or aluminum thicker than 3/8".

I have been eyeballing these 2 welders...
-Miller Diversion 165
-Hobart EZ-TIG 165

They seem pretty much the same except the miller has a thumb switch and the Hobart has a pedal. Any suggestions on what I should be looking at other than those 2 or feedback on those welders? Will they work fine for my truck cage?

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[mikeyfrombc]

Some great modification for the Diversion 165 Tig - OFN Forums

here,s a thread on the 165 from miller and some cool upgrades that are available

[Tech Tim]

We've got a Diversion 165 and it is an awesome beginner machine. I haven't TIG'd in 15 years or better and this machine makes me look pretty decent for being as bad as I am.

[57Racer]

great link and thank you mikey, you race in KORRBC?

Also I meant to say STEEL @ 3/8 and ALUMINUM @ 1/8

[mikeyfrombc]

great link and thank you mikey, you race in KORRBC?

Also I meant to say STEEL @ 3/8 and ALUMINUM @ 1/8

no i don,t i,m just a enthusiast of offroad racing and this site has provided tons of knowledge and the workmanship that is posted here is some of the best i,ve seen in any motorsport

[57Racer]

We've got a Diversion 165 and it is an awesome beginner machine. I haven't TIG'd in 15 years or better and this machine makes me look pretty decent for being as bad as I am.

do you feel you wish you had the pedal?

[Tech Tim]

I got the pedal to go with it, it is just a CAT5 plug and so far have been real happy with it.

2 TIG welding friends of mine really like this welder. One had 10 years with Klein bikes before they went overseas and says he'd like to get one for his own personal use. The other has about 8 years experience welding TIG professionally and if he didn't have a Syncrowave already, he'd be buying one of these.

[tmathews]

New for 2010 from Miller Electric is the Diversion 180. This model comes with a MVP plug that allows the user to plug the machine into 115 or 230VAC without tools.

More info can be found at www.millerwelds.com

[57Racer]

I am curious if there is a difference between the Hobart and the Miller then. The Hobart already comes with a pedal.

[Tech Tim]

New for 2010 from Miller Electric is the Diversion 180. This model comes with a MVP plug that allows the user to plug the machine into 115 or 230VAC without tools.

More info can be found at www.millerwelds.com

We've been hearing about the new Diversion 180, haven't seen anything on it yet. We like the DV 165 enough that I'd be interested in stepping up to the 180 just to have the 220v capabilities.

The Miller Auto-Set 211 with the MVP plug set-up is real slick, so the Diversion 180 should be pretty dang good too.

I do have one complaint though; Miller needs to add a post-flow adjustment. It runs for 10 seconds or so after you lift the arc whether you need it or not and wow does that help your bottle go flat real fast!