Re: What kind of welder to buy?
Not exactly sure how this is boat related, but.....
I have two chinese welders and they're ok if you know their limitations. I use a MIG and the tig in stick mode for trailer repairs, the TIG for quality steel welds and a bit of aluminum.
Since you say you want aluminum capable and an all in one unit, I should tell you a couple things, though.
First, a TIG unit with the features to do aluminum welding well is expensive. The 200 amp chinese unit I have does it to a point.. it's about the fanciest inverter unit you can get, with all the bells and whistles.. but it's just not as good quality wise as the mid to high end miller/hobart or Lincoln units (and a world away from ESAB). Learning to TIG aluminum was much harder than it needed to be because I was fighting the chinese welder half the time. Most of the settings don't make sense and the four page manual is almost useless.
If you want to weld aluminum thicker than aluminum cans I'd recommend MIG with a spoolgun and as high an amp rating as you can get.
My 200 amp barely does 1/4" plate well. Tubing is very hard because of heat spread and the amp requirements. If you seriously want to weld aluminum with TIG, I'd get a 350 or higher amp unit from Miller or ESAB, with a water cooled torch. You need gobs of amp output to do aluminum and not melt the entire piece.
Unless you're going to get a modular unit from Miller, forget getting an all-in-one.. only the Chinese units really have that option anyway. Get a cheap import plasma cutter, they're hard to go too wrong on. Spend your cash (expect 1-2 thousand US$ for a used unit, much more for new) on a high amp TIG system and a large argon bottle to practice with. Expect to spend a few months learning to use it properly. Aluminum is much harder to weld properly than steel. You'll also need accessories like cleaning supplies, and a set of welding gear you only use for aluminum, to avoid contamination of your welds.
I'd buy chinese only if you can't get anything else. I didn't actually buy mine, I traded old boat parts for 'em
I strongly recommend you buy a used name brand TIG from Miller/Hobart, ESAB or Lincoln. Get a 200 amp minimum, preferably a 350 or bigger, and plan on wiring it to a 220 volt outlet (110 volt welders are limited to 120 amps or so, mostly).
If you must go cheap and must have new, try a Miller Econotig or a Clarke MIG spool gun unit... the Miller is much better but the Clarke much cheaper.
Erik
