https://www.teamwelder.com/de/WIG_Schweissgeraete/TIG_180_AC_DC_puls--290-020200-00000.html I have this one. You need this high amp for aluminium. I use it for stainless steel and for hot rolled steel. And sometimes for alu. Only TIG process.
You supposedly can weld Ali with a MIG, using Aluminium wire and Argon, but it's awful, the moment something goes slightly wrong the soft wire backs up in the feed mechanism and takes an age to sort out. It also looks terrible. I gave up trying after a very frustrating couple of attempts. The reel of Ali wire I brought has since been used for many things over the years, but none of them to do with welding. To weld Ali properly you'll need an AC/DC TIG which I don't believe MM sell. Nasher.
Have a look at the R-Tech website, great bits of kit at great prices. They even do a good AC/DC machine, @170A that will run off a single phase 13A supply. https://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/tig-welder-ac-dc-170a-digital-tig-170ext I have one and it's been great.
You could also consider sticking with MIG for the steel stuff (cheaper for higher quality) and then go gas (oxy acetylene) for Aluminium, I decided on this as I couldn't face months of learning TIG for the odd times it was necessary. (I've also found that the oxy acetylene is super handy for loads of other things besides welding)
Be aware that recommendations here may be of little use to you Stateside, as UK mains voltage is 240v, so you may need to look further into whether the suggested kit has 110v switching capability
I hadn't used TIG for years, but in 2019 did a one day course with Natalie, The Iron Lady, as a refresher and had a great day with her and a couple of other students. https://www.bradwellblacksmiths.com/courses She is just a genius with a TIG torch. Every weld in any material she showed us was a piece of art, and she's also a great teacher. She cut up a piece of copper pipe to make a filler rod, and wrote her name on a piece of Stainless Steel using a TIG torch and the Copper filler rod. I couldn't recommend her courses more.
Certainly! It sounds like you stopped renting a CO2 bottle a few years ago because it was too expensive for the amount of welding you were doing. Instead, you've been using disposable bottles with CO2 and CO2/Argon mix for your MIG welding on MS and SS. You and @Andy800 both keep an eye out for deals and sales at places like Screwfix, Toolstation, and Halfords to save money on these disposable bottles. You plan to continue using these disposable bottles with the TIG welder you recently purchased since you'll be swapping gases for MS, SS, and aluminum. It's great that you're able to dispose of these bottles properly in the scrap metal bins at work, and it's always important to be environmentally responsible.
i got fed up with the small gas bottles so i bought a set of gages and now use hobbyweld gas. no annual fee just deposite on bottle and pay to swop when you run out, just like calor gas bottles . most farm supplies stock it https://hobbyweld.co.uk
For anyone interested in TIG welding aluminium I would recommend watching this bloke .... ..... "a wizard , a genius , a true star " ..... ..... Agreed ! I first noticed the excellent quality of the above man's work when he showed how ( and why ) to straighten a cylinder head using a press , followed by annealing with gas/oxy . Many workshops would just machine a warped head flat again , and he explains why this is not a good idea ...... internal stresses "frozen" into the crystal structure .... etc.
A mate just lent me his unused R-Tech AC/DC 170 TIG set. I'll report back if my welds are any good with it. I'm hoping that my gas-welding experience should help, but that was an age ago....
