ESAB Rebel

[Broaner]

Has anyone tried one of these little guys yet? I'm looking to gain TIG and Stick abilities. Everything I've seen on these makes them look amazing. Well priced for an all in one. 110/220 capable. Lift arc for rookies like me. I really like that the computer will help me over the initial learning curve. I'm planning to take a TIG 101 course for my elective next fall so I guess I will learn some stuff there too. I'm not too concerned about the MIG abilities because I will be keeping my Hobart 140 setup as is. I'm guessing it cannot hold a 30# spool of wire based on its compact size?

Would I be better off going with something else since I don't need MIG?

[STROKETHISF350]

You'd be better with something that welds ac


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[Broaner]

Thanks. So I'm completely rookie. In which applications will AC be more appropriate? How does it alter welding behavior?

Linking the product for reference.
http://www.esabna.com/us/en/products...Id=10551&tab=2

[STROKETHISF350]

You need ac to weld aluminum, another plus to having an ac machine is the ability to use high frequency start instead of scratch start which sucks. Look up some vids on you tube, also check out everlast welder a they are probly the best bang for your buck


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[myusername]

The everlast powertig series look very affordable and will probably do whatever you need to do. I was going to buy one to learn on before I bought my HTP Invertig. The HTP is a little pricey but the quality seems to be awesome and the customer service was great. Whats the price tag on the Esab rebel, anyways?

[Tate]

Welding Tips and Tricks on Youtube has used the Lincoln PowerMig 210MP and sounds quite favourable. Not sure if it is AC capable, but it does have HF start and is pretty cheap for a good brand name machine. Have a look at them anyway when you're comparing.

[meatball]

Lincoln squarewave tig 200
Has everything your looking for just no mig . it has , hi freq , ac/dc for 1200-1300$
The esab and 210mp are dc only lift arc machines and the 210 has no solenoid for the shielding gas in tig mode. I'm not sure about the esab .

[Broaner]

Good info. Thanks guys. Its definitely already opened my eyes on what I knew I didn't know. haha

[RacinNdrummin]

I had an Everlast 200A tig machine for 6 years, all the bells and whistles (Arc Balance, Pulse, ECT.), used the Sh1t out of it. It was a great machine, The only gripe I had was the pedal was kind of chinky and stiff. The last two years it was used almost every day. I upgraded to a Syncrowave 351, and sold the everlast to my buddy.

If I was going to buy an affordable Tig machine, I wouldnt hesitate to buy an Everlast, especially if it had more capability than an equivalent lincoln or miller.

[jimbo486]

Originally Posted by Tate

Welding Tips and Tricks on Youtube has used the Lincoln PowerMig 210MP and sounds quite favourable. Not sure if it is AC capable, but it does have HF start and is pretty cheap for a good brand name machine. Have a look at them anyway when you're comparing.

I've been watching tons of Jody's videos there and on welding-tv.com. I'm hooked! He does a great job putting the videos together. I've been wanting to find a good tig machine as well. I've only done some GMAW on steel with a Harbor Freight welder. It does just fine for what I've needed so far without a hiccup. I was just welding some 3/16" steel channel on my boat trailer last week. Laid down some 2"-3" beads without an issue. Of course, it's been cold here lately and I had the case of the machine opened up to help keep it cool. It's not designed to weld aluminum though. I'm sure because it would need at least a spool gun. I've considered the lower grade, yet good for beginner and inexpensive tig welders from Everlast and Esab. I've noticed that the majority of the decent tig machines are lift-arc or even HF start though. I didn't notice many at all (even the cheap ones) having scratch start. Lift-arc sounds like it just requires one additional step over a HF start. That being, touching the electrode to the metal, depressing the pedal and then lifting the torch/electrode off the metal. A benefit to that, that some machines offer is opening the gas solenoid for some pre-flow before the electrode arcs.

IIRC, that Lincoln PowerMig 210MP uses a spool gun with aluminum wire (any GMAW, for that matter, would require a spool gun for aluminum). I don't know if when one is mig welding aluminum, the machine still needs to run on AC or not. I do know you want to run 100% argon gas. Jody says in his videos that a little shot of helium with it seems to help better when welding aluminum. Whether that was for mig or tig or both, I don't recall.

Another thing Jody has mentioned in his videos is that HF start on some welders could get you into trouble when working on automotive panels. I wanna say he said something along the lines of the high frequency damaging electrical components.

EDIT: I take some of that back. Yes, AC is required even with mig.

[jimbo486]

Specs on the Power MIG 210MP state that it only has DC output so a spool gun would be the only way you could weld aluminum.

[meatball]

Ac is not required to mig aluminum with a spool gun.
Lift arc doesn't really have any benefits over hf start . The only benefit is for the manufacturer , in that it's cheaper to leave that out and still sell the machine as a tig capable rig .
You can tig on the 210 mp I have one at work and use it regularly , just not for tig . When I did tig with it it worked fine , welds were nice , no complaints at all about the behavior of the machine .
However the extra price for the tig package is a lot and installing the pigtail to run the peddle is a pita . The gas hose set up is sub par it's all ran external direct to the regulator and controlled with a valve on the torch . It will tig but it's not user/fabrication friendly .at that point you might as well just get a gas block and clamp on torch like most rig welders the only difference is you have foot control of the amperage . If your going to use the machine as a primary mig platform with stick capabilities for doing farm type work or lugging it somewhere and burning 7018 or flux core off of 110v circuit it's great .
If I had a dedicated mig machine I would pass on the the 210mp and go with the squarewave tig 200 which is exactly what i did . It's an ac/dc tig / stick with hf start . Built in post flow , pulse , balance adj and more .
The 210 mp and squarewave 200 will not burn 6010 the arc drops out , not sure why . They'll run 6011 6013 but not 6010.

Both are great machines but if you want to seriously tig .. Having ac output and hf start is a no brainier . If you don't have a welder at all and want a mig capable of occasional tig, then the 210mp is great .
Also They both weld stick great no complaints 7018 runs awesome as well as 60xx rods that it'll run .

[Broaner]

Thanks again. I'm thinking initially at least, the only way I'm doing aluminum is tig and I doubt I will do much if any cause I gather its very challenging. Not interested in a spool gun because if I do aluminum I'd want it to be a nice looking weld. I'm mainly interested in stainless. And mild steel now that I think about it. So the only machine with 2 recommendations so far is the Square wave 200

[chris lang]

What about the miller syncrowave 210? We used them at school and I was able to weld much better on aluminum with it.

[zfaylor]

ahp alphatig. I have had one for 5 months and love it to death. HF start, pedal, ac/dc, pulse, regulator etc.. all of the bells and whistles. Think I paid $750 to my door for it.

[Broaner]

Nice price and good reviews on the AHP. I'm not as familiar with that style of regulator. I'm used to the more traditional dual analog gauges. Are you a novice? I wouldn't have a clue where to start with that. Lots of learning with so many dials and options. Are the nicer units doing these things for you?

2015 AHP AlphaTIG 200X 200 Amp IGBT AC DC Tig/Stick Welder with PULSE 110v 200v - - Amazon.com

2015 AHP AlphaTIG 200X 200 Amp IGBT AC DC Tig/Stick Welder with PULSE 110v 200v - - Amazon.com

[zfaylor]

I have been using tig for less than a year. Do not let the dials scare you. They are very simple. Starting amps, welding amps, and ending amps are the top three. The middle control your pulse settings. Frequency, ac balance, and post flow are the bottom three. Top rarely get adjusted. If I am doing exhaust tubing I will turn the max amps knob down. The pulse settings rarely get touched after setting and the frequency and balance are rarely touched. Post flow I leave set where it is for everything. Put them all in the middle and get yourself plenty of practice pieces and start adjusting from there. Good chance to learn how to tig better in the process.

Regulator is easy to use. Tap the pedal to get the gas flowing and adjust from there with the knob.

Only things I bought for it are consumables and I put a gas lense on it.

[bgreen776]

I'll second the AHP Alpha TIG. It will do everything a guy could ever want in a home shop environment. The more expensive welders cost more to repair after the warranty than buying a new AHP. (which is exactly why I have one)

I sold a very nice Lincoln High Freq 300 amp machine for almost enough to pay for the AHP and consider myself well ahead of the game due to the efficiency of the inverter and the additional features that I did not have with the older transformer powered Lincoln. I liked it so much that I bought a second one for the guys at work.

My AHP welds just as well as my Miller Dynasty 300 DX, and I have yet to need more than the 200 amps the AHP can provide.

I don't even fire up my MIG welders anymore, unless its for something dirty that I'm too lazy to prep for TIG welding, or something that just needs slapped together to get it out of my way. If a guy gets into building a boat or something with a mile of long straight welds a MIG will be worth the investment, but it will become a terrible crutch if you aren't careful. A Stick/TIG machine will weld anything, and it will be the best (IMO) platform to learn the basics on.

[AHall]

My htp 220 is a fantastic machine. Far exceeds my ability.

[Exodus]

The duty cycle on the lincoln or the rebel is like 25% at full amps. that's welding for 2:30 and waiting 10 min for the cool off. Not enough for me to buy either machine. It wouldn't have cost them much more to add a HF box, but then again, you still only get DC TIG and low duty cycle.

meh