Syncrowave 180 SD on Craigslist....

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eazye2000
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Syncrowave 180 SD on Craigslist....

Post by eazye2000 »

So I have been looking for a decent TIG welder to do most of the stuff on the car, and I came across this.
Syncrowave 180 SD. What are your guys suggestions on this? I've built a few intake manifolds for N/A cars with my Aluminum MIG, but I want to do a boosted manifold for my car.
I'm pretty good at TIG, I just don't have much experience with newer machines. Only refrigerator sized dinosaurs that eat up your blocks power supply.

The price seems 'ok' at 1,100 bucks. I have the cash, but was going to try and offer a bit less and see how it goes.

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Post by smracing »

I have a newer version, good machine. For about $400 more, you can get a new one.
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Post by eazye2000 »

Thanks for the info. I haven't found a 180 anywhere. I think they just went with the new 200.
If I can find a name brand TIG that can do Aluminum effectively, for less than 2k, I'm probably going to jump on it. I could have made that since the beginning of this year in side work if I had the right equipment.

Thermal Arc was on the list for a while for a new machine. And Miller has been pricey. Just looking for a good used machine right now until this money burns a hole in my pocket and I take the plunge.
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Post by veilside180sx »

smracing wrote:I have a newer version, good machine. For about $400 more, you can get a new one.
IIRC A Diversion 165 would be more in that price range. New 200 Sync are about 2k.
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Post by TinyT »

I have one and like it. does what its told.
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Post by eazye2000 »

Well, I wish there were more people available to ask some advice.

The guy just called and said he still had it. The e-mail I got back said he was firm, due to having a few people interested in it right now. It's been on there since Mar 2'nd.

I thought 1,100 was on the fair side. He said it comes with a bunch of stuff. And that he's only used it 3 times in 4 years. I suspect he's an older gentleman that needed something small welded, and decided to do it himself and gave up using it for more things. I have no idea.

Anyways, I'm going to call and see what I can get it for. It doesn't hurt to ask!
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Post by Lucient »

I bought my 180 a few months ago on craigslist but its the one with the digital display and I love it. I like the high duty cycle on it for making long welds at high amperage and I like to be able to stick weld with it. I paid about the same price for it. For people saying get the diversion you have to look at what he is getting with the welder. Im assuming it comes with the foot pedal, cart and the argon tank and thats worth it. The diversion is a great machine but thats a good deal for a 180 ready to go
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Post by ILuvS13s »

id definately go for it. that tank alone runs a few hundred filled.
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Post by eazye2000 »

Yeah, it comes with the tank, cart, pedal, and whatever bunch of stuff that goes with it. I'm checking it out in the morning as soon as I can. I got him down to 1,000 which I thought was worth the effort.

I appreciate the feedback. Maybe I can start some manifolds! I really hate MIG'ing aluminum...
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My new Syncrowave 180 SD!

Post by eazye2000 »

Ok, so I got it today. Just got it home. The weather today in Central Florida is crazy, but I made it there and back!

Looks mint! Brand new almost. The guy was loaded. One of those guys who bought it to dabble with, but lost interest I guess. His loss, my gain! :twisted:
Tank is at 900psi, and is CO2/Argon mix (sucks cuz I already have a full tank). Just gotta swap her for Argon and I'm straight. I think it's an 80, not sure though.
Foot pedals, regulator, torch, leads, the whole deal.

Anyways, here it is at the house. Had to hack off the top 4 posts to fit it in my dads minivan, but whatever...

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Post by TanManS14 »

TinyT wrote:I have one and like it. does what its told.
These are transformer machine's correct? How much does your power bill run you if you're welding a good bit? Just curious.
It's always broken.
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Post by eazye2000 »

Yeah, they are transformer machines. I'm not sure what the electric bill runs while running them. My mothers power bill runs 250-300 a month on average. I'll try to document, and see how much it draws.
My small TIG, and Plasma Cutter are both transistorized. I've not heard my mom complain about the bill since I've been here. I've only used the MIG a few times.
I used to live on base, so I never paid the electric bill. My garage was 72* even if it was -10 outside.. lol Same in the summer time.
(back at the 'rents after the divorce)
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Post by ILuvS13s »

awesome dude. nice buy. that does look like an 80cf tank. if you are gonna do a lot of welding, id look into getting another one for backup. if you are just gonna weld here and there.. that should last a little while.
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Post by eazye2000 »

ILuvS13s wrote:awesome dude. nice buy. that does look like an 80cf tank. if you are gonna do a lot of welding, id look into getting another one for backup. if you are just gonna weld here and there.. that should last a little while.
Yeah, I put it next to mine and it is indeed an 80. So both the tanks have Argon/C02. I want to keep one for steel mix, and one for aluminum. So I'll probably just take this new one in, and see if it can be swapped. It says property of some place in Wyoming, so we'll see how the AirGas guys treat me..

Going to see about getting a plug for it tomorrow, and wire it in.
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Post by TinyT »

TanManS14 wrote:
TinyT wrote:I have one and like it. does what its told.
These are transformer machine's correct? How much does your power bill run you if you're welding a good bit? Just curious.
Ill ask my parents :D

I weld a lot and they never say anything, but Im gonna check it out cuz now im curious
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Post by TanManS14 »

Yea, my buddy has an inverter machine (thermal arc 185). When he first got it and was using it alot to practice on both aluminum and steel, he was saying the power bill only went up about 30 bucks. Curious to see what its like in comparison.
It's always broken.
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Post by eazye2000 »

So I just got back from the AirGas place. They hooked me up pretty well. Swapped my Ar/CO2 for free since I didn't use it. Now I got a bottle of mix, and straight Argon.

Picked up some Green tungsten, some 4043 filler rods, some new cups, and a few other things.
Also ordered everything for to make my torch a bit smaller. All the stubby stuff for it. I've got 7/16" - 3/32" stuff for it now. The stubby setup is going to be the same. After I get comfortable with it, I will get smaller, and larger sets to do smaller and larger stuff.
I was eyeballin' a flexy' head torch that looked pretty pimp. At 400 bucks, it was a little steep, but that was without my employers discount.

Thanks again for the advice everyone. Time to dust off the ol' noggin' and get to work.
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Post by TinyT »

get a gas lens setup right away, you will never take it off!
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Post by eazye2000 »

TinyT wrote:get a gas lens setup right away, you will never take it off!
You know, that crossed my mind today while I was down at the supply store. But my A.D.D. kicked in when I saw all the stuff on the shelf.
Isn't the lens something like a waffle cone looking cup, that disperses the gas in a more uniform way? I'm not familiar with it, but I did think to ask about it and forgot... Googling it here in a second...

Anyways, I laid a few beads with it. Grabbed a piece of scrap I had and tried her out. These are the first beads I've done in almost 2 years, so please be nice! It's also a hunk of metal that's been traveling with me for a few moves/relocation's. I'm not sure if you can tell in the pics, but there were some 1"ish beads that had this tacked together at one point. I just went in between them. I'm sure you will be able to tell the difference.... Also, I had it set at 110 amps, max pedal. Used about 3/4 pedal to pool it up, and 1/2 to keep her going. Didn't pop the little dryer breakers in the house! The aluminum is 3/16". As is my tungsten. And with a #7 cup.

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Feedback is appreciated!
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Post by TinyT »

the gas lens sends the gas down the tungsten nice and uniform so you can put the tungsten a ways out there and still get coverage, it also is better for welding in general, like i said, i never take mine off.

as for the welds, do you preheat? you will get different feelings on this, but pulsing might work well for you, its what I do. depending on thickness obviously, I set the amps, preheat the aluminum well, go full into the pedal, dab, back out of it, move, go full pedal, dab, etc etc. it goes fast, stacks the weld, and gives you more control. worth a shot
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Post by sdaigle240 »

yo what up bro, nice scoop. skip making up boxes and such, and just go nuts on flat plate till your brain hurts. i was self taught on aluminum, as i was trying to do my ic piping. i felt like you can waste a lot of time making little boxes and 90s, when you could be getting actual seat time. you can also prop the plate at different angles and practice on and incline/decline. it was just a good way to get a lot of practice done in a short period of time (1hr lunch break). i managed to do pretty well in the end.
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Post by eazye2000 »

Yeah, that was a piece of scrap I had made a while back for a motorcycle lift project. It's the only piece of aluminum I have left. Other than some 1x1 extruded aluminum I didn't feel like cleaning.
I'm gonna look into getting that lens, and see how it goes from there. I'm half tanked right now, but tomorrow is another day. Gonna see if I can dig out some other stuff and play around with it.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll work on some other stuff if I get the time. I have ZERO room where I'm living right now. Hard to make space to talk around everything.
Plus the dryer plug is only 30 amps, and this thing pulls 80 amps without a sweat if it wanted to.... I really need to pull another run of wire and put in another breaker....
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Post by eazye2000 »

Ok, got one for you guys who do the backfilling/purging of your manifolds and such...

I have my MIG regulator, that I cut the hose on, to adapt it to my other cheapie TIG that I bought a while back. I did it so I can use the same tank/regulator on each the MIG and TIG.
But this new TIG came with it's own setup. So what I'm asking, is can I use the second regulator, on a tank of CO2/Argon mix, to backfill, or purge, whatever you call it...?
So the Argon in the good TIG, and a second bottle of CO2/Argon going in the backside of my weld...

Man, I hope i'm explaining this right. Hope you can make sense of my nonsense.
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Post by TinyT »

a lot of people backpurge with a second bottle, so ya that is fine. but im not sure about using different gas on it. personally I would only use the same gas to purge with especially if some gap is left between the pipes.
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Post by eazye2000 »

Good info. And it makes sense. (duh)
I tried doing aluminum with the mix and it wasn't quite agreeing with it... But I guess maybe for a manifold of the stainless or mild sort, it might work. I guess I'll try it out and see.
Yes, I'm trying to be cheap. And work with what I got.
And Tiny, I'm still trying to find a good source for those Lens things. I just ordered a stubby set from the shop so I can get around tight spots. But they didn't have anything in the book about the lens'.
I have a Diamondback 17 or something like that for a torch. I'm gonna see what else I can find for it.
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Post by TinyT »

here ya go

http://cgi.ebay.com/TIG-weld-welding-ga ... 064wt_1167

thats the one i have and it works great
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Post by el tigre »

Nice, now it's time to practice up. A gas lens isn't usually that helpful until you start messing with aluminum. It usually does help with conserving shielding gas though, and increasing the electrical stickout of the tungsten, as stated above.

Just stick with straight Argon for the back purging. That's what I did with my stainless manifold. It worked pretty good. Be sure to do some research regarding each type of material you're doing. A lot of types of aluminum and stainless have different characteristics that need to be addressed when setting up a welding procedure.

No matter the material, be sure you add your filler to the leading edge of the weld pool, and keep moving, If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Good Luck. :wink:
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Post by TinyT »

el tigre wrote:Nice, now it's time to practice up. A gas lens isn't usually that helpful until you start messing with aluminum. It usually does help with conserving shielding gas though, and increasing the electrical stickout of the tungsten, as stated above.

Just stick with straight Argon for the back purging. That's what I did with my stainless manifold. It worked pretty good. Be sure to do some research regarding each type of material you're doing. A lot of types of aluminum and stainless have different characteristics that need to be addressed when setting up a welding procedure.

No matter the material, be sure you add your filler to the leading edge of the weld pool, and keep moving, If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Good Luck. :wink:
? I never take my lens off. it works great in every application, and my stainless welds are a ton nicer with it. and you can send the tungsten out for tight applications on most common metals. either way I had more fun after spending the 35 dollars on that set
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Post by el tigre »

I just wanted to make a note about the gas lens. If there is any type of spitting or sputtering that occurs during welding, which is fairly common with aluminum alloys if you're using dirty filler material, it can quickly clog up the lens, which is very difficult to clean afterward.

So in my opinion, unless there is a particular application that requires the additional stickout with aluminum, I tend to stick with the standard collet body setup. But at the end of the day, it's all about preference. I find myself using a gas lens with most steel and stainless applications, just not typically for aluminum. Again, not written in stone though.

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Post by eazye2000 »

Much appreciated on the info guys. It really helps.

I'm not ignorant to welding, but I am... Hard to explain. I'm self taught for the most part, and I've been doing it for a long time. Most everything I do, has been some sort of project, and not really a production piece.

That's why I'm trying to find the most uniform way to use this machine, and try to kick some of the bad habbits. I'm all about learning, and don't mind any kind of advice.

I have an intake manifold on the way. Going to chop it up, and play with it. There are a few good reads I've found on calculating the volumes and such, so I'm going to try and put that information to good use.

Thanks again everyone, and I'll update when I start doing something.

****
Just took a peek at that lens kit. It doesn't have the 3/16" collets that I use. I really don't want to have to buy more tungsten. I'll try to shop around and see what I can find.
The stuff I ordered from the local shop, keeps everything at the 3/16" stuff. I will go larger, and smaller once I get comfortable with what I'm doing. I'd hate to lay 3/8" beads on some 16 gauge metal. lol
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