Rock: Reason for Buying

[Ed in Ga]

Rock,
I know your marketing people are interested in such things, as you've mentioned before, and one of the reasons Miller/Hobart sponsores this website.
Of the three weldors I know none had any experience with inverters, so no advice. Obviously I knew the Miller and Lincoln names but had no prior experience with either nor with welding products in general.
My choices were the Dynasty 200DX, Esab 161 or the T/A 185 for a tig inverter. Ruled out transformer type units due to current requirements. Slow release and the extra price for only 15 extra amps ruled out the Dynasty. Use on 110V was not an issue to me. The Thermal Arc seemed like a little more for the money than the Esab so that is the unit I purchased. Some don't care for the touch pad type controls but they have worked well on appliances owned for over ten years.
Ordered some of the Miller books (shipped very quickly) and appreciate the website. I'll keep that in mind with any future purchases.
Thanks,
Ed

[Scott V]

Ed,That would be me.I didn't like the controls like the Lincoln had for a few years,and I was not alone on that.The had all sorts of problems.Now here is how I tie it to your thread.When I was looking for my ac/dc inverter there were two to pick from in the 300 amp range.One was the Thermal-arc 300 prowave,and the other was the dynasty 300.The dynasty had just changed their front panel at that time to something the have now.So the main Reason I picked the Thermal-arc over the dynasty was the analog controls.Then the second reason was the price difference.The first reason had the most influence.I traded my Almost new Esab 252 in on the Thermal,and that was a big enough jump in tech for me at one time.

I looked at the controls of the Lincoln 205V ac/dc,and I still like the knob setup way better.I kind of think Lincoln got the message also if you look at the powermig 300,It has Knobs,and rocker switchs,although it's all digital.Knobs are way faster to change,And they have been around a whole lot longer.

Ed,given the picks you had I would of did the same thing.

[Ed in Ga]

Scott,
I understand your concerns. On this unit the the actual adjustment is made with a knob or pot. The selection is made by means of the touch pad arrows. Somewhat the same as using the rocker type switches to pick the parameter. Some other selections like AC start, lift start etc are controlled only by touch pads. Pots become erratic when corrosion forms between the wiper and the wire wound resistive coil. Sort of a name your poison type deal. Of course if you have to replace the entire pad then cost is a concern. That's why 3 year warranties look good on inverters.
Ed

[Henro]

Hi,

Like Ed... [and aweaver and ???], and for almost exactly the same reasons, I also ended up deciding on the Thermal Arc prowave 185. I ordered mine two days ago.

I really liked the Dynasty 200 dx. I wanted it. But it would have cost $1,000 more after I added the contractors kit to make it what the prowave kit I bought is out of the box.

I could have bought the Dynasty. It would not have broken the bank...but I just could not justify the added cost in my head. For this welding newbie with only a few hours at the community college continuing education welding class...the T/A was the biggest bang for the buck. Hope I made the right decision...I think I did.

This is a great site and I wanted to give this feedback. So I will add my voice here with Ed in Ga's...

If money were no object...I would have went with the dynasty 200 dx...unfortunatly money is a consideration for most of us...even if we got a cushion that will keep us from breakng the bank now and then!