Miller 330st aircrafter Any good?

[ken c]

Hi all,
I have the opportunity to pick up a 15 yr old Miller Aircrafter 330St
Tig/Stick welder for about $1000 or so. It's in great shape, but I
know nothing about these machines. Is this machine a better buy than a
new Miller 180SD for a hobbiest?
I expect to mostly be welding thin guage mild steel (auto bodywork).
But certainly the capability to weld ally is nice. (I know welding
aluminum takes a lot of skill/practice)
Is this a fair price? Am I better off paying out the extra for a
180SD?

Thanks in advance,
Ken.

[Ernie Leimkuhler]

In article <580dc478.01070...@posting.google.com>,
kcar...@sirius.com (ken c) wrote:

The 330 is more than twice the machine in both weight and capacity.
As long as it works it will be much better for aluminum to have the bigger
transformer, and it will likely also allow a lower amperage than the Syncro180.

It comes down to a matter of practicality.
Can you move, store and power such a large machine.

I believe you can still get parts for the 330.
Could be a good deal.

Does the 330 deal include a water cooler, foot pedal or torch?

--
"Everything's already been said, but since nobody was listening, we have to start again."

-Andre Glide

[Dave Cackett]

If this is the same machine as I have seen on numerous occasions here in the
UK, it is one big beast! Physically large, it will draw huge amounts of
current from your supply if turned up towards max. I suggest it may be a bit
'over the top' for what you have in mind.

I also remember that we had more than our share of problems with these
machines. The current control circuit is a bit suspect and has a habit of
failing (at great expense to fix here). Based on UK prices, the price
suggested seems fair but only you can really decide that based on local
experience.

I would suggest that you would do well to invest in a slightly smaller and
more reliable machine.

Hope this helps

Dave

[brad]

Beast of a machine. It was the last of Miller's non-squarewave ac/dc tig
machines.(excepting econotig) Built primarily as a dc tig machine, it still
runs as good as any other non-squarewave on aluminum.It was so overbuilt for
it's purpose that it would have been hard to hurt the thing. The price seems
reasonable. I'd go for it.
Good Luck-brad
ken c wrote in message <580dc478.01070...@posting.google.com>...