Thermal Arc Fabricator 181i MIG/Stick/TIG Welder W1003181

I absolutely love my new Thermal Arc 181i. It's far better than I knew to expect. So far though, I've only use SMAW and FCAW. Since it had been 30 years since I last welded anything, I was a little "tenuous/dubious" to say the least. The first welds out of the box with both methods, might not have been perfect, but they were "sound" welds. (mild steel) (Thank you tinmantench and the guy that keeps hawking his tig finger - there were others as well I watched over and over) I'm used to welding aluminum with oxy/acetylene so I don't think I'm going to purchase the aluminum MIG gun. (Don't know to miss it, but I may get an AC or high frequency square wave machine though) I'm using it at home for small repairs and projects. So far it's been practicing and small repairs. My first large trailer project was rained out today. What would I change? - I still think they need a 120 vac option for the 181i for us tinkerers. - Include the torch too. - I'd also like them to regulate the gas. (on/off with the TIG torch operation) That one thing is the only thing I really don't care about too much Would I buy this again? Yes Was it my first choice? No (But it was in this price range) Would I buy it again? Most definitely Is it my first choice now? I just don't see how I would need anything better esp. for home use. This is really slick machine! additional: Victor almost immediately sent me a "free" very nice helmet - I didn't think it would come that fast and bought another one to practice with in the short term (both adjustable 9 -13 and autodarkening - both features highly recommended Now I have the best of both worlds - I still prefer to weld with oxy/acteylene - I just do, I don't know why - that said, I can really "go" with the 181i Cyberweld was very fast to send it (well packed) and even faster to answer a few dumb questions

This machine is the way to go.

Excellant service and delivery was fast and easy. Got the machine all hooked up and operating over the weekend. I've had a chance to run some flux core wire and the machine welded very well and was remarkably easy to use. Even with no shielding gas the flux core produced very little splatter. I have to get a bottle of Argon and 75/25 and I'll be testing the TIG & MIG feature very soon.

its very nice welder.

I've had this welder a few weeks now. Have only used it for Mig welding so far. Used shield gas and everything worked well. Quality of construction is very high and instructions are clear. Setup was simple. Had to fabricate my own extension cord to reach my power outlet - not a big deal. The adjustments for wire speed and voltage have a digital readout and a rather coarse adjustment knob. It is tricky to dial in an exact number, but not that critical since the welds turn out fine if just get adjustments close.

Would be a 5 star but I haven't tried the TIG I'm not a welder but have welded some in the past including motor mounts, fabrication, etc, but haven't struck an arc in 10 years until I got this. First time I tried the stick it started smoothly, good arc control & steady heat. Drug out my old cracker box to see if it was the machine or me, cracker box is still hard to start, etc. Good price, quick delivery works great. New to MIG so I didn't take the time to properly clean the metal and that was a disaster, started over with clean metal and works great. Ready for a couple of projects now, plan to build the grandkids a tube frame buggy!

i bought this machine for to be used all day every day, it has been going strong. another review stated the duty cycle was under rated, they were right. i weld 1/4" stainless tube and plate all day with the tig useing 1/6" #308 wire and 3/32 tungsten at 120 to 160 amps and the machine never overheats. stick is even better, crisp starts and with #718 5/32" rod it will run nonstop. the highlights would be the burn back on mig, when stitching sheet you can controll how mutch wire stays out of the torch between welds. when tig welding water tight joints you can set how mutch downslope you want at the end of your weld to prent createring, on my lincoln you had to back of the amperadge slowly but with the 181i you just lift your finger and the machine takes over. for the money you get a machine thet will handel expert and amature work.

Everything was packaged properly, shipped promptly and arrived in good condition. I ordered the foot pedal at the same time as the welder. Everything works as advertised, weld quality is very good to excellent in all three modes tested. I did not test it with flux core wire. In stick mode, establishing an arc was childs play. very easy to strike and control the arc with every rod I tested, including 6011. Mig was straight forward but that is where I noticed a weakness. The voltage and wire speed knobs have about zero friction or "feel" to them. very hard to set precisely, as they seemingly move on their own! They are so "touchy" that simply removing your finger from one will move it! Tig function worked fine the only complaints I had were again with the knobs but mostly the foot pedal which seeded to be either at minimum or maximum only.... hold it in the middle of it's range and you got minimum power all the way until you held it wide open. Foot pedal is an option but it's Thermal ARCs pedal for this unit...

works great...i have used it at home and on the job site...

good price.working great so far.Have only used the mig but that seems to work great

I was able to hook the 181i to a 30amp dryer outlet and was very surprised how well each process worked. stick as an example was very crisp and easy starts. Trying to get the welder to stick a rod I had it all the way down to 15 amps and it still burned rods like butter. Testing more limits I was also able to use a 5/32 CAC rod and cut through 3/8 inch plate. I'm very impressed and would recommend this welder to anyone.

.It was a brezze to set up & it works like butter. Ive used it mostly for MIG welding, Will try it out for TIG soon. Great product! Great Price.

Do I need to buy a flowmeter to tig weld? or will the supplied regulator work? thanks

I really like this little machine. Welds very nice and is easy to use. For the price of a similar 180 MIG only machine you can have a machine that does MIG, TIG, and Stick.

I know this is probablly the wrong place to ask this, but whtat can this machine TIG weld ? Can you give me a list of metals it can weld ? And can it TIG weld mild steel or aluminum ?

There isn't much on the net in the way of good info or reviews for this machine. I've been shopping around and comparing machines for over half a year, and had quickly dismissed this one as being too small. What I was really looking for was a machine in about the 300 amp range, but when you take into accout that my shop has a dirt floor and all of the machines that I wanted weight 300 plus pounds not to mention that they cost around $3600.00 and up. I decided that I didn't have much to lose by tring this little machine. So far I've been very happy with it. It'll weld a 7018 1/8 rod just as well as the Miller 150 stl and Shopmate that I use at work and even though a 6011 rod is not listed on it's door as a recommended rod, I've had no problems with it using 3/32 and 1/8 rods. To be honest I would rather stick weld or tig but this weekend I did some mig passes on 1/4 mild plate, and I was surprised at how well it did. In short this machines duty cycle is lower than I wanted, but it'll do what I need done until I can get my shop in shape for a bigger machine. For most people this machine is more that big enough, but I work on and build farm equipment at home on the side which has a lot of sheet metal and heavy steel. By the way just some facts that are hard to find. This machine is made in China, not my first country of choice but it is well made. This machine will burn a 6011 rod, Thermal Arc recommends either a 7018 3/32 - 5/32 or a 6013 3/32 - 5/32 but on their website all they say is it may not burn a 6011 to your satisfaction. Well it burns one as well as my AC Thunderbolt does. This machine is 220 only and needs 50 amp breakers. I hope this helps you make a decision.

got in on time and in good condition.

This combo welding machine is great for professional and amature hobby. Price is well worth for this amchine. Since the purchase I have already finished three projects, which will cost me a lot of money if send to the welding shop. The change from Mig welding to Stick welding or TIG welding is so easy and works great. Anyone looking for a combowelding machine, this is the ONE.