Thermal arc 186

[Gamble97]

Thermalarc 186 AC/DC showed up today. Going to take unbox it and let you guys know what I think. Then welding video later.
Let the suspense begin.

 

[XLR8]

10 minutes, I can't take it anymore. Going to look at welders now.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

I still can't believe you sold a diversion 180 for this. Awaiting pix.

I'm using a syncrowave 250dx at school (for welding techniques diploma and 4 cwb certs) and it's AWESOME a little bulky though haah

 

[Gamble97]

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[Archer Fabrications]

Noce that actually looks of decent quality. Is that a multi purpose machine? Or just a tig? Definately alot more options for your puddle right there than what the diversion offers.

 

[Gamble97]

Ok so I got to finally open this box. First let me say the box is large and didn't fit in my trunk. It had to ride in the passenger seat to get it home.

Package:
Packed really well. No surface scratches or anything. The box looked like it may have stumbled a few times on the way over, but that is all UPS to blame.

First initial thoughts: this unit comes with almost everything you can possibly ask for. The regulator is huge and easy to read numbers. The ground clamp is a good size and has a solid copper grounding strap. The torch feels great and the stinger feels pretty heavy duty. The hat was a nice plus. I've gotten a few tig machines by now and not one of them has come with more than 1 tungsten. This came with what looks like 5/64 as the smallest and up to 1/8th tungsten. Also extra collets, and collet bodies to mate up with these. A short back cap and a long one.

Foot pedal. It's huge. Only seen these size pedals on a older miller syncrowave or a htp welder. Very nicely done.

Power cord: I like it. Why? Because it's LONG. I can leave my welder next to my bench and reach my outlet without any issues. I couldn't do this on my miller, or longevity. However it all depends on your own setup. This works for me and it may or may not work for you.

Stick rods: Beefy, appear to be 1/8" 6013 rods. I can't wait to try these things out.

Extra: Extra buttons for the torch, plus back cap, gives it that nice finishing touch. It's the little things that count and make you feel all warm and fuzzy and make you know you made the right purchase.

Power on: The fan kicks on immediately and two things I noticed. 1 it's a little loud. 2. Put your hand on the back and thing things MOVES air.

Last week they said the unit wouldn't be in stock until this week and wouldn't ship out until later so I probably shouldn't expect it until next week and it showed up today. Needless to say thus far I am nothing, but impressed. Can't wait to fire it up and see how she performs!

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Video is UN-edited since you guys want to see it so bad. It's saving right now then uploading in a few.

 

[gho5tone]

Hmm, looks impressive.

 

[Rsawd95dsm]

That is a sweet hat im not gonna lie i would definatly were that in plublic all the time!

 

[Gamble97]

Ok guys, I'm uploading the video now, don't forget to subscribe it should be up shortly.
Don't forget to subscribe.
gamble1997's channel - YouTube

Unboxing video is up.
ThermalArc186 unboxing Ac/Dc tig stick welder Inverter - YouTube

 

[Archer Fabrications]

I gotta ask, whats the msrp.

 

[Gamble97]

Cyberweld.com has this unit for 1625 shipped.

Well finally got to turn this thing on while I had a free minute. Only did a few short welds and made a video. Going to edit it and upload so maybe by tonight it should be up.

Only did it in steel because everyone wants to see it so bad. Going to do another video with pulse and frequency and up/down slope later.

And the longevity 200ex will be coming next week so I will be comparing both of these units side by side.

Ok just did a quick video on this, it's uploading now. Sorry but I kind of rushed through it. I'm going to do another video when I have a day off and go through each setting and do some stainless and aluminum.

Everything seems great so far. The foot pedal will take some getting used to for sure. Few odd things; by default the hot start was enabled which I thought was odd. I just set it to a basic 125 amps and started to weld.

Now the only thing I did notice that is a slight concern. While going on and off the pedal to vary your amperage the arc takes a little time to react. And it's noticeable. My longevity and miller didn't do this, however I have a very similar machine on it's way for me to test out. The longevity 200ex, so it will be interesting to see how that one works.
Also with it taking time to react is that it wasn't a smooth transition. It kind of "hopped or jumped"
So for example say I was at 100 amps and I was backing off the pedal every so slowly the amperage would go 99.98.97.96.95 all the way down to where I was. And the arc would be linear with the foot pedal.
This one would go from 100..90..80..70.. (just throwing numbers out there for example)

I'm going to try and see if I can get a better arc shot if possible and show you guys what I mean. So that is the ONLY thing I would say I dislike about the machine. Is it enough to turn you off? No. It has so many features, and comes with so many extras, you can't turn down the machine for just that small issue.

Fan noise. WOW. It's on full time and it's LOUD. I had it sitting on the floor behind me and I'll be honest..it could get annoying really quick. The good side is, you probably won't have to worry about it overheating. When I first turned the machine on I didn't think much of it, but after welding for a bit you do realize how loud it is.

ThermalArc 186 Ac/Dc Tig testing out on some steel - YouTube

 

[Gamble97]

The way the arc goes up and down is completely normal on this machine. It's in the programming and how often sample rate is checked.

I give this machine an A+ and a good purchase. Lots of machine for the money. I intend to use it a lot on the next upcoming project.

 

[buhay6]

Nice buy man, I just bought the thermal arc fabricator 181i. Hopefully should be here saterday a big bonus is it came with the tig setup for free.

 

[Gamble97]

I really want to try those new all in one setups. It's the digital mig that is what I'm really after.