Control, and aluminum
TIG gives you the cleanest bead and the slowest learning curve. The dividing line in this category is simple and expensive: DC only, or AC/DC. Without alternating current you cannot weld aluminum, and no accessory changes that. We compare arc start, low-amp stability, pulse and pedal support.
140 A DC · lift start · no HF · €128
The cheapest way into TIG, and the one machine here that starts without high frequency — which is a feature, not only a saving.
Best for: Finding out whether you like TIG before spending €400 on one
200 A DC · 100% duty cycle at 155 A · €270
The only machine on this page that publishes a 100% duty cycle figure — 155 A, all day, with a number attached.
Best for: Long stainless seams where the machine must not stop before you do
180 A AC/DC · 32-bit control · 7-year warranty · €380
A fully digital AC/DC machine with adjustable pulse, from an importer that publishes an address and a seven-year term.
Best for: Someone who wants aluminum capability and an importer who answers letters
200 A AC/DC · AC frequency 20–100 Hz · spot 0.01–9.99 s · €459
The first machine on this page that publishes its AC frequency range and pulse frequencies — the controls aluminum actually needs.
Best for: Aluminum work where the arc has to be steered, not just switched on
200 A AC/DC · HF start · 12.7 kg (28 lb) · €300
The cheapest AC/DC machine here, which is to say the cheapest one that can weld aluminum at all.
Best for: A first AC/DC machine, bought because aluminum is somewhere in the plan
200 A DC · long and short pulse · not for aluminum · €440
A DC machine at an AC/DC price, which only makes sense once you read what its two pulse modes do.
Best for: Stainless fabrication, where AC is useless and pulse control is everything
200 A · AC/DC with pulse in both · six modes · €383
Six modes on one dial, and the only machine here whose reference is live on all six markets.
Best for: A reader outside Germany who wants AC pulse and a link that resolves locally
≈ $370
10–200 A TIG · 10–170 A MMA · 9.5 kg (20.9 lb) · €460
The only machine here that publishes a current range starting at 10 A — and the lightest AC/DC on the page at 9.5 kg (20.9 lb).
Best for: Thin stainless and aluminum, and anyone who has to carry the machine upstairs
200 A DC · HF and lift start · spot mode · €300
A DC machine that offers both start methods, which is rarer than it sounds — and a spot mode for tacking thin sheet.
Best for: Repair work where the job dictates the start method rather than the machine
200 A AC/DC · fully digital · 7-year warranty · €570
The top of this page: a fully digital 200 A AC/DC machine with stick as well, and seven years behind it.
Best for: Regular aluminum and stainless work, where the machine has to be right rather than adequate
The available current governs the accessible thickness and, on an AC machine, the ability to handle aluminum.
On thin stainless, what counts is the ability to go very low in current without the arc going out.
The duty cycle says how many minutes in ten the set holds its rated current. On a long assembly bead, that figure decides, not the maximum amperage.
Only for aluminum and magnesium. For steel and stainless, DC is enough and costs less.
Modulating the current while welding, which lets you manage the heat in the workpiece. It is what makes TIG precise.
It has touched the pool or the filler rod. It then has to be re-ground: a contaminated electrode gives an erratic arc.
To a point, with the grinding marks running lengthways. Transverse marks make the arc wander.
Pure argon in almost every case. Specific mixes exist for particular uses.
On tubes and parts where the back face matters, yes: without protection the reverse side oxidizes and becomes brittle.
Yes, autogenously on well-fitted edges. That is what gives the most discreet beads.
The TIG arc emits a great deal of ultraviolet, felt more on exposed skin. Covering arms and neck is not optional.
Alternating current is what separates a machine that welds aluminum from one that never will: it is the structural choice. TIG gives the finest bead and advances slowly, and its arc burns exposed skin more than any other.
Four sets in five must state the figure before a column appears. A half-empty column manufactures false gaps.
| Model | Price | Current | Processes |
|---|---|---|---|
| VEVOR 200 A 6-in-1 AC/DC TIG | $370 | 200 A | — |
| IPOTOOLS INV185PACDC | — | 180 A | AC and DC TIG, MMA |
| IPOTOOLS SUPERTIG 200DI | — | 200 A | AC and DC TIG with HF start, MMA |
| IPOTOOLS TIG-200ACDC | — | 200 A | AC and DC TIG with HF start, MMA |
| S SIMDER TIG200 (140 A DC) | — | 140 A | DC lift TIG, MMA |
| STAHLWERK AC/DC WIG 200 ST | — | 200 A | AC and DC TIG, MMA |
| STAHLWERK DC WIG 200 Puls Pro | — | 200 A | — |
| WELDINGER WE 200P ACDC eco | — | — | AC and DC TIG with HF start, MMA |
| WELDINGER WE 201PW plus DC | — | 200 A | DC TIG, MMA |
| WELDINGER WE 202P DC | — | 200 A | DC TIG with HF start, MMA |
Specifications: manufacturer sheets for welding and metalworking machines and the matching Amazon product pages. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure in this table names its source.
Most recent revision in this category: August 13, 2026.
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
