R-Tech TIG Welder AC/DC 160 Amp 240v

This allows you to control the amperage when actually welding which is very beneficial especially when welding aluminium or exotic steels / alloys. It acts like a car throttle controlling the amperage.

You simply unplug the torch switch plug from machine and plug in the foot pedal.

You then set the main control amperage on machine front panel to the maximum you wish the foot pedal to go to on a maximum depression. So if you set the main amperage control to 100amps, when fully depressed the foot pedal will give 100amps. If set to 40 amps, it will go from minimum amps to 40amps allowing fine control of amperage. 

Note: Some competitors foot pedals have the maximum amperage knob on the side of the foot pedal, so it can be hard to see what the maximum has been set and also easily knocked as on floor, this is quite an old fashioned way (we changed to machine control of foot pedal max amps over 17 years ago) 

Once a weld pool is formed and you are moving along the weld as the heat transfers into the workpiece you may require less amperage as the weld pool width / penetration will get too hot, reducing the welding current with foot pedal will stop this happening.

Over a 300mm long weld, you may need 100amps at the beginning and only 80 amps at the end of weld. Using a foot pedal will give you a uniform weld bead size.

It also allows you to back off the heat from weld if you need to reposition torch / get new filler rod but don't want to stop the weld I.E When doing pipework etc which requires one continuous weld.

Most experienced tig welders prefer to use a foot pedal especially on aluminium and exotic steels / alloys, unless the welding is not being done at a workbench i.e.  working on a car etc.

All of our machines include everything to get you welding as quickly as possible, at no additional cost. All you need to do is add your selected filler wire and gas to get going.

All of our TIG welders include the following, in the box, at no additional cost.

• 4M WP26 Air Cooled Torch
• Earth Lead
• MMA Lead
• Gas Hose
• Mains Cable
• Argon Regulator
• Owners Manual
• Torch Consumables, Including Tungstens

Additional items such as a Foot Pedal and/or Trolley can be purchased as an optional extra, in the drop down menus.

No, the machine is fully operational using the switch on the included torch.

We do recommend a Foot Pedal as they provide the user with full control over the weld. Our high quality Foot Pedals have been designed to be fully functional with all of our TIG machines.

These can be purchased as an additional extra from the drop down menu. If you wish to purchase a machine now and a pedal at a later date, they are available as a separate item on the website.

Duty Cycle refers to how long a machine will operate for before it automatically stops the welding ARC to protect its components from overheating.

A 60% duty cycle at 200 amps would mean that you are able to weld at 200 amps for a maximum of 6 minutes out of 10 before the machine shuts off to cool down.

Higher duty cycles at higher amperage indicate a machine is made from more high quality components, built to withstand the stresses welding places on them.

We believe on a minimum of 35% duty cycle, most of our machines are 60% at maximum amperage. Built to last, ideal for all users -  Industrial, D.I.Y, Home workshop. 

At R-Tech we believe in building machines to last, with minimum down time to our customers, so we fit the most reliable power modules and IGBT's available coupled with oversized heatsinks. Therefore our machines are able to work harder for longer! 

We also quote our duty cycles at machines MAXIMUM amperage unlike some manufacturers who sneakily quote duty cycles NOT at maximum amperage which can be quite misleading! Duty cycle is very important, 20% is not an industrial duty cycle.

I.E Competitors state on thier 200amp machine, 60% duty cycle @140Amps.. So what is the duty cycle @ 200Amps?? 

Welding Aluminum - When welding aluminum, you tend to find this process a lot easier when using an AC/DC Tig welder. You will have much more control over the welding arc which will significantly reduce the risk of burning holes through the work piece. We suggest using a foot pedal when TIG welding aluminum as it greatly increases your control over the arc.

ARC Control - You have complete control over the power output of the machine. This can be done via the torch switch also, it may not be the same control you would achieve with a foot pedal however it is more than you would have over a MIG welder. By setting the base amps, your maximum amperage and the time it takes for your machine to slope upwards toward that maximum amperage, you can ensure that you are gently applying heat to the work piece. It gets a little confusing but we cover it in more detail in our TIG Welding Guide.

A Great All-Rounder - As you only use pure argon gas for TIG welding, paired with a lanthanated tungsten, you should find it very straight forward to go from welding mild to stainless steel and then over to aluminum without changing a single consumable. Not only is a TIG welder versatile in the material it can weld, it is extremely versatile in the positions you are able to weld in, be this flat on a bench, vertically and horizontally.

Cleanliness - Welds produced by a TIG welder are extremely clean and should require no cleaning, this makes whatever it is your are working on, ready to go as soon as the weld is completed. As TIG welding produces little to no sparks, spatter is significantly reduced. Most machines come with a cleaning function, this is where the arc does a lot of the cleaning without you even noticing. This certainly saves you a lot of time!.

All orders for R-Tech welding equipment received by 3PM will normally be despatched the same day for next day delivery to the UK mainland, UK Isles may take 48hrs.

Once your order has been placed, will will email you an order confirmation, then a despatch confirmation with tracking number so you can track your order. We mainly use DHL who will often provide a 1 hour delivery time to you.

Simply order on-line or by phone on 01452 733933.

If you require any advice on which welding machine will best suit your requirements, please give us a all and one of our friendly sales/technical team will answer your questions

R-Tech provide you with high quality welding equipment with easy useable features, at exceptional value with un-rivalled direct customer support.

All our machines are robustly built using the latest ultra reliable IGBT inverter power components sourced from Siemens Infineon in Germany & USA.

We give a 5 year collect and return warranty on all our R-Tech machines, a true no quibble warranty. We pay for and arrange collection, repair and return to you. General turn-around is 3-4 days, Can you current supplier offer such fast service?

We also offer a free loan machine service to get you back welding quickly and if arranged before 3pm, this can be delivered next working day for UK mainland.

10 year duty of care on spare parts - We keep a large stock of spares in our Gloucester premises.

We build our machines in a modular basis which ensures any future repair bills are kept to a minimum, unlike some manufacturers who build the internals of their machines on just one or two P.C.B's. We ensure ours are designed to have internal components easily replaced ensuring cost effective repairs.

Inverter welders use new silicon based technology to produce their welding power compared to older style welders that use heavy copper/aluminium transformers and rectifiers.

• Inverters use much smaller transformers, so they are a lot smaller, lighter and more portable.
• Inverters use a lot less input power to get the same output power than the older transformer type machines, so they consume a lot less electricity and therefore are greener to run.
• Because Inverters output power is controlled electronically, you have infinite power adjustment from 0 - 100% so you can really fine tune these to you needs. On MIG welders sometimes setting 2 is not enough power, but setting 3 is too much. You won't get this problem with infinite power control.

Are inverter welders realiable?

Yes. When inverter welders first came out many years ago, like any new technology they did have their problems. Nowadays inverter technology is very reliable, cost effective and has many benefits over traditional welders.

At R-Tech we use ultra-reliable Eupec Infineon IGBT Power Modules and power produced by American/German companies which are ultra reliable and allow us produce high duty cycle welding equipment.

As with all major manufacturers of welding equipment, the R-Tech range uses components originating from several countries.

The main part of our inverter range utilise 'Eupec (Infineon)' IGBT & power modules produced by American and German companies providing very high duty cycles with great reliability. With other components sourced from the Europe (internals) and the Far East (chassis and case components) from tried and tested high quality sources.

All final quality testing is carried out at our premises in Tewkesbury, UK.