Originally Posted by 20/20 vision

Markk - what were you welding that took 20 minutes - anyway you can press the trigger and waste some argon to cool the torch?

the technology of how they work means that there's no logical reason that 3 phase will be "cleaner and nice" but I know what you mean about losing current and the torch getting hot. next step up from the sub £2k models is water cooled torch to address the heat issue.

BTW there's another very cheap ac/dc option around called a ROHR machine that's on eBay and amazon and direct from UK suppliers unionmart for £360ish delivered from Uk but no pedal supplied though you can get one for less than £50 from china (hand wipe the delivery before touching). this machine is ideal really since its also marketed by other companies in Uk (inc the one i bought as per my earlier post) and countless other suppliers. the circuit diagrams and servicing spec info are on line so should be reasonable easy fix by any tech repair place in the event of failure.