For a first and probably last welder, it is an excellent choice if the price is right! The last Dialarc 250 HF's were on sale for $1699.00 up here. It was around 1993. The first 2 letters in the serial number will tell you the year. H is 70's, J is 80's and K is 90's. Then A is 0, B is 01, C is 02, etc. If it works properly it could be worth around $750 if it has cables, foot pedal and TIG torch, etc.
It is based on a Dialarc 250 AC/DC but has a high frequency added for TIG welding. It is a very basic TIG machine and a decent stick welder. The school I went to had one to replace a Lincoln Idealarc TIG 300. There was something wrong with the Lincoln and no one could figure it out. The teacher was a very experienced TIG welder and I think his budget on a new machine was limited. He wasn't very impressed with the Dialarc HF for TIG. For stick it was decent but not as good as a Lincoln Idealarc 250. Miller discontinued the Dialarc 250 HF in the early/mid 90's when the Syncrowave 250 came out. It is a better machine but now it looks like the Syncrowave 250 is being replaced by a new inverter based machine. I saw some literature on the new machine and it is listed it as a possible replacement for the S/W 250.
