I would love to have a plasma cutter and a SMAW and GTAW welder would be great. How is it as a TIG welder? Are you talking about the $590 unit on e-Bay correct?
Let me begin by saying over the years I have done my share of welding however, by no means do I consider myself a Welder. A true welder knows not only his equipment, the nature of varying metals and their properties as well as numerous processes. I on the other hand know very little but somehow manage to get things to stick together. I'm sure there are guys out there half my age who have already forgotten more than I'll ever know.
I've stated this so there is no mistake about my welding knowlege or abilities.
Now, from what I can tell the Tig function seems to work fine, keep in mind the one I bought will not do Aluminum, I use my Mig for that.
I have the CT518 ?? it was the one they had last year mine is a 180A I believe the new one is 200A. Also, the new one has an advantage over mine, it is wired with a 7 pin connector for foot pedal control, mine only has a 2 pin which only gives you on/off with the pedal. Good news is I called them yesterday and I believe I will be able to add the 7 pin to mine.
What J.J. said about if/when you loose the transformer you will loose all three functions is true I'm sure. That's why I said in a previous post the true test lies in it's longevity, and that we'll just have to wait and see.
Right now, for my non production type work, it has been well worth the $464 I paid.