The Dillon is a useful, reasonably performing low end torch designed to be sold at high profit by extremely practiced and skilled salesmen demonstrating it at the county fair. They show miraculous aluminum and stainless welding on small items, that their typical 120 v AC stick welder audience is wowed at. The price is just low enough to fuel impulse buys. They claim extreme fuel gas savings, that will pay it off in a few weeks of use, and that helps seal the deal. When that buyers skill level is applied to the torch, it's much more of an average performer. They never use it enough to make the fuel savings, if any, significant. It is a decent torch, and as a one size fits all welding/cutting outfit, it does okay. It's main virtue is that it has a decent small flame, and uses low pressure, so it can be used on delicate work. It cuts small kerf in flame cutting mode, but that is at the expense of having a hard to use, awkward split oxygen and acetylene nozzle arrangement. It is only one, and not well liked tool in the arsenal of a professional welder. It doesn't take the place of a complete Tig, MIG, Stick, Plasma arc and oxy-acetylene setup. Anything in welding that a Dillon type torch can do well can be done better by selecting the appropriate Tig torch or small oxy-acetylene torch. In heavier gas welding or awkward position cutting, a standard Victor torch does much better. The awkward pistol grip torch handle is hard to get used to for someone used to decent torches and tig rigs. Yes, it's cheap and works. No, it's not a miracle, it's just a good torch with heavily hyped marketing. I'm with oldstarfire, I'd go with a good TIG and operator. Or even myself and a good tig. If it absolutely had to be gas welded, not tig, I'd use my small Victor or even smaller Smiths torches. With good quality low pressure regulators, that's half the secret to the Dillon torch anyway.
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