Afternoon all.

I've been looking for a new MIG for a while, and have just had a look around the net to see what I could find. But since I don't know much (anything really) about the different brands, I need some quick help and opinions. I currently have a SIP 130t and require something better as despite having done the fix for the rollers and fitted a metal liner, it's still lacking.

There are three welders I'm looking at so far are about the same price, roughly £200, one is a Cebora Autostar 180, and the other an Automig 180MXE, which I believe to be a Migatronic welder, and a Snap On Pro MIG 2000, which the internet says is a re-badged Cebora machine.

So basically, assuming the machines cost roughly the same, which is the better bet? I weld anything from car body work, so 20 SWG/0.9mm up to 4-5mm steel plate.

Quick replies would be good, as the auctions end soon!

SIP mig welders are slagged off all the time but I've found them to be very good, better than cebora and the like(snap on) and better than my current murex tradesman by a long way. The best mig welder I have ever had is a 130amp sip autoplus followed very closely by a eland 130

Cheers
David

Worth checking out if you can buy spares easily - e.g. weld torch tips and feed roller parts - for whatever brand you chose, either from your local engineering suppliers, specialist welding supplier, Machine Mart or online. BOC sells mig welders as well as gases. If you are likely to need spares on a Sunday, then you are restricted to what Halfords sells (so carry spares for weekend wleding, and go to engineering suppliers at lunchtimes during the week!)

There have been forum posts on what type of gas to use and cheap places to get it.

Cheers
Mike

Really? I've seen a few of the Murex Tradesmig 160's for sale and they've had generally good reviews online, whilst SIPs are, as you say, generally rubbished. Mines not that bad, but even so I find it skips, jumps and overloads when welding thicker metal, which I'm needing to do more of as time goes by.

I've got a Migatronic, a 301 which is a fair bit bigger than what you're looking at but if the quality is anything like the same it'll be good. Cebora have a good reputation but I've never used one much.
As said SIP machines do have a poor name but they're all re-badged & not from the same factory, some SIP stuff is poor but other models are up to pro standards.

My aldi one has been great to be honest. it was only "cheap" - but has never let me down, never had any issues normally associated with cheaper brands - so no "fixes" needed.

My first welder was an SIP , and it allmost cured me of the desire to weld........... Then I got a Clarke 160T (went to Machine Mart on a VAT free day , and they didnt have what I wanted , so I just had to buy something....)
I've found it to be great - welds anything from rusty cars to 6mm plate , spares are easy to get , and it was cheap !

Sip welders are slagged for good reason, only good reason for buying a SIP is to learn fix MIG welders.


Clarke are good.

Cebora are good.

Thanks for all the replies, but of the three welders I'm looking at, which would you go for? And ideally, why?

quote:

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Originally posted by britishtrident
Sip welders are slagged for good reason, only good reason for buying a SIP is to learn fix MIG welders.


Clarke are good.

Cebora are good.

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After a little playing aroung I have found my Clarke 135 that I bought second hand from Donut has been fine for the jobs I wont to do.

- Jim

My first welder was an SIP Ideal 130 which was used almost constantly for about 12 years before giving up the ghost, it was replaced by a Murex which was absolute crap! I've used a Cebora which apart from a very light trigger which meant you had to make sure your mask was up with before even touching the trigger it was fine

I had a SIP 130 Autoplus for years and only had one problem which was fixed under warranty, a transistor went on the feed PCB. I then bought an Erfi 170 German built welder for thicker stuff and used it for everything from cars up to about 8mm even though it was outside it's range. I now have a tiny Kemppi 180 mig which is brilliant and portable. Your limiting factor is your budget, for £200 you are going to get either a crap new welder or a well used old welder. I've used a Migatronic Fabricator 200 and that is a good welder well made. The Snap On is a badged one made by someone else probably Cebora which is also a decent brand made by Italians which is not a bad thing. I have a Stel Italian built welder and it just works fine.

There all pretty close, if it were me I'd choose the Cebora.

I get along with my Cebora Pocket Turbo very well. Seems to be well built and the wire feed is smooth. We have a brand new SIP 170P at work and it always seems to wee me about when I use it with students but I can't put my finger on why - the current settings never seem to be appropriate and they also sometimes adjust the base feed speed for the dial which I find odd.

JC

I had a Sip and got it set up really well. Just buy the set you can. Migatronic should be a safe bet.

I was a pro welder for years, I would lover to say that SIP was a good reliable make (being patriotic etc) but every one I have used has been a lemon. I even bought a SIP inverter MMA unit (what can go wrong with an inverter?) but it fizzes and splutters, grabs and farts - a real disappointment.

I went to machine mart and bought the largest clarke i could afford about 5 yrs ago and its the best tool ive bought ever sure ive used better but they were industrial and probably 5 times the price
Ray

I bought a Clarke 140E in 1988, still going strong.

i have got a migatronic the only thing i would swap it for is an esab. cebora are good wouldn't go near the sip.

Esab's are on a whole different level - they will work 40 hours a week for 10 years without anything more than new tips and liners.

quote:

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Originally posted by Mark Allanson
I bought a Clarke 140E in 1988, still going strong.

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SIP 130 here, works fine on 0.9mm steel or 4mm steel IME. Not quite as nice to use as the massive industrial MIG at work, but slightly smaller pricetag. IIRC the "fix" is to seperate the feed power from the weld power to maintain the feed rate?

quote:

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Originally posted by Minicooper

quote:

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Originally posted by britishtrident
Sip welders are slagged for good reason, only good reason for buying a SIP is to learn fix MIG welders.


Clarke are good.

Cebora are good.

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You always speak in absolutes, what exactly do you know about sip mig welders other than what you read?

David

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As posters above had said, the problem is the budget. You can't have cheap and good at the same time, espically if you want to weld 5 mm.

Also as said above, consider local support. I woul suggest you find a local to you welding equipment supplier to talk to/buy from, ask what they reccomend. Best is to try get a small industrial machine, rather than a "hobby" machine.

My local Miller (rolls royce of welders) agent had a Hobart brand 175 Amp machine that had been in stock for ages that he sold to me at a very good price. It's fantastic, in 10 years I have never had a single fault with it.

Cheers

Fred

quote:

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Originally posted by Fred W B
As posters above had said, the problem is the budget. You can't have cheap and good at the same time, espically if you want to weld 5 mm.

Also as said above, consider local support. I woul suggest you find a local to you welding equipment supplier to talk to/buy from, ask what they reccomend. Best is to try get a small industrial machine, rather than a "hobby" machine.

My local Miller (rolls royce of welders) agent had a Hobart brand 175 Amp machine that had been in stock for ages that he sold to me at a very good price. It's fantastic, in 10 years I have never had a single fault with it.

Cheers

Fred

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Now my car is built, I don't use the MIG anymore as the argon rental is too high, I use an Oxford Oiler for everything now, it will weld everything from 20g to 5mm without any problems.

Right then, the auction's over and I think I've done ok. I ended up paying slightly more than I wanted to, but I've got an Automig 180 MXE with a fairly new torch for £271. It looks to be in fairly good, although clearly not new condition. Just need to sort a bottle of gas out and collect it from Bristol.