fha772
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 posted on 25/4/12 at 09:18 PM |
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Can you recommend a good compact MIG welder?
Evening all,
I'm looking for a good quality compact MIG welder, I'm not too fussed about price, I'm more interested in quality and
reliability.
I've got a large garage MIG welder, with a full size industrial gas bottle, but I need something that I can put in the boot and take with me.
Preferably the type that use the small wire reels, and the disposable gas bottles.
It's only for doing bodywork, and general car welding.
So, can anyone suggest a good quality, compact MIG?
Cheers Frank
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=6743&start=105
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Jon Ison
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:26 PM |
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I have had a Clarke 150t for 12 years now, still puts down a good weld, I would be looking at a small bottle rather than disposable though.
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owelly
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:27 PM |
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Whats your budget Frank? That'll dictate what welder you can buy! I bought a crappy thing from Screwfix just to finish a job when my Murex one
popped and the damn thing keeps working! It's gone through miles of wire, several full sized bottles of Coogar, spent hours bunping around in
the back of a van, and been running for hours at a time and it refuses to die! I would never recommend one as it has the flimsy wire feed eveyone
compalins about but for the price (IIRC it was about £180) it's served me well.
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk
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fha772
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:27 PM |
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Thanks, I was thinking of the disposable bottles, to make it less bulky, when I'm putting it in the car.
Owelly, I haven't really got a budget, I just want a decent, small MIG, that I can carry about easily. If I had to say, I'd be looking
under £300.
[Edited on 25/4/12 by fha772]
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=6743&start=105
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Confused but excited.
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:29 PM |
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I have a little 105 amp jobby from Machine Mart. I have had it for 15 years and works a treat if you don't try pretend it is a Murex with 100%
duty cycle. It's even done good butt welds on 50 x 6mm flat bar end on. Wouldn't dream of trying anything bigger at 6mm thick. Werlds 3mm
a treat though. So for bodywork, no problemo.
I think it was about £100 back then. Don't think they are much more now, thanks to the burgeoning Chinese economy.
HTH
John.
Tell them about the bent treacle edges!
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Jon Ison
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:30 PM |
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Think you would be disappointed, go for a pub sized CO2 bottle and rig your own filler up to get decent gas into it.
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fha772
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:35 PM |
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I think the disposable bottles will serve my purposes, it's only for doing small jobs, if there's any amount of welding to do, then
I'll take it to the yard and get the big welder on the job.
It's just that I'm getting a bit bored of having to get the trailer out, to take either the car I'm working on to the yard, or to
transport the welder to the car.
It'd be nice to just throw a small welder in the boot of the Audi, and just nip and get the job done.
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=6743&start=105
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ashg
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:37 PM |
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there is only one option esab caddy 200.
my mate has one, having borrowed it on a few occasions the thing cant be faulted. more simply put its the muts nutz. i have used a lot of welders in
my time and this is up there with machines that are a lot bigger and more expensive.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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austin man
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:38 PM |
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the small bottles are not really cost effective and dont last long
Life is like a bowl of fruit, funny how all the weird looking ones are left alone
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ashg
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:41 PM |
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forgot to add they are about £800-900 new. but as it goes up to 200amps and welds better than most welders out there you can sell your big welder and
put the money towards the esab.
Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!
Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)
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fha772
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 09:41 PM |
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The ESAB looks a good welder, but at £600-900, depending on the model, it's more than I'm looking at, the top of my budget for this welder
is really £300-400.
EDIT: My big welder is a 350amp 3-phase model, I have to take a diesel generator with me whenever I use it out of the yard.
[Edited on 25/4/12 by fha772]
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=6743&start=105
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Brian R
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| posted on 25/4/12 at 10:05 PM |
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I've used one of these.....
http://www.weldingsuppliesdirect.co.uk/welding/Parweld_XTM_161_Mig_Welder.html
to fit a roll cage in a mates car. Nice welder.
It is a clone of the Lincoln 170 and Butters 170c. Comes with MB15 euro torch and proper gas regulator. Also uses copper wound transformers and is
quite heavy!
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britishtrident
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| posted on 26/4/12 at 07:28 AM |
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As you don't want it as your main machine as already mentioned a Clarke brand welder would probably fit the bill. Main thing is don't
buy a Sip/Cosmo the DIY ones are crap I spent more time fixing mine than welding.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
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dhutch
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| posted on 26/4/12 at 07:35 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ashg
there is only one option esab caddy 200.
Ive got the WSAB caddy 160 and its a cracker, 11kg machine, puts down a very nice weld.
Keppi also so a simular small inverter based machine, use with a size x (or size Y on hobbie discount), simples.
http://www.weldequip.com/esab-caddy-c160i.htm - £650 with good regulator.
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Peteff
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| posted on 26/4/12 at 09:46 AM |
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The small Clarke welders are the only plausible option in your price range for car bodywork. I have a Kemppi Minarcmig 180 similar setup to the Esab
Caddy but they are out of your price range. BOC are doing a small 2 ltr cylinder which would be a better portable option than the disposables if you
want to weld more than 6", disposables can be really dismal.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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hughpinder
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| posted on 26/4/12 at 09:55 AM |
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Could you use a DC tig/stick welder? - the inverter fusion one I have has been superb as a DC stick welder (less splatter than standard) and DC tig.
Its now 250+VAT, and weighs 6kg. I've had mine 5 years at least and its been dragged out for everything from my chassis to re-welding the
loading arms on a tractor (8mm thick box, but stick welded with 3 passes). I haven't used it on material less than 1.5mm chassis rails
though.
Heres a link to the same model I have
http://www.weldingsuppliesdirect.co.uk/welding/IFL_130MA__130amp_Inverter_Welder_.html
Regards
Hugh
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