andrew-theasby
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| posted on 9/3/10 at 10:33 PM |
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how much should i spend on a MIG?
Whilst doing some welding tonight, my mig cut out and was making a "boiling" type of noise. I took the lid off and the transformer seemed
to be bubbling. Its a clarke 105 gas/gasless, but i only use it with gas. I assume its going to pack in soon, so, do i try to get a new transformer
or replace it? Ive been toying with the idea of a more powerful one for a while, but with most of the welding done on the car, i dont know how much
use it will get in the future, though i wouldnt want to be without one. Ive had a brief look around, but what would you suggest buying? Budget is
really whatever is required to get the right tool, but id have to save up for it, so say £200 for a start? How about second hand? What makes should
i avoid? How many amps is sensible for a home unit on 13amp plug. suggestions please...
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 9/3/10 at 10:39 PM |
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You've probably exceeded its duty cycle - the ratio between time on and time off.
I did that to my TIG once - it survived. I learned to be patient...
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andrew-theasby
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| posted on 9/3/10 at 10:51 PM |
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I thought thats what had happened too, but i hadnt been welding long, although i do think it cut itself out as a result of overheating due to this
fault. I let it cool down, and it started welding fine again, did a couple of inches of weld and it tripped out again and made the boiling noise
again.
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MikeR
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| posted on 9/3/10 at 11:11 PM |
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how long did you leave it to cool down - it surprised me that it takes quite a while on my cebora. I'm talking 10 to 20 minutes not 2 or 3 when
it trips out.
My solution was to leave the case off and point an office desk fan at the transformer - instant duty cycle increase 
(eventually it broke - suspect this treatment didn't help).
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dinosaurjuice
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| posted on 9/3/10 at 11:12 PM |
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ive just bought one of
TH
ESE , they are chinese, but after seeing pictures of the insides on mig-welding.co.uk i decided they looked well made.
had a SIP topmig150 before, the 'como' is a huge improvement. works on a 13amp plug up to setting 6.
will
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tomprescott
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| posted on 10/3/10 at 09:24 AM |
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Get a new one if you suspect it to be on the way out! If you need to justify the buy with more welding, start building another kit
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Peteff
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| posted on 10/3/10 at 09:57 AM |
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How does the amps control work on that Como, it says it's a 200amp welder in the description but the spec says 35 to 185amps ? Not that you need
more than 185amps for anything on a project smaller than a battleship. 
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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