richardh
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| posted on 5/4/11 at 05:09 PM |
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Mig welder suggestions under £200
Hi,
Looking to get a home welder, ideally under £200 for using to do box sections/range rover chassis plating/general work on automotive stuff.
Been looking at so many i've no idea what i should actually be looking for.
Gas
Non Gas
Combined gas/no gas option
size of amps/tip etc
Any ideas folks
cheers
Rich
Time for a change!
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cliftyhanger
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| posted on 5/4/11 at 05:34 PM |
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http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=152908
100a should do 3mm steel, and panelwork. Cheap and near you.
Gasless not as tidy as gas, BUT much more forgiving for repairing anything that is not perfectly clean (eg repair work on chassis etc) and better if
used outside when windy. Can produce fine welds too, been using mine over the past few weeks repairing my spitfire bodytub. Welding is getting neater
all the time
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Johneturbo
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| posted on 5/4/11 at 05:39 PM |
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Having a SIP gasless welder i would go for gas or one that can do both
I'm no expert in welders, i don't know if gasless they are wired differently but mine is always live, the trigger only feeds the wire,
it's right pain when you are trying to get where you want to weld before putting the mask down = plenty arc eye
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sdh2903
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| posted on 5/4/11 at 05:43 PM |
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I can reccomend the clarke welders. I have a 150A gas mig welder and its been great, I had never welded before getting this and am getting closed to
respectable looking welds now.
I run a pub gas co2 bottle as I dont weld that often and couldnt justify the cost of argon mix, granted you will get more stable weld pools and a
better finish with the argon but for my welding skills its negligible.
This will be a bit more than 200 new but I got mine second hand with a big bottle regulator, the gas, spare bits and pieces for 200 quid. All i have
bought since is an auto mask ( an absolute must have.)
Gasless mig welders can be invaluable if you do a lot of welding outdoors and its windy but the welds are bloody messy and there is a definite knack
to getting it right.
Another tip don't go for the disposable bottle they will cost you a fortune. My pub bottle costs 20 quid to fill from a local fire extinguisher
place and i've still not used a full bottle in over a year. As for amps if your doing 3mm steel, without any serious material prep 100A will
seriously struggle, I would be looking for 130A as aminimum to get any sort of decent penetration.
Have a look at http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/ there are some good vids on there and loads of usefull info on
products etc.
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big_wasa
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| posted on 5/4/11 at 06:25 PM |
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gas and 150a +
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Peteff
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| posted on 5/4/11 at 06:54 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by big_wasa
gas and 150a +
and a good minimum of 30 amps or less for thin metal or you will be blowing holes in bodywork if you try any repairs. I think you will be very lucky
to find a machine that fits your needs in your price range. I got £230 for my 170 amp when I sold it last year.
[Edited on 5/4/11 by Peteff]
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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britishtrident
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| posted on 5/4/11 at 07:38 PM |
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SIP (also sold branded as Cosmo) is best avoided particularly at the cheaper end --- you will spend more time fettling the wire feed mechanism on
your welder than actually welding.
Clarke welders perform better than most and have a lot of satisfied users.
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richardh
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| posted on 5/4/11 at 08:09 PM |
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Cheers fellow locosters!
Time for a change!
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