Thoughts/opinions etc?
I was going to get a portamig MIG welder but I keep thinking about getting an R-tech tig instead.
If you've got one how much did you pay? Has it been reliable?
my good mate has 1 .it was approx £1000 its made in china but most things are lol. it has been fine no problems up to now i also just got a tig a
cobel ac dc 200 and my good pal had a go with it and said it does just as good welds so all in all he paid the above i paid £400 happy days lol you
also get 2 years warranty on a r tech its all down to cost i think hope you get what you want in the end as there is so much out there good luck paul
Get the mig if you are doing car work. Tig is fine for bench work but the higher cost of gas and consumables and the set up time plus regrinding tungstens when you touch down working in awkward places will soon annoy you. Don't fall into the "so much more controllable, better penetration, nicer looking welds" trap, you have to be good at it and practise is costly as well.
must say pete is spot on its not easy to do lol as i found out haha lots to learn 
I understand its harder etc however I was thinking it meant I could have a machine for all metals. The car work would be while a car is fully
stripped and on a spit so access or strange angles shouldn't be an issue. also as the welds sit lower they'd only need a flap wheel over
them to dress them nicely....... or am I being a man and deluding myself just because i've convinced myself I need one!?
I do plan on making an ali manifold and stainless exhaust though.
well if i was getting a new tig again. don't think i would waste a grand on a r tech for it to just sit in the corner of the garage and only use
it now and then like pete said a good mig is nice as tigging is not so easy but hay you mite be dam good at it who knows just have a think its a lot
of penny's or have a go with 1 see if you like it o and just to let you know i also am pants so far at tigging lol
[Edited on 11/12/11 by imp paul]
I have one and it is ace, my mate who welded these shaft mockups, said its at least as good as the lincoln tig he uses at work. He is top welder
coded to do all kinds of exotics metals in industry
[Edited on 11/12/11 by liam.mccaffrey]
I have one too. A 160 AC/DC. Practise deffo costs money but I managed to acquire a 5 foot filled gas cylinder for a one off price of £60 so I play when I get time. It does take practise even setting all the knobs up, it isn't easy, it is fiddly and you'll get peed of keep regrinding tungstens and it definitely isn't quicker than MIG by a long shot but it's something I like to have, a hobby item is how I justify it. Cost me ~£700 from R Tech off Ebay where they used to do cheaper damaged display items. In my case it was the plastic front trim was cracked. So I swapped it with the rear one and you can't see it. Never got a pedal though at the time as they weren't included. Would like one now but not paying £150!
they're £770 at the minute with a foot pedal, about £170 more than the portamig I was going to get.
I've found a local place, 5ft bottle, £35 to re-fill, £6.50 a month rental
I've got one of these, works fine
AC/DC TIG WELDER/PLASMA ARC WELDER SUPER 200P ALI S/TEEL UK SELLER | eBay
I have a rented bottle, going back next month as they work out to be very expensive, you only need a sniff of gas when welding.
Have both, MIG and TIG, never touch the MIG
Regards Mark
the 1 i have is this 1 http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=163623 its fine
quote:
Originally posted by imp paul
the 1 i have is this 1 http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=163623 its fine
as i am pants with 1 lol .i had to give it to a mate to test andy has a r tech and he said it welds as good .also seems very good on ss steel and it
does come with all the stuff eg pedal .its the same as the eastwood 1 but it has more stuff on it so all in all is fine and no problems with ross or
jason at cobel seem nice people to deal with and i got it for £400 o yer happy days woop lol
quote:
Originally posted by imp paul
as i am pants with 1 lol .i had to give it to a mate to test andy has a r tech and he said it welds as good .also seems very good on ss steel and it does come with all the stuff eg pedal .its the same as the eastwood 1 but it has more stuff on it so all in all is fine and no problems with ross or jason at cobel seem nice people to deal with and i got it for £400 o yer happy days woop lol
no but you could try to get 1 as i did just pot luck for me it was locost lol i will put you a picky up of its guts lol its made very nice
mine came with a small case dent so cobel gave me £30 back happy days i have fixed the dent and all is fine now thats good service well we would
all like a miller or a lincon but hay im happy with what i have
[Edited on 11/12/11 by imp paul]
[Edited on 11/12/11 by imp paul]
here you go give it a try TIG 200AMP AC/DC PULSED INVERTER WELDING MACHINE WELDER | eBay
yep iv got a acdc 200A one, great bit of kit and the customer care is fantastic, mine developed a fault got stuck on max amps, they collected it, repaired, and returned within 3 days FOC. Tuned out to be the foot pedal had caused an internal problem so it want actually the welders fault, just a dickey pedal. great service
quote:
Originally posted by tilly819
yep iv got a acdc 200A one, great bit of kit and the customer care is fantastic, mine developed a fault got stuck on max amps, they collected it, repaired, and returned within 3 days FOC. Tuned out to be the foot pedal had caused an internal problem so it want actually the welders fault, just a dickey pedal. great service
I have the 200A AC/DC TIG set from R-Tech, it was around £1000 with the foot pedal, it's been great in the 4 or 5 months i've had it, they
were very helpful on the phone and I am yet to hear of anyone with a bad experience from them, so all in all no complaints from me.
I get my gas from a company called Energas, they have branches throughout the UK and were way cheaper than the likes of BOC.
My mate spent £1000 on a 200 amp butters, it went wrong a few times so went back.
These all come out the same factory in China as far as I can see, some just have final assembly in Europe
quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
My mate spent £1000 on a 200 amp butters, it went wrong a few times so went back.
These all come out the same factory in China as far as I can see, some just have final assembly in Europe
I have a 200amp one and its great...
I managed to get a 'shop soiled' one, it arrived yesterday. Just need to work out how to use it now
Great service from R-tech.