Welder advice - sorry I know it's been asked a million times before!
skydivepaul - 19/10/16 at 10:22 PM
Apologies in advance as I know it's one of the most asked questions on here.
After looking around online for a welder and reading countless reviews I am still no wiser as to what welder to buy.
My requirements are:
I need to buy a welder to do a small job for work and after that I can keep it for myself for small or large jobs around the house and garage. ( I
work for myself so can get away with keeping it 😀
The initial job will be welding a few brackets onto a shipping container , brackets will be around 6mm thick steel.
Budget : up to £300
Previous experience :
Had a Clark arc welder a few years ago and built a go kart chassis
Had a cheap Mig welder from machine mart that was horrible , wouldn't weld anything of any thickness and was just generally awful
Reverted back to an arc welder for fixing broken stuff on my race car, exhausts etc
The arc welder has gone since I last moved house
Looking for a Mig either gas or one that can do gas and gasless
Need to order one and have it for next week
Cheers paul
cliftyhanger - 20/10/16 at 05:38 AM
You won't get a decent (or probably any) mig that will happily do 6mm steel for your budget.
In fact, I would suggest getting an arc welder to do the job, cheap and simple and just work well.
As to migs, at the budget end I would happily suggest clarke from machine mart etc. You need to understand their limitations though! Cheap SIPS have
wire feed issues, and the generic brands are very much hit and mainly miss.
joneh - 20/10/16 at 06:25 AM
As above, 6mm would be the limit on most budget mig welders. I have the 150te Clarke which is excellent but to do 6mm I'd need a lot of prep, a
16 amp supply and take it real slow.
britishtrident - 20/10/16 at 07:13 AM
Avoid SIP ----
ianhurley20 - 20/10/16 at 07:25 AM
This one has good write ups and would be my choice if I bought another. Slightly above budget though.
http://www.weldingdirect.co.uk/cws-best-mig-160i-mig-welder-10672-p.asp
fazerruss - 20/10/16 at 07:27 AM
If you up your budget £100 there's a mint Portamig for sale on the mig welding forum that will easily meet your needs. But act quick cause it
will soon go.
nick205 - 20/10/16 at 08:00 AM
I bought a new Clarke 151TE a couple of years back and a largish bottle of Argoshield. It works well up to 3-4mm thick steel, but I suspect 6mm thick
steel would be pushing it a bit. A 2nd hand higher spec machine might work better, but always the worry of why it's being sold in the first
place. If going MIG then don't overlook the cost of shielding gas either.
For your work requirements have you looked around for welders who can do the work for you? They're likely to be better equipped and probably not
that dear either.
skydivepaul - 20/10/16 at 08:14 AM
quote:
Originally posted by nick205
I bought a new Clarke 151TE a couple of years back and a largish bottle of Argoshield. It works well up to 3-4mm thick steel, but I suspect 6mm thick
steel would be pushing it a bit. A 2nd hand higher spec machine might work better, but always the worry of why it's being sold in the first
place. If going MIG then don't overlook the cost of shielding gas either.
For your work requirements have you looked around for welders who can do the work for you? They're likely to be better equipped and probably not
that dear either.
I know a few local welders who could do the job but to be honest it is a very simple job that I could do and I can get to have a welder in my workshop
for any future jobs that need to doing. Always handy to have one.
I have re measured the bracket I need to weld and it is more like 5mm. I only need to tack it onto a container and then tack the bolts up so that no
one can unbolt it and steal it!!
Digimon - 20/10/16 at 09:55 AM
Interest Free for 12 months ?
http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/mig-welder-r-tech-i-mig180/
Cash Price = £442.80
Deposit to Pay = £177.12
Monthly Payment = £22.14
r1_pete - 20/10/16 at 11:32 AM
Wow, not much love for SIPs out there, my SIP 160 co branded Snap On, has had a hard life for the last 6 years, and has never missed a beat,
didn't pay much more than the OP's budget for it either..
I have an RTech inverter TIG, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend the company or products.
mark.s - 20/10/16 at 08:13 PM
As above
Just bought a tig from r-tech and I can't praise them enough, welders are very nice and customer support is something else, get a decent one
first time round, it will only cost you twice if you don't
Have a look at " John" reviewing the welders on YouTube
[Edited on 20/10/16 by mark.s]
[Edited on 20/10/16 by mark.s]
skydivepaul - 28/10/16 at 08:32 PM
I ended up going for a sealey supermig 150
Got a decent price on eBay and came with some wire and gas
It was set up for gasless welding out of the box so gave that a try first. It works really well, I did the job I got it for today and welded some 5mm
brackets no problem.
The gasless operation is a bit like having an arc welder with a wire feed. Nice and easy
I set the unit up for gas operation tonight and gave it a go. Not bad considering my welding is below average.
Made some nice welds but not really penetrating the steel much, 3mm.
Probably need to turn it up and play with the settings, I had it on about half power
So far so good