Hello
I'm working on an old 2CV and my cheapo parkside flux core welder keeps blowing holes in the poor thing, so I'm looking for something better. Mainly looking for MIG, but TIG opens up possibilities as well. In terms of thickness I'm expecting the thinnest metal to be around 0,5mm, while reproduction panels seem to be mostly 0,8mm.
I've settled on kind of a preliminary shortlist; the ESAB rebel 215 or a kemppi minarcmig evo 200. The ESAB has an amp range in mig starting at 15A according to the brochure, while the kemppi starts at 20A. I've seen people say great things about the kemppis here on the forum, notably that it's apparently really good with the thin stuff, and that it's very convenient to set up. I like that 15A figure on the rebel however, and its limited TIG features, though I can't help but wonder if a dedicated TIG machine later on isn't a better option, if the kemppi turns out to be the better MIG machine for my application. Does anyone here have any experience using a rebel 215 on thin metal in MIG mode? I'm also a bit wary about durability with the ESABs, since there seem to be a fair amount of posts on this forum about them breaking, with the customer service turning out rather lacking. Both machines retail for comparable prices in my area, so that is not enough to make the difference.
Regarding TIG: the ESAB brochure says it starts at 5A, but does TIG mean by default that it's good with thin metals, especially on a multiprocess machine? I'm also wondering what the thinnest material thickness is you can dial in on the kemppi; supposedly it's 0,8mm on the rebel, according to the store I've been emailing with. Can the kemmpi go lower? Lastly, feel free to suggest other machines if they turn out to be good with thin metal - it's hard to choose with so much on the market. Thanks in advance!
I'm working on an old 2CV and my cheapo parkside flux core welder keeps blowing holes in the poor thing, so I'm looking for something better. Mainly looking for MIG, but TIG opens up possibilities as well. In terms of thickness I'm expecting the thinnest metal to be around 0,5mm, while reproduction panels seem to be mostly 0,8mm.
I've settled on kind of a preliminary shortlist; the ESAB rebel 215 or a kemppi minarcmig evo 200. The ESAB has an amp range in mig starting at 15A according to the brochure, while the kemppi starts at 20A. I've seen people say great things about the kemppis here on the forum, notably that it's apparently really good with the thin stuff, and that it's very convenient to set up. I like that 15A figure on the rebel however, and its limited TIG features, though I can't help but wonder if a dedicated TIG machine later on isn't a better option, if the kemppi turns out to be the better MIG machine for my application. Does anyone here have any experience using a rebel 215 on thin metal in MIG mode? I'm also a bit wary about durability with the ESABs, since there seem to be a fair amount of posts on this forum about them breaking, with the customer service turning out rather lacking. Both machines retail for comparable prices in my area, so that is not enough to make the difference.
Regarding TIG: the ESAB brochure says it starts at 5A, but does TIG mean by default that it's good with thin metals, especially on a multiprocess machine? I'm also wondering what the thinnest material thickness is you can dial in on the kemppi; supposedly it's 0,8mm on the rebel, according to the store I've been emailing with. Can the kemmpi go lower? Lastly, feel free to suggest other machines if they turn out to be good with thin metal - it's hard to choose with so much on the market. Thanks in advance!