Hi, this is my first post so please be gentle. I'm afraid its another of those "which welder" threads, but it won't be my first kit so hopefully it'll be a bit more interesting.
Ok, where I am now...
I do all of my work in my garage which has a 16A, 240V supply. Its also where I keep my kit car which I race around the UK each season, and each winter upgrade with new bits as well as repairing all the worn out bits. Sort of like painting the Forth Bridge, but it's my hobby and I like to make everthing for the car myself.
My mig welder is a Sip Topmig150 which I've had about 10years. The old girl is a bit tired and fairly worn now and even a replacement gun and cable hasn't really put any zing back in her. Time for retirement I think.
My tig weder is a Greenbird 200AC/DC. Its a Chinese copy of a Butters machine which I bought on ebay and yes I know, I know, I should have found this forum first! Anyway, it blew up, melted down, fried circuits and all the rest... but in-between times I managed to make quite a few aly items including an aly petrol tank. When it finally died a short while ago I borrowed a Lincoln V205T to finish the job I was on. OMG - what a dream to use compared to my pile of junk. Guess you get what you pay for....... so:
Where I'm going....
Retire one Mig, throw one Tig in the bin, and realise that my wallet is much healthier these days, which I can't really say for my body. Time to treat myself to some decent kit. I'm looking to make an investment that will see me through another 10 years, so I'm after maximum capacity and durability.
Budget? Well lets say up to £1k for a mig and £2.5k for a tig
Thoughts so far: Well the Lincoln V205T tig is nice (I know I've tried it), but the Kemppi 2300 tig looks nicer for a similar price. Any alternatives I should be looking at? Would also be nice to have a Lincoln Compact 185 Mig to go with the V205T, or a Minarc180 to go with the 2300, but is there any benefit to a matching set? Better price from the supplier maybe. Or what about a BOC mig machine like the 190C, looks good but can't find a price on the web.
Any recommendations?
Thanks
Ken
Ok, where I am now...
I do all of my work in my garage which has a 16A, 240V supply. Its also where I keep my kit car which I race around the UK each season, and each winter upgrade with new bits as well as repairing all the worn out bits. Sort of like painting the Forth Bridge, but it's my hobby and I like to make everthing for the car myself.
My mig welder is a Sip Topmig150 which I've had about 10years. The old girl is a bit tired and fairly worn now and even a replacement gun and cable hasn't really put any zing back in her. Time for retirement I think.
My tig weder is a Greenbird 200AC/DC. Its a Chinese copy of a Butters machine which I bought on ebay and yes I know, I know, I should have found this forum first! Anyway, it blew up, melted down, fried circuits and all the rest... but in-between times I managed to make quite a few aly items including an aly petrol tank. When it finally died a short while ago I borrowed a Lincoln V205T to finish the job I was on. OMG - what a dream to use compared to my pile of junk. Guess you get what you pay for....... so:
Where I'm going....
Retire one Mig, throw one Tig in the bin, and realise that my wallet is much healthier these days, which I can't really say for my body. Time to treat myself to some decent kit. I'm looking to make an investment that will see me through another 10 years, so I'm after maximum capacity and durability.
Budget? Well lets say up to £1k for a mig and £2.5k for a tig
Thoughts so far: Well the Lincoln V205T tig is nice (I know I've tried it), but the Kemppi 2300 tig looks nicer for a similar price. Any alternatives I should be looking at? Would also be nice to have a Lincoln Compact 185 Mig to go with the V205T, or a Minarc180 to go with the 2300, but is there any benefit to a matching set? Better price from the supplier maybe. Or what about a BOC mig machine like the 190C, looks good but can't find a price on the web.
Any recommendations?
Thanks
Ken