I need of a portable mig 200 amp welder for under £800

[Nutcase1975]

Hi im looking for a good but not expensive 200amp plus mig welder, i need it to be able to weld steel railing spear head to 8mm to 12mm flat and 20mm bar

The main problem is i need the welder to be portable

 

[8ob]

Had a play/demo with a Jasic the other day at MIH in Send, very nice bit of kit, long warranty and within your budget.

https://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/m-i-h-welding-supplies-woking

Bob

 

[Nutcase1975]

Which model jasic was it?

 

[cumbriasteve]

Have you considered an inverter MMA, migs tend to not be very portable once you have to carry a bottle with them and if you are running off the customers lecky you won't get much above 150 amps before tripping.

 

[8ob]

Which model jasic was it?

Pretty sure its this one https://www.jasic.co.uk/mi160

£700 + vat is what he is selling them for.

Bob

 

[Nutcase1975]

Iv all ready got a tig/arc parweld welding set Cumbriasteve plus id prefer a mig as i can use it for other jobs to, i know time there is a bottle and wire its not very portable but it will be all on a trolley, it would be nice to have a unit which is small and compact so easy to lift and store

Ive been looking at makes like parweld, QYS, SIP, jasic and everweld but would really like to try them out first

 

[Richard.]

8mm to 12mm flat and 20mm bar

This is your biggest problem
200 amps might just glue the 8mm to a fashion but the other sizes ain’t happening if your looking for a properly fused joints.
You need either an industrial mig or as Steve said a far more suitable process with regard to usable current and portablity MMA.

 

[Nutcase1975]

Ok fair point but i hate stick welding lol just seen a SWP Stealth 250 amp mig its just over the £1000 mark but 250 should just do the job plus its single phase too

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Ok fair point but i hate stick welding lol just seen a SWP Stealth 250 amp mig its just over the £1000 mark but 250 should just do the job plus its single phase too

Only if the supply is up to it.

How many customers houses have 16/ 32 amp plugs availible.

 

[Richard.]

Only if the supply is up to it.

How many customers houses have 16/ 32 amp plugs availible.

Also how many people have breakers fitted slower than a B curve
And if they do, it’s usually cos they’ve got there own welding set.

 

[Nutcase1975]

Well 95% of the places ive been to have a cooker switch which as far as im aware is a 32amp socket

 

[Richard.]

Well 95% of the places ive been to have a cooker switch which as far as im aware is a 32amp socket

Yes it’s a 32 amp supply feeding a switch and socket
The socket side although it may be fed from a 32amp breaker will probably be fused to 13amp and still only takes a 13 amp plug. You can’t feed a 250 amp welder off it and expect that fuse to hold out. I don’t think the house owner will be best pleased with you cobbling up a commando socket to the cooker supply either. Most houses are just not equipped to plug a welder like that straight in with out a dedicated supply been made professionally. Given the description of your work ie thick material, portable, house hold electrics I really don’t see the issue here. It’s MMA all the way. Buy a big mig if you wish but I foresee problems ahead.

 

[Nutcase1975]

God i really hate stick welding well id better start brushing up on my arc welding as ive not really used arc for over 15 years, but on the upside my parweld tig doubles up as a 160amp arc welder so pending on the rods this should do the trick, just dreading what my stick welding is gonna look like these days

 

[cumbriasteve]

and that's the downfall of a mig, too quick and easy to use whilst the arc set gathers dust.

I was a stick welder before electricity was even invented and would think nothing of having a hundred rail heads to fit, quick tack, align, weld, job done, go home, my memory tells me it was all so easy but I would hate the prospect of doing it now.

Now I am mig converted I find when stick welding I have to really concentrate to obtain the results I used to get without thinking or even looking at times.

Amazing how fast you can become unskilled.

 

[Nutcase1975]

Dont a rarely MIG weld, ive basically done stainless and alu TIG for the past 15 years

I tried a bit of stick welding today and it looked ok but i think i was welding way to hot as the slag was hard to remove lol

 

[Richard.]

I love stick welding. Given a choice I’d chose to do it over mag any day of the week. There is something quite satisfying with dragging a rod round a lump of steel and watching the slag peel off to reveal a lovely shiny joint. Mag is slowly killing it off within fabrication industry due to its mega high productivity and sophisticated settings available and an arc set simply can’t compete. However if you’ve got to carry the set to the job or supply is limited you cannot beat the capabilities/portability/convenience of taking a little MMA inverter and a handful of 3.2’s to the job. What’s even better is nowadays you don’t even need a supply at all. The likes of Lorch have got a wonderful box of tricks that will allow you to plough around 30 x 2.5 electrodes into a job on the power of a single battery. If most of your work is going to be repairs or you plan on taking that set places where you need a million miles of extension cable before you start then it don’t get much better than these battery powered outfits.

 

[Nutcase1975]

Ok ill think ill the inverter mig a miss untill i have a proper workshop but then im guessing a normal mig will do lol

Well ive been looking through my old college books on arc and pardon the pun im very rusty lol so gonna need some practice lol