Which 150-170 amp Mig?

[Haze]

neither of you are answering my question, i was asking which unit could run higher amps @ 100%

 

[Haze]

I thought 10 minutes out of 10 is classed as all the time figure of speech big barberque last night

go and sit in the corner!

you're in a position of responsibility here and its wrong for you to confuse the little people.

 

[weldequip]

Which two models?
weldequip

 

[DIY Welding]

The duty cycle for the Butters AMT is 145A @ 15%

 

[Haze]

the two you were debating over; with the other sales rep.

 

[weldequip]

Portamig 181 is 100% @ 70amps; so, you would be able to weld continuously for 10 minutes at 70amps (approx 2mm m/steel).
weldequip

 

[Haze]

The duty cycle for the Butters AMT is 145A @ 15%

sigh

at 100 %

sigh

 

[DIY Welding]

This infomation is not on the machine or on the spec sheet I have spoke to Butters Amt and they have come up with the following figure,
Butters AMT 170 59amps @ 100%

 

[weldequip]

If you want a high duty cycle Haze you are barking up the wrong tree! and it's not really an important consideration at that end of the market.
weldequip

 

[DIY Welding]

We or Butters have never been asked for the duty cycle @ 100% of a AMT 170 before had to get the machine manufacturing specs out

 

[Haze]

If you want a high duty cycle Haze you are barking up the wrong tree! and it's not really an important consideration at that end of the market.
weldequip

so i should go for the one with the lowest duty cycle then should I?

besides I was only asking out of curiosity, I already know the portamig 211 is for me, I've got the money just waiting a little bit longer for personal reasons.

 

[weldequip]

so i should go for the one with the lowest duty cycle then should I?

Not at all no, but as I said, at the lower end of the market it is not one of the most important factors; better looking for quality wire drives, electronics reliability & minimum current/volts output. Migatronic 180's have a very poor duty cycle but are outstanding on thin sheet, which is exactly what they are designed for. If you were doing heavy work or batch production an industrial Portamig 260 for example, has a 100% duty @ 193amps, so there is a huge difference.
(100% figure for the 211 by the way is 93amps)
weldequip

 

[DIY Welding]

Think the duty cycle is not so important on small migs, the most important thing is performance at bottom end the Portamig and Butters amt 170 both perform well on thin sheet, perhaps the only differance is warranty we offer three years RTB Warranty on the 170

 

[Justme]

I dissagree. Been using low end migs for a few years & seem to spend lots of time waiting for the thermal trips to reset (till I bought a bigger mig). Even made a few mods to the last welder (fitted a 8 inch fan to the side of the casing & opened up a few extra vent holes). I guess it comes down to how much welding you have to do & how soon it needs to be done. But even fitting ONE sill will cause a low end welder to over heat. Ok it might not be the main reason to chose a welder but you should use it as well as. After you have made your short list chose one that has a good duty rate at the amps you will use the most.

Justme

 

[Alex]

If a duty cycle is quoted for a particular ampage at 100% and you are using that ampage, it goes for a 10 minute period, does that mean a 10 minute rest period after or can you use it continually.

 

[malcolm]

Don't think I've ever tried to weld for a whole 10 minutes - that'll be a couple of metres continuous on thin sheet and the whole thing would just bend when it cooled down.

But what does happen with these 100% duty cycle machines after 10 minutes? Do they explode? Or did I miss a joke?

 

[Justme]

You might not do it actualy non stop but if your panel is preped you can move about with only seconds stops between each weld. Its almost non stop to all intents.

Justme
PS was going to ask the same.

 

[weldequip]

I dissagree. Been using low end migs for a few years & seem to spend lots of time waiting for the thermal trips to reset

That's purely because you made the classic mistake of buying on price. 'A MIGs a MIG so I'll get the cheapest I can'. Horses for courses; if you need to do a lot of welding you need a larger machine, if it's very occasional use on car bodywork, a small cheap machine will do. If it's occasional work on 6mm it will not. "Supermarket mentality" I'm afraid, but most of us have now been brain-washed that way!
weldequip

 

[Justme]

Actualy I bought what I could afford at the time. Was young & skint. Now I am just skint. Also being young I lacked experiance so belived the bumpf in the mags / sales brocher & the sales patter. Like most things I have learnt to do its been from nessesity. Item breaks & either needs fixing or replaceing. Replacments out as not enough money. Paying some one to fix its out for same reason so fix it yourself. Next thing that needs doing you already have the skills & tools to fix it so you start to save money (that you dint realy have any way so its hyperthetical).


Justme

 

[weldequip]

I wasn't having a dig Justme, it's just that MIGs are sold in B&Q and the likes for very little money & advertised as being able to weld 5-6mm. So... you buy one for just that, it F***s up (because what B&Q failed to tell you was that it would only do 30 seconds at 5-6mm, if at all realistically!) you take it back, they replace it/refund you & there you go - "Supermarket mentality", you are none the wiser regarding welders & B&Q havn't lost a cent, cause it's the (mug) supplier who put's their machines in there in the first place that stands the cost of replacements/returns.
weldequip