New welder time!!!

[Tommy_K]

Hello everyone, new to the forum and keen to get welding again.

I'm looking to get a new welder and would really appreciate some advice as there's endless options out there and with limited decent reviews it's hard to gauge what's worth getting. I've read through recent posts on here but the market changes so quickly its hard to find something that relates to my requirements.

I've currently got a very old s##t Clarke 90 mig even on gas it's a splattery mess (obviously some inexperience contributes to this as well) it's painful to use and time to upgrade.

The pressing jobs I need it for are some repairs on an old land rover the thickest I'll be welding is around 3mm and on parts might be as thin as 1.5mm.

Ideally I'd just get the R-tech 180 but once I've bought all the right equipment it really adds up and I can't justify that much for infrequent use. I'm looking to spend under £500 if I can for welder, wire, gas regulator and hose. I've got a mask grinders and all that.

I haven't got a garage so I'll be getting it out my shed and welding on the driveway. Obviously just on a 13amp plug.
It would be great to have more adjustablilty so I'm considering an inverter as I found on the old one having a switch for lower or high power is painful to use.

I can't find many reviews on it but the,

Sealey imig 160, is lightweight, looks quite adjustable, has a euro torch. The power looks fine for what I need it to do. They go for around £450 all in.

MIG/MMA Welder Inverter 160A | IMIG160 | Sealey

3 Year Guarantee - Fan cooled DC power supply. MIG welds steel, stainless steel, copper, nickel, titanium and their alloys.

www.sealey.co.uk

If there's any better or cheaper alternatives I'd really appreciate the advice.

Cheers

 

[Mark 2]

The r tech is £16 more.Mind you, I see the Sealey can weld copper and nickel which makes it a very special machine.
You'll be looking at using fluxcore for the driveway work.

 

[Tommy_K]

On the site it's up for £618 with vat machine on its own. Unless I'm missing something and it's cheaper elsewhere?

It's impressive looking little machine the sealey, just not many reviews so feels like a bit of a gamble. Yeah I figured I would be using fluxcore or get the gas out when it's a nice still day or not worth it?

Cheers

 

[Rannsachair]

The R-Tech comes with a hose and regulator, so you would just need wire and gas or gasless wire.

I bought an R-Tech MIG180 almost 10 years ago when I could no longer get spares for my Cebora Pocket Turbo 130. The R-Tech was a big improvement, much easier to weld with. The warranty is excellent, though I have never needed it. I only use it occasionally, though its great to know its there and always works and even if it fails it can be quickly repaired.

Its expensive for a Chinese mig, though I felt it was worth it for the 5 year warranty (extendable) and it looked pretty good on Doubleboosts videos.

If it was me I would wait on the next R-Tech discount code or watch for a shop soiled one rather than go with a Sealey.

 

[minimutly]

Buy sealey, buy twice in my experience...

 

[JOEPRO]

I have a R tech 180 and also one of the blackline type mig welders.

Honestly, Id go for the blackline mig and save a few £, great machines and well regarded on here.

 

[JOEPRO]

Buy sealey, buy twice in my limited experience...

Fixed that for you

 

[Jackimus]

R-Tech do discounts pretty often and then the 180 goes for £556, I'd say it's really worth stretching to that and getting a machine which is widely used, well-regarded and has a good company standing behind it.

Used 180s are infrequent because nobody wants to get rid of theirs, except when they are upgrading to a 181!

 

[Tommy_K]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, as expected the R-tech gets most the votes and for obvious reasons. From the specs it does sound like a brilliant machine.

It's a lot of ££ for infrequent use but maybe with a sale or ex display option it might just creep into what I can afford.

JOEPRO, I did see the blackline being reviewed on this forum and a few others mentioning it. The only thing which concerned me was the minimum output being 50amps. Would I end up blowing through really thin steel? I tried my best to find a machine that offered a good range.

 

[Tommy_K]

Are sealey welders really that sh#te? On paper they look competitive against all the other Chinese made stuff.

 

[Mark 2]

On the site it's up for £618 with vat machine on its own. Unless I'm missing something and it's cheaper elsewhere?

It's impressive looking little machine the sealey, just not many reviews so feels like a bit of a gamble. Yeah I figured I would be using fluxcore or get the gas out when it's a nice still day or not worth it?

Cheers

My bad on the price.

 

[JOEPRO]

JOEPRO, I did see the blackline being reviewed on this forum and a few others mentioning it. The only thing which concerned me was the minimum output being 50amps. Would I end up blowing through really thin steel? I tried my best to find a machine that offered a good range.

I do alot of diy car weld repairs. On thin car steel its a series of tacks you use to weld them up without severe heat distortion. You never really ever run beads of welds on a car body unless its a strong/ thick chassis plate etc.

Therefore, in reality you need a decent amp setting for the tacks to penetrate and will be using 100 amps or more. Example of my typical car body repair:



Series of tacks above- then buff off with flap disc and re check / weld any pinholes that may remain

 

[tom2207]

Buy sealey, buy twice in my experience...

Ill defend the sealey ,,, Ive welded many many land rovers with an old 180 sealey ,,, its had three boards in ten years and each one has been about 100 quid and arrived the next mornin , not Fronius quality welds but well up to the job , however in this case it probably wouldnt suit as they would be a pita to drag round the drive .

 

[tom2207]

Are sealey welders really that sh#te? On paper they look competitive against all the other Chinese made stuff.

they are better than a lot ,, and can be repaired

 

[JOEPRO]

Ill defend the sealey ,,, Ive welded many many land rovers with an old 180 sealey ,,, its had three boards in ten years and each one has been about 100 quid and arrived the next mornin , not Fronius quality welds but well up to the job , however in this case it probably wouldnt suit as they would be a pita to drag round the drive .

they are better than a lot ,, and can be repaired

Yes Sealey make good welders. My first welder was a Sealey, I got it used and did alot of work with it before re-selling on.

Any modern inverter mig welder is going to be good. Its a balance of the max amps and warranty you are willing to pay for.

R Tech have a great warranty and reputation. Blackline are a similar machine and great value for £ but less warranty.

 

[chrismac]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, as expected the R-tech gets most the votes and for obvious reasons. From the specs it does sound like a brilliant machine.

It's a lot of ££ for infrequent use but maybe with a sale or ex display option it might just creep into what I can afford.

JOEPRO, I did see the blackline being reviewed on this forum and a few others mentioning it. The only thing which concerned me was the minimum output being 50amps. Would I end up blowing through really thin steel? I tried my best to find a machine that offered a good range.

a few things to keep in mine when you get your new pride and joy,

I try to keep my machines off the work bench, off the ground off anything which would allow metallic dust particles to build up and get drawn in by the cooling fan, same as grinding, I never grind onto any welding machine, can cause board failure in some cases due to the particle's bridging electronic components, dampness- it wont be long before my tube heater will be parked in under my inverters with a cover over them to try and eliminate any moisture again blowing components on start up, these inverters are good but need looked after,

Good luck on finding something in budget that suits your needs.

 

[Jackimus]

I do alot of diy car weld repairs. On thin car steel its a series of tacks you use to weld them up without severe heat distortion. You never really ever run beads of welds on a car body unless its a strong/ thick chassis plate etc.

Therefore, in reality you need a decent amp setting for the tacks to be decent and will be using 100 amps or more. Example of my typical car body repair:

View attachment 514879
View attachment 514880
Series of tacks above- then buff off with flap disc and re check / weld any pinholes that may remain

View attachment 514881

Good to know!! I was going to space tacks about an inch apart around an exhaust and then make runs between them - this is not the way to go about it? Overlapping tacks all around instead?

 

[Tommy_K]

I do alot of diy car weld repairs. On thin car steel its a series of tacks you use to weld them up without severe heat distortion. You never really ever run beads of welds on a car body unless its a strong/ thick chassis plate etc.

Therefore, in reality you need a decent amp setting for the tacks to be decent and will be using 100 amps or more. Example of my typical car body repair:

View attachment 514879
View attachment 514880
Series of tacks above- then buff off with flap disc and re check / weld any pinholes that may remain

View attachment 514881

Thanks for the images and clearing up any concerns I had about thin steel. I have just had a proper look at it on the site and it specifies the welder requires a 30amp plug rather than your standard 13amp household

 

[Jackimus]

Thanks for the images and clearing up any concerns I had about thin steel. I have just had a proper look at it on the site and it specifies the welder requires a 30amp plug rather than your standard 13amp household

It will run on a standard 13A plug. You just will only be able to use a portion of the power (about 120A?) without tripping a breaker or blowing a fuse.

 

[Tommy_K]

a few things to keep in mine when you get your new pride and joy,

I try to keep my machines off the work bench, off the ground off anything which would allow metallic dust particles to build up and get drawn in by the cooling fan, same as grinding, I never grind onto any welding machine, can cause board failure in some cases due to the particle's bridging electronic components, dampness- it wont be long before my tube heater will be parked in under my inverters with a cover over them to try and eliminate any moisture again blowing components on start up, these inverters are good but need looked after,

Good luck on finding something in budget that suits your needs

Thanks for this, all makes sense. I might end up hiding it in the house somewhere rather than in the shed I have heard that modern inverters are far more susceptable to dampness getting in

Cheers mate