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Tom Orrow L
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After a conversation with a friend of mine I thought that Wilkinson had lost the sole importer rights to CEA Not heard much concerning Wilkinson pushing the CEA stuff but In my opinion CEA is up there with the big boys like Kempii, EWM & Merkle though, so I've no problems if they are pushing them.
Oxfords do indeed have more capacitors than the Tec arc/portamig machines. There is a reason they're popular and its because of their robust nature..Wow, I'm super confused now.
My heart says the Oxford 180.
My head says try either the R-Tech 180/ GYS 162 or perhaps the Jasic 160 due to the 5 year warranty.
I've been put off Tec Arc and Portamig by a thread where people were complaining they lacked smoothness due to. It having capacitors like the Oxford or something.
Round and round in circles I go....
I always say in the world of welding you get what you pay for (for the majority of the time, there are indeed some exceptions)
For the extra bit of money I'd rather go with the 200 or the 240 oxford, depends if your budget allows it.
Jasic are real good machines with good warranty support from Wilkinson Star, there is also a reason these machines are slowly but surely making a name for themselves in England.
I have a Portamig 235 and a couple of inverter jobbies so I feel qualified to give my 2p worth. The Portamig is a very robust piece of kit. It's huge, weighs a ton and consequently lives in the garage. It should last forever but it lives in slightly damp surroundings in winter. The inverters I own are a middling brand and a couple of box shifter specials. I keep them in a spare room in the house. They are generally regarded as delicate bits of kit but they are small and light enough to stick in a large cupboard in a centrally heated house. The consequence of all of this is that I reckon the inverter gear and the transformer welder will probably have pretty similar lifespans. You simply cant pick up a Portamig or Oxford and carry it up the stairs.
If I had my time again and after seeing Doubleboost's videos I would be tempted to buy an Rtech250 mig and store it carefully in the house when not in use. Should last a long time and will act as a mig and and arc welder. Never used one but the videos look good.
If I had my time again and after seeing Doubleboost's videos I would be tempted to buy an Rtech250 mig and store it carefully in the house when not in use. Should last a long time and will act as a mig and and arc welder. Never used one but the videos look good.
Tom Orrow L
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Think probably one of the other big distributors in the UK like SWP or Weldability maybe?
Wilkinson star are really focusing on the Jasic stuff by the looks of things, I think they're fasing out some of the xcalibur stuff too
norlander
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I have had the GYS 162 Smartmig for over year, its been hammered. I have owned other MIGs but too long ago to make a fair comparison. I am so impressed by the GYS 162 I bought one of their TIG sets. and I would buy GYS again.
Click on the weldequip tab at the top of the page and see what he says about them.
If I was in the UK and buying a Gys it would be from him, or here http://www.rhdaveywelding.co.uk/.
I don't do find the cheapest price, I buy from people I trust to give me good service.
The 162 would be the one I would go for, it packs a punch if you need to do thicker stuff.
Its "heavy" but it comes with wheels and castors and nearly everyone welds up a cart/trolley as their first to take their welder and bottle etc, I have my shop cart, and a lighter version for any site work. I have just done a big job of gates/grilles etc. using the 162.
If you are not fit and have problems shifting heavy kit you might want to rethink, gates/grilles etc start off light, but when welded up and then fitted up, they are not always an easy lift.
They may look light, and be classed as light fabrication,but the job still needs muscle, and gas bottles are not light either btw, there is a knack to handling them but even so it sometimes comes down to heaving them into place or into onto a vehicle.
I made some repairs to a vehicle when doing the grilles and gates, I thought that would be a day of light work, but rolling around and positional welding can be just as tough, the car restoring/patching up boys do not have it easy.
Good luck with your choice.
Click on the weldequip tab at the top of the page and see what he says about them.
If I was in the UK and buying a Gys it would be from him, or here http://www.rhdaveywelding.co.uk/.
I don't do find the cheapest price, I buy from people I trust to give me good service.
The 162 would be the one I would go for, it packs a punch if you need to do thicker stuff.
Its "heavy" but it comes with wheels and castors and nearly everyone welds up a cart/trolley as their first to take their welder and bottle etc, I have my shop cart, and a lighter version for any site work. I have just done a big job of gates/grilles etc. using the 162.
If you are not fit and have problems shifting heavy kit you might want to rethink, gates/grilles etc start off light, but when welded up and then fitted up, they are not always an easy lift.
They may look light, and be classed as light fabrication,but the job still needs muscle, and gas bottles are not light either btw, there is a knack to handling them but even so it sometimes comes down to heaving them into place or into onto a vehicle.
I made some repairs to a vehicle when doing the grilles and gates, I thought that would be a day of light work, but rolling around and positional welding can be just as tough, the car restoring/patching up boys do not have it easy.
Good luck with your choice.
TurtleDude
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Crikey, you're putting me off all together now! This was supposed to be fun! 
Seriously though, I'm relatively fit and strong, so the weight of a larger unit shouldn't phase me too much.
I know this is a bit of a deviation off course, and I'm sure the good members of this forum will hammer my foolish aspirations...BUT.....
I'm considering maybe, perhaps going down the MMA route
.
No gas to worry about, can buy a top notch machine for a lot less than a MIG, and can be used outside, on crappy steel and is very portable.
Am I bonkers? My mate who used to be a welder said that although MMA is harder to learn, it's more satisfying when you've mastered it and is considered 'proper welding' lol
This would give me the choice of either a dedicated MMA Machine from Jasic or Kemppi etc...or.....wait for it ...
A 3 in 1 like the R-Tech 180/250 or the Thermal Arc 181.
I suspect you'll tell me not to be so silly and if. Have to scratch the 'stick itch' to get one of the multifunction machines to keep my options open.
Tin foil helmet going on..I await the backlash!
This was supposed to be fun! Seriously though, I'm relatively fit and strong, so the weight of a larger unit shouldn't phase me too much.
I know this is a bit of a deviation off course, and I'm sure the good members of this forum will hammer my foolish aspirations...BUT.....
I'm considering maybe, perhaps going down the MMA route
.No gas to worry about, can buy a top notch machine for a lot less than a MIG, and can be used outside, on crappy steel and is very portable.
Am I bonkers? My mate who used to be a welder said that although MMA is harder to learn, it's more satisfying when you've mastered it and is considered 'proper welding' lol
This would give me the choice of either a dedicated MMA Machine from Jasic or Kemppi etc...or.....wait for it ...
A 3 in 1 like the R-Tech 180/250 or the Thermal Arc 181.
I suspect you'll tell me not to be so silly and if. Have to scratch the 'stick itch' to get one of the multifunction machines to keep my options open.
Tin foil helmet going on..I await the backlash!
Tom Orrow L
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Stick is my favorite type of welding, I ain't gonna put you off going the MMA route one bit.
If you want to get a cheap stick welder to learn with I'd recommend the Parweld XTI 160, think weldequip does them but if not there's tonnes of them on ebay & they're like less than £200 inc VAT. They also have a lift TIG option if you get the right torch and gas etc..
Heard these little GCE Arcontrol machines are supposed to be up their with some of the best quality you'll get at a cheap price too, one of my local welding supplier sells the 200 amp ones for like £215 all in with rods
If you do want to keep your option open for a bit of MIG then I'd personally go for the Thermal Arc 181 over the R-tech 180 for the extra £100
Got a bit more of a name/ brand behind them in my opinion, I'd probably pay a bit extra and try to find someone who sells them local to where you are as its more convenient to get repaired should something go wrong.
If you want to get a cheap stick welder to learn with I'd recommend the Parweld XTI 160, think weldequip does them but if not there's tonnes of them on ebay & they're like less than £200 inc VAT. They also have a lift TIG option if you get the right torch and gas etc..
Heard these little GCE Arcontrol machines are supposed to be up their with some of the best quality you'll get at a cheap price too, one of my local welding supplier sells the 200 amp ones for like £215 all in with rods
If you do want to keep your option open for a bit of MIG then I'd personally go for the Thermal Arc 181 over the R-tech 180 for the extra £100
Got a bit more of a name/ brand behind them in my opinion, I'd probably pay a bit extra and try to find someone who sells them local to where you are as its more convenient to get repaired should something go wrong.
TurtleDude
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Thanks for the advice. And words of encouragement for stick wedding!
It just seems so much less hassle initially and avoids the inevitable garage clearout to house and use the MIG welder.
Of course I could hate it, be totally useless at it and end up buying a MIG in a tantrum in a few months, which is where the '3 in 1' machines cover all bases.
Where are you seeing the Theral Arc for only £100 more than the Rtech? I can't find it cheaper than £660 with the VAT
vs £442 for the Rtech.
Back to stick..CGE vs Parweld vs Jasic?
It just seems so much less hassle initially and avoids the inevitable garage clearout to house and use the MIG welder.
Of course I could hate it, be totally useless at it and end up buying a MIG in a tantrum in a few months, which is where the '3 in 1' machines cover all bases.
Where are you seeing the Theral Arc for only £100 more than the Rtech? I can't find it cheaper than £660 with the VAT
vs £442 for the Rtech.Back to stick..CGE vs Parweld vs Jasic?
Bill Edwards
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Stick welding is great. The only slight issue I see is that you mention doing repairs to a van. Thin metal (i.e below 2mm) and stick welding aren't a great mix. I won't say it isn't possible, but it certainly isn't practical. You really should be looking at a MIG for that.
TurtleDude
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To be honest I don't think the van will need much if any welding. The bodywork anyway is sound as a pound. I was just anticipating the MOT tester finding some niggles in the chassis, (perhaps really trying to justify my need for a welder) 
I have a VAT free ticket for Machine Mart that expires at midnight. Would ANY of their smaller MIGs fit the bill to be wingman for a potential stick welder or is that being unrealistic?
I have a VAT free ticket for Machine Mart that expires at midnight. Would ANY of their smaller MIGs fit the bill to be wingman for a potential stick welder or is that being unrealistic?
Tom Orrow L
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After looking at the listing it seems a bit dodgy (ebay), £649 is cheapest I'm seeing now from United but if you call them they can probably do something on the price..Thanks for the advice. And words of encouragement for stick wedding!
It just seems so much less hassle initially and avoids the inevitable garage clearout to house and use the MIG welder.
Of course I could hate it, be totally useless at it and end up buying a MIG in a tantrum in a few months, which is where the '3 in 1' machines cover all bases.
Where are you seeing the Theral Arc for only £100 more than the Rtech? I can't find it cheaper than £660 with the VAT
Back to stick..CGE vs Parweld vs Jasic?
Advantages of each machine
Jasic - 5 year warranty, robust nature, nice arc, good support from wilkinson star
Parweld - 2 year warranty (if you register it), lightweight, lift TIG option, really good support from parweld (often they'll even pay for it to be picked up)
GCE - 2 year warranty, lightweight, Digital meter for fine tuning your amp settings.. only problem from what I've seen from looking in the box is that the electrode holder and earth lead that come with them are a bit crap. Easy enough to replace though.
Machine mart - The clarke mig195tec isn't a bad piece of kit as far as I know, clarke have given themselves a tidy reputation on this forum as I believe.
But for £519 ex vat you're better off finding a second hand mig on ebay for around £400-500 inc vat
have a look at this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ESAB-mig-welder-/111699348781?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item1a01cccd2d
Bill Edwards
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If that was single phase I'd be really upset at it not being closer!
TurtleDude
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Yeah I had disregarded the Estonian seller on ebay with 2 feedback points. Lol.
The Jasic is looking top dog if I go down the MMA route I think, if nothing else for the warranty.
The clarke you recommended I could buy VAT free tonight but at that price I'm back to an ex demo Tecarc 181 or for a bit more an Oxford.
Would a stick welder with thinner rods be ok for say, welding 2mm plate to a frame to make a door or screen?
Also, the 200amp Jasic is almost double the cost of the 140amp version, with the 160 nearer the upper end too.
Is the 140 going to be able to cut the mustard or is it a lemon in my tartare sauce?
Welding thin to thick is always a pain because you tend to blow away the thin before you've got the thick warm.Would a stick welder with thinner rods be ok for say, welding 2mm plate to a frame to make a door or screen?
I've found that welding 2mm to 2mm isn't hard with arc with a bit of practice. Less than 2mm is hard especially when you have warping to worry about, as with large sheets. That's with an inverter using rod negative and being able to clean and position the work as I liked.
Jasic with its five year warranty is interesting.
If you know the machine is shock proof, water proof, bomb proof and idiot proof, why not issue a 20 year warranty? You know there'll be nothing but a few nuisance returns.
Otherwise, I'd say that Jasic are folding in an insurance policy with the price. It's in their interest to improve the machine quality so they have as few payouts as possible, but it's basically an insurance policy. Lorch don't offer more than three years warranty. It's a fair argument that the machine/insurance policy are worth buying.
I suspect that part of the difference between the 140A and 160A/200A machines is because the higher powered ones are more stressed and less reliable.
Dunno. Everyone's tastes are different and I'm quite taken by the idea of a dash of lemon in tartare sauce. I must try it now you've suggested it.
daleyd
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Just to throw another one into the mix
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/why-did-i-wait-so-long.55600/
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/why-did-i-wait-so-long.55600/
TurtleDude
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Just to throw another one into the mix
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/why-did-i-wait-so-long.55600/
I assume this is the Cheltenham Welding Supplies machine?
Looks bloody good value if 160a is enough ...
Any other feedback on this option?
It's just a short trip down the M5 to give them a hard time if it's a total F/U. You could also go down there and try it, as you could with R-Tech.
