EWM Picomig 180

[911nuts]

Hi, Want to buy a good quality compact mig welder, I have been looking at various inverter mig welders, in particular the EWM Picomig 180, but have seen what looks like a cheaper version of the EWM, called Teamwelder, here: https://www.teamwelder.com/MIG/MAG_Schweissgeraet_MIG_180_5kg.html
Does anyone have any experience/opinions with Teamwelder machines?
Thanks.

 

[Jim Davey]

Who does the backup and warranty work? EWM dealers won't touch it. How cheap is it too?

 

[Jim Davey]

I see its a 2 not 3 year warranty like you get on EWMs in UK and Europe, and I'm guessing it will be back to base as they don't list a UK dealership/service centre.

 

[matt1978]

I think Teamworks are a Distributor based in the Czech Republic and EWM make some of their lower end machines for them in the Teamworks colour and livery. We (Lorch) do the same for one or two of our machines but for a company called Wurth but the Wurth stuff generally speaking is more expensive than the Lorch equivalent. Seems like they are doing a suicide mission on the price with little regard for looking after the customer and service etc.

 

[Richard.]

I know we all like to save abit of brass if we can but I'd be looking to avoid that and go for the ewm. Uk distributor support and a local longer warranty are better to have than saving a few quid on unknown branded lookalikes. It might be a pico mig but as Matt said it might be watered down.

 

[911nuts]

OK, thanks guys, mind made up, I will be ordering an ewm picomig 180 tomorrow.
Will be from Germany as exchange rate is in my favour atm

 

[Jim Davey]

Woah there mate, where's the warranty service coming from if you buy direct, I don't think you've thought this through.
What area are you in?
All EWMs must be serviced annualy to validate the warranty, and the labour comes out of the dealers percentage. If you buy direct from Germany youll have to pay to send it to EWM UK to get it fixed and you'll get hit for labour charges.
If you are in or near Hampshire I'll happily quote you for a fully supported UK backed sale.

 

[Richard.]

When you say getting from Germany do you mean Ewm direct. If it's direct from ewm just ask a few questions first regarding the comments above (service, warranty, labour etc) if you are happy with the answers and the saving is worth it then go for it. It's about weighing up risks really. You might never have an issue. (Likely given they are top line)
But you might get a problem unit. (Happens from time to time ) this is when you might get issues shipping it about.

 

[Kent]

Heck I won't buy a brand I can't get fixed within an hours drive

 

[wilbur]

Woah there mate, where's the warranty service coming from if you buy direct, I don't think you've thought this through.
What area are you in?

His profile says he's in Hong Kong, so he's probably getting the max benefit of the weak Euro if he buys directly in Euros.

 

[wheresmejumper]

Hong kong chaps

 

[Jim Davey]

I'm my experience (and I've worked with quite a few brands) all of them have problems, more often than not easily resolved but problems none the less.
If it's going to fail it usually does it almost immediately, if it doesn't then it's anyone's guess when the machine might go down and why.
EWM make great machines and they have superb reliability but they are sophisticated machines, containing thousands of components that need to stay working in order for the machine to stay reliable. I've had several what I call first week problems with EWM (and any other brand I've ever sold) each year, it just happens, it's why machines get a through PDI check before leaving the shop for the customer but faults still happen. Ok, about 50% of the time it's something you can resolve with a software reset but sometimes it will be a component failure and I'm having to go down the road of fault diagnosis and fitting replacement parts (supplied free of course by EWM) so just be aware, no matter how good the machine and no matter who makes it EWM,Fronius,Miller,Kemppii,Lorch,Merkle they ALL fail at some point.
Find out exactly what the procedure is if it goes down and what it's likely to cost, will they cover the cost of collect and return carriage etc?
If it's a good enough deal it might not matter but I wouldn't buy a complex and expensive machine from anywhere that couldn't give me good product support on it as inevitably faults do occur and customers need looking after.

 

[Jim Davey]

I know we all like to save abit of brass if we can but I'd be looking to avoid that and go for the ewm. Uk distributor support and a local longer warranty are better to have than saving a few quid on unknown branded lookalikes. It might be a pico mig but as Matt said it might be watered down.

It is different from the EWM, you can see less functions on the front panel for a start.

 

[911nuts]

Thanks for all the advice guys.
Yes the reason I'm going to order from a dealer in Germany is because of the exchange rate at the moment.
Got a quote from EWM China and its a lot more expensive than Europe, Is there also a chance an EWM machine from China will be made in China!, as they have a manufacturing plant there?
I asked about warranty and was told yeah no problem just send it back.
Back in 1997 I bought a brand new Eland mig 175 in the UK and brought it over to Hong Kong with me, used that for 10 years problem free until something died inside, after that got a Migatronic 221 from the dealer over here, used that for the last 8 years without a problem, but now want a modern machine which is a bit more portable. So I'm willing to take a chance that the EWM will serve me well and hopefully be problem free.
We don't have a big choice of good brand mig/tig welders over here. There is a Miller dealer and the Migatronic dealer has vanished.
The place is flooded with China made Tig/mig/arc welders here, not my cup of tea.

You are right Jim, just had a closer look and it does have less functions compared with the EWM

 

[Jim Davey]

So you have to pay to send it back if there's a problem? It's unlikely but it does happen.

How much is it if that's not a rude question?

 

[Richard.]

Thanks for all the advice guys.
Yes the reason I'm going to order from a dealer in Germany is because of the exchange rate at the moment.
Got a quote from EWM China and its a lot more expensive than Europe, Is there also a chance an EWM machine from China will be made in China!, as they have a manufacturing plant there?
I asked about warranty and was told yeah no problem just send it back.
Back in 1997 I bought a brand new Eland mig 175 in the UK and brought it over to Hong Kong with me, used that for 10 years problem free until something died inside, after that got a Migatronic 221 from the dealer over here, used that for the last 8 years without a problem, but now want a modern machine which is a bit more portable. So I'm willing to take a chance that the EWM will serve me well and hopefully be problem free.
We don't have a big choice of good brand mig/tig welders over here. There is a Miller dealer and the Migatronic dealer has vanished.
The place is flooded with China made Tig/mig/arc welders here, not my cup of tea.

You are right Jim, just had a closer look and it does have less functions compared with the EWM

If it's a genuine ewm it will not be built in china.

 

[Richard.]

https://www.ewm-group.com/en/group/produktionsstandorte/china.html

seemingly they do builds in China according to their own website

I stand corrected. Not that I'd worry about it. No doubt the components and quality will be under their global standard.

 

[Jim Davey]

It's a huge market over there, any manufacturer would be glad to have a decent percentage of it.

 

[911nuts]

Jim, not rude at all, got nothing to hide, he's charging me 1600 Euro for the machine with ewm 3m torch, earth lead, gas hose and throwing in a 5kg roll,
this is for the latest Picomig with pulse and the new graphics on front panel.

 

[Jim Davey]

If it's the exact machine pictured, there are features missing over the genuine EWM machine however they are often features that are unused anyway.
That works out to around £1,167.00 in GBP, you won't get an EWM in the UK or Europe for anything like that. £1,600 exc VAT is about right, usually more.