Advice please. Mig under £500

[Rallydom]

hi guys I'm fairly new to this but I'm in the market for a mig. Mainly to be used for automotive type stuf exhausts sills etc. I have done some welding before with a unit that the metalsmith uses at my work, it was a merkle unit I sir of what model but fairly large trolley type .

I used this to stitch weld my rally car shell and mess about making a few bits and bobs but not enough to know the ins and outs of what makes a good welder.

So I have found these 2 on the old Bay. Read a little about them and decided I'd like some thing that will go up to 200amp so I have the ability to do a bit of fabrication should I decide to.

The smaller inverter type is attractive as I will be able to use it in the van out on jobs and keep the gas bottle in there with a large hose.

What I don't want to do is buy something that is difficult to use for a fairly beginner as I used a small sealey thing and it was *****.

Mod Edit: Just a heads up as you are new, if you see ***** in your advert you are using language against the forum rules.

Option 1 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222287213414

Option 2
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132152829290

Cheers

 

[johnakay]

keep away from EBAY.
buy from weldquip link above,you'll know what your getting then.
http://www.weldequip.com/gys-smartmig-162.htm

 

[Rallydom]

http://www.weldequip.com/swp-mig220.htm

Thanks for the heads up I'm just trying to get best value for my buck I guess. This SWP one on there site is it not the same as the SWP redline one I linked just a little more powerful?

 

[arther dailey]

the one you linked tp only has 4 power settings, so there is going to be huge jumps between each setting power wise,

 

[Rallydom]

See I thought that but on looking zoomed in I think the 4 things you see are screws holding the knob in. Think from looking closer it actually has 6

 

[Arclikeharrypotter]

Try and stick with a well known make, from a decent welding supplier that can help you if you run into any problems. You might find they will also do a better price if you speak with them.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

as I will be able to use it in the van out on jobs

Welcome aboard, Don

How do you propose to power the unit? Customer's supply or generator? And what do you anticipate welding , e.g material/thickness etc?

 

[gaz1]

theres also this one if your interested

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/portamig-tec-arc-181-mig-welder-365.72184/

 

[Rallydom]

Welcome aboard, Don

How do you propose to power the unit? Customer's supply or generator? And what do you anticipate welding , e.g material/thickness etc?

A bit of both really. Mainly a domestic power supply but do have a large generator that will/may be used at times.

As for materiel will be mainly steel and thin stuff up to about 4mm but would like the option to go a bit bigger so I can fabricate framework for engine stands roll over jig etc

 

[skotl]

Just bear in mind that a generator will need to have around 2.5 x the required current for a given welder, so a unit that will pull 20A will need a 12KW generator. The topic's been discussed many a time on here so have a hunt around the forum if you need more info.

 

[Rallydom]

The generator I have is a 8kva. After looking a bit online and seeing a few videos of welds and reviews. The r tech 180 inverter looks like it work very well so I may go for that one.

What's people thoughts on this machine?

 

[crazy]

Hi m8 i have the rtech 180 and its a great m/c
Mig, stick both work really well , had mine about 6 months now and used it a lot.
Its a really good set.
Ordered it Thurs pm and came Fri am, can't fault m/c or service from rtech

 

[Wightsparks]

I bought a CWS inverter unit, really very happy with it and CWS support, did a lot of 5+6mm bar. Write up here

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Mig, stick both work really well , had mine about 6 months now and used it a lot.
Its a really good set.
Ordered it Thurs pm and came Fri am, can't fault m/c or service from rtech

And it can be used for DC TIG too.

 

[Rallydom]

Thanks guys I went for the rtec n the end however not had time to set it up yet although looks like the first job will sills on a old fiesta