2nd Hand Cebora 155 Boxer Twin

[Andy_P]

Good afternoon guys,

First post from a loooong time lurker here (some 5+ years) which is a testament to how much information is already on the boards, I've always been able to find answers to any questions I've had with a quick search here - so wanted to say thanks for that!

I've been a hobby welder for about 5 years now and bought my first welder from ebay - A boxed unused SIP 130a Turbo for just over £100. Not the best bit of kit (far from it!) but up until now I've soldiered on with it and have completed many a project.

I've been wanting to upgrade for a long time now and had set my sights on the GYS Smartmig 162 following a recent trend of positive reviews here however it has always been a bit more than I can justify spending (to the Misses) when I'm also mid house renovation where, in her eyes, the money would be far better going towards a kitchen....

I've since been offered from a friend a Cebora Boxer twin 155 for less than a third of the cost of the Smartmig and wanted to get some opinions on it.

I've not seen the Boxer in person yet (he lives in Cambridge, I'm from Hants) but according to him has had little use.

Does anyone have experience of the Cebora? Are they reliable? Costly to repair? Are parts easy to come by? How do they weld? They don't appear to be particularly common so I'm finding it hard to get any info on them at all.

My biggest girpe about the SIP is the inconsistency, so would be looking for something that doesn't have the same problems!

All and any opinions appreciated!

Thanks, Andy

 

[Wozzaaah]

Cebora are decent quality machines so no problems there. Yes they can be costly to repair but tbh, probably no more than many other machines.
One of our regulars, Dave (Notanormalcoder) knows ceboras inside out so could probably give you an idea of any common issues but I don't recall many posts about them.
If it's the right price buy it.

 

[Jim Davey]

How much budget do you have to play with?

 

[Andy_P]

Cheers Woz, sometimes fewer posts about machines means they've encountered fewer complaints (you'd rarely get a post saying "I'm having no problems whatsoever") - sometimes its because everyone has steered clear, lets hope its the former.

I've just been sent a few pics -

Certainly looks like its had minimal use.

Jim, I was originally looking at something like a Clarke 160EN or 151TE so circa £260 with a VAT free voucher + £50 to convert to gas with the EN so in my mind I was thinking of spending low to mid 300's all in.

Browsing the forum looking at the "which welder" threads regarding the above machines, the GYS came up quite often with good reviews. The reviews twisted my arm and stretched my budget up to the £400 including the gas kit. In reality its more than I can justify and more than I want to spend.

For the money my friend is offering the Cebora for, I'm thinking its worth a punt. If I'm not happy I'm sure I could get that back on ebay selling it on.

 

[Jim Davey]

I'm not sure what your friend is after for the Cebora but they are good little sets, very simple, not much to go wrong. There is a pcb mounted relay that works pretty hard if you do lots of stop starts, and the direct fit torch is hellishly expensive to replace and fiddly to change a liner on so look after it. Also don't overtighten or break the pressure arm on the plastic drive assembly as individual parts are not available it's a complete motor/drive plate assembly replacement. Pros are it welds smooth, goes down low and are easy to wheel around the shop, they do get shaken to bits if you roll them over rough ground much though.