arc/tig inverters

[Kent]

I do wish us Brits could get out of our heads China equals lower quality UK industry cannot go forwards presenting such myths. Honestly they have some very , very good and well trained engineers- backed by a nation that has to work hard and a corrupt semi communist system of exploitation, which is subsequently further exploited by so called European / USA manufacturers profiteering . I have used all sorts of ESAB welders and found them all good, the service however is weaker than many lesser brands ( through the seller then through an independent service agent in my experience) though and the prices are kept high by the way dealers are both appointed and subsequently controlled.
I see no talk of warranty limitation or tiered products in their literature been using the 180 buddy mainly outside on poor supply for about three years now burning up to a full pack of 3.2mm a day, no issues. I think there are limits that its worth spending on a site tool that gets thrown in and out the truck and will most likely get its life ended in a fall / accidental damage. The 180 amp has anti stick, hot start and auto arc force and is a world ahead of what we had to use and yet used well 25-30 years ago

 

[langy]

Its just fashoinable to knock the *****s

 

[Richard.]

I do not believe that made in china means always lower quality. I do however believe you get what you pay for.
I see no reason why a £3000 welder made in china could not be as brilliant as a £3000 welder made in the USA.
However I do believe that a £500 welder made anywhere is going to lack some of the quality features comparing to one 5 times it's price. That's just common sense, it's nothing against it's country of origin.
On the subject of the buddy range I have used them many times and they perform as they should tried and tested machines. I only commented on the fact that they do have an intended purpose and it's different to the caddy range.

 

[matt1978]

I work within the industry of selling machines so it's my business to learn and know welding machines in general and competitors products intimately. It's how I earn a living.

ESAB and Lincoln have tier one and tier two products. It's not a secret. But it's also probably not something that joe public would know of as there would be no need to discuss the products in those terms.

I know this because I share distributors with many of the well known brands and like with all things, people talk to each other. Information gets shared.

China is more than caperble of producing high quality welding machines, but to have them made to a high spec costs money. In general terms products are cheap from there because the quality of the components used is of a lower cost.

However on high end applications in China it's still common place for the Chinese to completely by pass home grown products and buy western manufactured welding machines. This happens every day. China and India are by far the biggest potential growth markets for any of the well known European and American welding manufacturers such is the demand for their products in these countries. And it's both these countries that have a wealth of home grown welding machine manufacturers that get over looked.

 

[wheresmejumper]

Kent,the harshet comment about you welder was made by yourself .said it had too weak an arc to burn 4mm rods a couple of weeks ago

 

[Kent]

I do not believe that made in china means always lower quality. I do however believe you get what you pay for.
I see no reason why a £3000 welder made in china could not be as brilliant as a £3000 welder made in the USA.
However I do believe that a £500 welder made anywhere is going to lack some of the quality features comparing to one 5 times it's price. That's just common sense, it's nothing against it's country of origin.
On the subject of the buddy range I have used them many times and they perform as they should tried and tested machines. I only commented on the fact that they do have an intended purpose and it's different to the caddy range.

You shouldn't believe that about price. Cost and price are not always as linked as one suspects. This I very, very aware of as it was my stock in trade for most of my business past. Can you believe some products wont sell till you raise the price? Promise you 100% it is a fact

 

[Kent]

Kent,the harshet comment about you welder was made by yourself .said it had too weak an arc to burn 4mm rods a couple of weeks ago

it will burn them, it just wont burn them well enough to bother without a cracking supply , I put in 13 off 8" v- up caps in a few weeks ago just to increase the fillet size esthetically after 3.2mm . Being very honest PCF would be a plus but not at the cost as there are better options then to get the job done 200 amp is still pretty much the limit at 240v portable kit and that has the greater bearing. You state 3-4 times the outlay, that's fine if its somebody elses money or if it gets something tangible but its my money and I don't feel it does anything much I cant

 

[Kent]

I work within the industry of selling machines so it's my business to learn and know welding machines in general and competitors products intimately. It's how I earn a living.

ESAB and Lincoln have tier one and tier two products. It's not a secret. But it's also probably not something that joe public would know of as there would be no need to discuss the products in those terms.

I know this because I share distributors with many of the well known brands and like with all things, people talk to each other. Information gets shared.

China is more than caperble of producing high quality welding machines, but to have them made to a high spec costs money. In general terms products are cheap from there because the quality of the components used is of a lower cost.

However on high end applications in China it's still common place for the Chinese to completely by pass home grown products and buy western manufactured welding machines. This happens every day. China and India are by far the biggest potential growth markets for any of the well known European and American welding manufacturers such is the demand for their products in these countries. And it's both these countries that have a wealth of home grown welding machine manufacturers that get over looked.

Nothing is stranger than client perception no matter the nation, china makes cheap when the profiteer in the west asks for it. They are more than capable of beating the west, its just we don't ask them to much. Have a look at what they are doing on the civils alone at home

 

[matt1978]

Kent you've pretty much agreed with what I have just said.

That was my point. If you want a high tech-high quality product from China they can produce it no issue, but it won't be cheap. Cost wise to what a end user would pay, it would be simerla to a western produced product. The cost of the hardware is the same wherever, the saving would come on labour, but with modern manufacturing techniques the actual time spent on assembly is probably the quickest it has ever been and so the actual saving on labour isn't that huge.

It's still a valid point however, when countries like China and India want "quality" welding machines for important tasks, they buy western products not homegrown ones. Surely that means something

 

[philip smith]

The buddy range is ok if you are aware it's designed for hobby use and not comparable to the Swedish made Caddy.
But then the price of them reflects this.

thats what i was looking at the Buddy range or the caddy

 

[Richard.]

thats what i was looking at the Buddy range or the caddy

The buddy Tig 160 is a DC machine HF start and will mma weld a 3.2 rod. Cost around £400. The caddy do a 150/220 DC Tig also does mma and will set u back 1000-1500 model dependent. The buddy arc 180 like Kent says does hot start/ arc force and around £280 , the caddy arc 201 is around £800. The caddys are pricey but very nice to use the buddy's are extremely good for there money and both ranges are backed up with esab warranty.