ARC Welder - what to buy?

[snowcat]

Ahh think your missing the point here a bit, you forget I am a pro user and I know many other pro users we buy top end eg lincoln cebora and fronius inverters there looked at as reliable bits of kit we use em because there light weight portable cheep to run and fast becomeing industry standard most tigs are inverter based as are plasmas, migs are becomeing that way the benfits outway the drawbacks weld with a decent dc inverter for a day put some horizontals in then go back to the AC buzzbox and your just hate the arc, Tig inverters are easy to set and v portable and have incredable stable arcs, Now most of us do not buy a machine that goes wrong every 5 mins and the technology is now tried and tested enouth for the big boys to have got it wright.

 

[mishka]

Ahh think your missing the point here a bit

Err, I beg to differ. The original question came from a DIY welder, so that's the context for this thread.

...pro users we buy top end eg lincoln cebora and fronius inverters there looked at as reliable bits of kit

Exactly my point - you pay top price for quality designs and quality components, backed up by quality sales and after-sales support.

fast becomeing industry standard most tigs are inverter based as are plasmas, migs are becomeing that way the benfits outway the drawbacks

This is the (natural) progress of technology, of course.

Now most of us do not buy a machine that goes wrong every 5 mins and the technology is now tried and tested enouth for the big boys to have got it wright.

Yes, and the big boys, not unreasonably, charge big prices compared to what the Chinese churn out. For the DIY/hobby/weekend welder the lower end is where the question of "what to buy" is.

 

[mishka]

In a way, I guess, it is good to see low-cost welders on the market, indicating that there is a market for such machines. We may not build that many ships anymore, but there would seem to be a thriving DIY welding market, which in today's service-oriented attitude to industry must be encouraging!!

 

[snowcat]

But the point im makeing is a decent S/H machine will not break the bank i think mr drains payed around the £100 mark for a lincoln.

 

[Drains]

But the point im makeing is a decent S/H machine will not break the bank i think mr drains payed around the £100 mark for a lincoln.

I was lucky.

The next week I saw a fronius transtig on a Buy it Now for £117.50. Missed it by a whisker. Checked it after, it was genuine. I'm still pig sick.