Choose MIG welder

[Joe16]

Hello, I am starting to restore a TR7 and thinking of buying a BlueMig 150T from the Welder's Warehouse. Do you have any feedback on the suitability of this machine for the job?
Thanks

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Never used one myself but looking at the read up it looks a decent set for the money. 30A is good enough for car body work and the 150A is high enough if you've got any chassis work etc..
I'd give it a thumbs up.. although i'm not 100% of the build quality / support that comes with it.

 

[Joe16]

Thanks Tom, it's advertised as made in Europe and the write ups on tech support are positive so it looks worth a try. Do you have any advice on gas usage? The small containers are written up as being expensive but getting the large refillable involves BOC, deposit/rental etc.
Appreciate your thoughts

 

[Tom Orrow L]

I've just noticed that.. It will most likely be one of the eastern European countries which can actually produce some good kit. ESAB, Lincoln & Oerlikon all use Eastern European factories to produce some of their kit.
When it comes to gas, i'd be looking at the BOC Volkzone deal. For a bottle that'll last me around a year (Y Size) I pay roughly £28 + VAT for the gas and £7.50 / month for the rental which I deem as worth it. This is the cheapest you'll find it for short term use and low initial lay out.

Best value long term is to buy yourself an Albee 13.4L ArMix bottle filled to 300 BAR. Initial outlay is around the £350ish mark but you then own the bottle outright and refills around are £65. One of these bottles will last like 7 hours actual welding time with around 10LPM output.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

If one of those bottles lasts you a year at £7.50 / month rental then it'd take 4 months to be equal in cost to the albee refill.
You can also resell the bottle at the end should you no longer need it. As I say, its for long term use really.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

£7.50 is what I pay on the volkzone deal for my Y size BOC bottle. Albee bottles have no rental.

You don't have to wait for a refill, they're just exchanged. All bottles are maintained by Air Liquide FOC.

I'm not great at maths so i'm just going to say that my calculations may have been wrong. Apologies.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

As far as I know as long as you've got a bottle in your possession you can get refills. I haven't been made aware of any limitations on it

 

[Joe16]

Thanks guys, that has been a very useful discussion. Just got to weigh up the options.
Appreciated.

 

[Joe16]

One other thought - how difficult is it to weld without gas?

 

[Sarto]

Fluxcore is tolerant to wind, if you think about welding outside.