Hi,
I'm new to this forum and new to welding in general. I'm interested in purchasing a MIG inverter welder that would mostly be used for car repairs (thin sheet metal...) and other occasional tasks around home. I would use argon+CO2 gas as well. For the welder, I'd say my budget is roughly 200-350 euros and I'm fine going with a China welder as long as I can find some spare parts online.
So far I've more or less secured my choice on the Ipotools brand because it gets good reviews, has a 7 years warranty, spare parts are available and their service department responded quickly and professionally to my questions. The two welders that I'm considering are:
- Ipotools MIG 160er (20-160 A, non-detacheable torch with gas valve built-in the handle, plastic wire feed mechanism, limited to 1kg wire spool, 220 euros)
- Ipotools MIG185r (40-185 A, detachable euro-torch, gas solenoid valve installed in welder, metal wire feed mechanism, can take 1kg or 5kg wire spool, 360 euros)
From the specs, the MIG 185r looks obviously better than the MIG 160er. I especially like the fact that the torch is detachable and that it can use 5kg wire spool if needed. However, I've seen many videos showing that welding thin sheet metal is difficult, especially when the min amps cannot be set low enough. One german guy tested out the cheap MIG 160er and had very good success with it on car panels because the amps can be set as low as 20 A (although he could get the job done at 40 A as well). So that is I guess one very good point for the cheap MIG 160 er for my application over the more expensive 185r unit. On the other hand the MIG 185r starts at 40 A with no room to set it lower. So I wonder that may be too much for 0.6-0.8mm sheet metal....
Would you advise getting the cheaper MIG 160er over the MIG 185r for car repairs, specifically because it can be set to 20A whereas the 185r can only start at 40A? I think I can live with a cheap MIG gun with a built-in gas valve because I can find cheap replacement parts for it in case it needs replacement. However I'm not sure how much welding wire I'd need and if I would be limited with the max 1kg spool on that device (I will probably use 0.6mm wire). Of course I can buy additional spools but the 1kg cost a fortune compared to the 5kg (you roughly get 5kg for the price of 2x1kg). I've quite some job to do on 2 fronts wings and the rocker panels on my car. Do you think that I would be fine with less than 5kg of wire?
I'd be glad if you could provide me some guidance on which of the 2 welders to pick for my application. Thanks for your help!
I'm new to this forum and new to welding in general. I'm interested in purchasing a MIG inverter welder that would mostly be used for car repairs (thin sheet metal...) and other occasional tasks around home. I would use argon+CO2 gas as well. For the welder, I'd say my budget is roughly 200-350 euros and I'm fine going with a China welder as long as I can find some spare parts online.
So far I've more or less secured my choice on the Ipotools brand because it gets good reviews, has a 7 years warranty, spare parts are available and their service department responded quickly and professionally to my questions. The two welders that I'm considering are:
- Ipotools MIG 160er (20-160 A, non-detacheable torch with gas valve built-in the handle, plastic wire feed mechanism, limited to 1kg wire spool, 220 euros)
- Ipotools MIG185r (40-185 A, detachable euro-torch, gas solenoid valve installed in welder, metal wire feed mechanism, can take 1kg or 5kg wire spool, 360 euros)
From the specs, the MIG 185r looks obviously better than the MIG 160er. I especially like the fact that the torch is detachable and that it can use 5kg wire spool if needed. However, I've seen many videos showing that welding thin sheet metal is difficult, especially when the min amps cannot be set low enough. One german guy tested out the cheap MIG 160er and had very good success with it on car panels because the amps can be set as low as 20 A (although he could get the job done at 40 A as well). So that is I guess one very good point for the cheap MIG 160 er for my application over the more expensive 185r unit. On the other hand the MIG 185r starts at 40 A with no room to set it lower. So I wonder that may be too much for 0.6-0.8mm sheet metal....
Would you advise getting the cheaper MIG 160er over the MIG 185r for car repairs, specifically because it can be set to 20A whereas the 185r can only start at 40A? I think I can live with a cheap MIG gun with a built-in gas valve because I can find cheap replacement parts for it in case it needs replacement. However I'm not sure how much welding wire I'd need and if I would be limited with the max 1kg spool on that device (I will probably use 0.6mm wire). Of course I can buy additional spools but the 1kg cost a fortune compared to the 5kg (you roughly get 5kg for the price of 2x1kg). I've quite some job to do on 2 fronts wings and the rocker panels on my car. Do you think that I would be fine with less than 5kg of wire?
I'd be glad if you could provide me some guidance on which of the 2 welders to pick for my application. Thanks for your help!