Esab 160i caddy/200icaddy or swp 170 inverter??

[kerbside]

Hi a newbie to this forum and forums in general but looks great and friendly
what is best swp 170inverter or caddy esab 160i 200i?

I am a fairly experianced and basicly qualified miig welder and operate mostly mobile as a mechanic. My work is mostly vehicles especially land rovers so need everything from body panel thickness to 5mm or so.

like the esab as it likes extension leads and generators etc and i am often on the end of 15 meter extensions plugged into peoples cooker sockets etc!!

The swp i believe is butters by a different name,ive got an old butters in the barn and its great cant fault it, bt cant lift it either,its huge!! The lightweight of the invertors is luring me in, and being as my very good but very old and failing snap on 160 has just cought fire i need to replace!!

whitch of these is the tougher?esap or swp as it will get knocked about in the van etc, Also , is the SIP t194 invertor any good ?

thanks guys sorry to waffle!!

 

[TechnicAl]

SWP dont have a good reputation for quality. They are all price.

 

[weldequip]

But if EWM's German name were on the products they would be classed as top quality would they? Like some of your filler rods, sourced from the same factory as SWP and others...in China Depends on the product.
Kerbside, the ESAB is the nicest kit from your list

 

[MarkG]

ESAB CaddyMig 200i is a cracking set, only drawback is that it doesn't have a euro fitting torch.

The SIP T194 is a great little set too.. 2 year warranty, and euro torch fitting.. Never had any probs with those either.

Sold plenty of both and can't fault either one.

 

[Magic Rat]

Is that right SWP = Butters? I have had a butters arc and mig for years and find them hard to fault.

Also been looking at a caddy purely for convenience, are there any other alternatives I should be looking at?

 

[Windy Miller]

Kemppi also do a couple of nice little inverter mig sets - a bit pricier than the Esab I think.

I bought an Esab 200i Caddy earlier this year - can't fault it, but then it's only for hobby use, so it never gets a proper workout. I have another ancient Esab mig that I carted about in the back of a van for years and it never let me down. It was a transformer type, so very little to go wrong - I wonder how the Caddy would last being shaken and rattled about in a van? If I went mobile again, I think I'd like to keep it wrapped in something soft to try and cushion it a bit from the vibrations.

Where abouts are you MR? If you're anywhere near North Kent, I know an Esab supplier that likes to do a deal for cash...

 

[Tamarc]

Been using Caddy C200i for few months now,after first use was well impressed,had a few issues with gas flow,but thought it was due to the really bad weather we had been having here in scotland,turns out it was faulty torch,which i was accused of abusing,this was my baby and had been treated with kid gloves,anyway the lack of a euro connector lets this fine little machine down,cost almost £150 for new torch,with probably less than ten hours use !!

So if your wanting a portable machine to throw about the back of your van i would give this unit a miss,but cant fault the weld quality if used in workshop garage etc. Lack of a euro connector is a big minus point in my opinion.

 

[CRB]

I am new to this and just bought an IFL 170 from WeldEquip. SWP 170 picture has now replaced it on their site, with the same description. Same casing as far as I can tell. I cannot comment on quality/provenance etc, but at a quoted 18kg, it is heavy.

 

[Magic Rat]

WM

I am in the North West but I do get all over. Got some work in Essex coming up so Kent is not impossible. I would advise you pm the details rather than post on here though.

The lack of a euro torch is what's tempting me to look elsewhere at teh moment mind.

Cheers in avance.

 

[anto]

No problems with my Esab Caddy 160i and it is a really nice machine to use.
I get very consistent welds with it compared to my previous welder (Sealey Mightymig).
I treat it like a baby though so not sure how it would get on being knocked about.

 

[robwizard]

We have an Esab Caddy in work.. not sure which model.. but it has been back and forth getting repaired constantly since we got it... Seemingly everyone else gets on well with them, maybe ours was just a friday afternoon job?

My 2c