Euro torch - Essential or a 'nice to have'?

[Ham]

Hi there,
Have only just joined here and am new to welding. I've been browsing the tutorials with great enthusiasm, (they are fantastic for people like me so thanks!).

Euro torches have been mentioned a fair bit. I was wondering if as a "would be" average DIY welder whether a Euro torch is just about accessibility to replacement parts or whether they actually make a difference to your welding? My question is whether if you are not welding on a regular basis whether it is worth getting a welder with a Euro-torch?

I was planning on covering all my bases with a 180AMp welder. Does anyone have a recommendation for a welder with or without an Euro torch?

Many thanks in advance
Graham

 

[madkayaker]

hello and welcome. Euro torches are better made and easier to feed wire etc there a nice to have rather than essential. The big benefit is any welding spot will have the parts saves haveing to go to MM or worse for tips shrouds etc. Clarke have a good rep for low budget stuff. Weldequip on here does a good line in kit with good service and advice

 

[rtbcomp]

For the hobbyist I'd say it'd be nice to have, for someone who does a lot of welding the advantages are

Quickly replaced if it gets damaged
Replacement parts can be bought at any welding suppliers
Easy to change from ally to steel if you have a torches fitted with correct liners
Various lengths available, a shorter one would be OK at the bench, you may need a longer one under a vehicle.

 

[shenion]

A removable torch, Euerotorch, Tweco, or OEM is nice to have.

Mine is removable and I can swap between my two torches (4m/180A and 5m/400A). I actually would like a 3rd torch that is shorter and with a 0.023 liner. As is, i need to change liners to switch between 0.023 and larger wires. On longer torches, the liner sizes make a difference. 0.023 (0.6mm) in a 0.045 (1.14mm) liner will have well over an inch of spring to it after 12' of lead. Barely noticeable on a 0.030 (0.8mm) liner.

However, I can change the liner in about 2 minutes. Unplug from MIG, loosen set screw, pull out liner and slide in new. Tighten, plug back in and done. A plug in torch will have the liner run inside the gas tube (coaxial). So there is no need to try an feed the liner down the sheath with the wires and gas tube in the way.

A hobby MIG with a hard-wired torch is fine. The torches are short so the liner size is not critical. A pain to replace the liner as that usually involves taking torch and wire feeder parts off, but you would only need to do that once every few years.

The torch on my Clarke 130EN was fine. I did upgrade it with a pluggable one (Tweco), mainly as I wanted a longer torch. As the gas bottles were not on the MIG cart, it was not as easy to just roll the MIG around.

 

[zardoz]

A MIG with a euro torch is more expensive than one without. really for a DIY/hobby welder its not essential.

 

[Ham]

Thanks

Hi there,
Just wanted to say thanks for the replies. Will probably just go with a normal then. I could always get a conversion if it turns out I do more than i expected

Thanks again
Graham

 

[Blackjack]

Get the Eurotorch.

How is someone going to make a torch cheaper than a standardised design from a torch manufacturing specialist?

Cut corners is how.

Eurotorch consumables are almost always cheaper than the comparable parts for fixed torch, not to memtion more widely available. So how come the "in house" manufactured bits are dearer than the industry standard bits?

The words "rip" and "off" spring readily to mind....

Basically if you're going to use it for any reasonable length of time, the Eurotorch is going to be better. If you're just tacking things up with it, then you don't need one.

 

[weldequip]

People should be aware that some manufacturers fit a Euro-Torch as a marketing tool...."Ohh it's got a Euro-Torch, the wire feed must be good"...and they still use the same old crappy wire feed! A good wire feed is more down to the wire feed assembly than the torch itself; look at some higher end machines such as a Kemppi Miniarc Mig or Lincoln PowerMig 180, both have direct wired torches but a proper wire feed assembly, and both will knock the socks off some of the cheaper machines with Euro-Torches fitted
weldequip