First MIG for car restoration

[GRW]

I made my own dessicate packs as my Welder lives in my small workshed (which is pretty dry & weatherproof, but with Welsh 100% humidity air, I wanted to look after my expensive purchase. Some sock/tights type stockings from the missus, & fill with Oil Dry Granules or cheap Cat Litter (same stuff I'm almost certain). Knot the end & Ta-Dah!
(If they did get damp, you can dry them out again too - not that I've needed to).

One such cat litter dessicate pack lives in the top (wire reel & feed motor space) of my Oxford permanently.

I also bought a 13 watt solid state wee semi-conductor heater, which sits nicely on the metal floor of the wire reel cabinet, under the reel without fouling anything.
In the damp months (that'll be about 11.5 here in West Wales ) it's left on all the time.

Combined the welder stays nice & dry, not too warm, and the wire spool doesn't get any corrosion whatsoever.

 

[addjunkie]

All brands of welder are fine when they are working….its when things are not working where quality stuff come in, with spares, warranty, help at the end of the phone.
Many of us pro and enthusiastic amateur started with cheapo machines, Sip ERP, Clarke etc and then realise you can tell the difference with quality gear, but many a rust bucket has been kept going using el cheapo welders. Also many a grey hair has developed when things are unreliable and not working properly.

I upgraded to an oxford 270-1 from a 180 amp ERP machine, for euro torch and the bigger output. My son in law has a Lincoln, tis a decent bit of kit.

 

[tom2207]

All brands of welder are fine when they are working….its when things are not working where quality stuff come in, with spares, warranty, help at the end of the phone.
Many of us pro and enthusiastic amateur started with cheapo machines, Sip ERP, Clarke etc and then realise you can tell the difference with quality gear, but many a rust bucket has been kept going using el cheapo welders. Also many a grey hair has developed when things are unreliable and not working properly.

I upgraded to an oxford 270-1 from a 180 amp ERP machine, for euro torch and the bigger output. My son in law has a Lincoln, tis a decent bit of kit.

all true ,,, but would you start off with junk through choice ,,,, the jobs bad enough some days without having to make the tools to do it as well.

 

[daedalusminos]

Might also be worth considering re-sale value - you probably wouldn't lose too much in depreciation of a quality machine over the zero value of a cheap 'no brand'. Will also be interesting to see whether there's a premium for second hand transformer machines.

 

[tom2207]

Might also be worth considering re-sale value - you probably wouldn't lose too much in depreciation of a quality machine over the zero value of a cheap 'no brand'. Will also be interesting to see whether there's a premium for second hand transformer machines.

Only if you can buy a good name machine worth the money in the first place ,,, thats the gamble ,

 

[arther dailey]

I really recommend the Kemppi minarcmig Evo 200. One just sold on eBay for £400. Think I paid £300 for mine. Worth keeping an eye out for a few days see if one comes up, or have a look on the usual sites. How soon do you need a welder?

Wow, if you bought yours for £300 it was a bargain , normally expect to pay £650 upwards for a clean one.

 

[arther dailey]

I was paranoid over winter and took my inverter blackline mig into the house incase condensation ******** it up. My workshop is a shipping container so there is a good chance of condensation in it.

thats not paranoid, thats common sence looking after your kit .

 

[arther dailey]

I suppose my answer would be to this is I don’t want to buy a very cheap unit that will break with no spares to replace. I want to spend enough that if an experienced welder was to use the equipment he could lay solid welds and that it’s my ability and technique that’s holding me back. I have seen some people lay some really good welds with say the Clarke 135TE and been reliant on a machine like that for their business. Not too expensive and not too cheap. If you go with a known brand is it more down to the person welding above anything?

I want to learn this craft and don’t want to be restricted by equipment, but also don’t want to overspend on a machine I won’t see 80% of the benefits on if that makes sense

Understand what your saying, I think @8ob is a bit handy with welding , have a look at his review it does show pics of various welds . If you want a practice your welcome to come to mine and have a go, not that far away J2 m27 .

 

[choco]

I have a Clarke 160en transformer and an uptime mig 160. I still have the Clarke as I have it setup for a spool gun. The Clarke will probably out last me while the uptime is cheap and welds a lot better than the clarke. It could blow up if I look at it the wrong way.