First welder

[pasc]

Hi Forum, have been reading the advice on here. Informed by that, I have been looking for a starter MIG welder, such as Gys Easymig 160, Parweld xTM161 and Jasic 160 multi-process. Are there other brands / machines I should consider? Used to stick weld as an apprentice (40 + years ago), so MIG is all foreign territory to me. Will be tackling light work, garden arches, gates etc. Appreciate any advice or points of view you can give.

 

[Radar 3]

This is all down to how much you want to spend.Don`t forget that you will need a regulator and gas so you`ll have to factor this into your budget!

 

[My Old Landy]

To put that in context, I bought a mig recently for £230 from the bay. The gas bottle (got last year for my old mig) cost £165 including the bottle deposit. The regulator and pipe cost around £35 and the spool of wire £25.
So even the cheap route will cost around £450 before you get any kind of metal fusion
Good luck with your search and keep us informed!

 

[Radar 3]

To put that in context, I bought a mig recently for £230 from the bay. The gas bottle (got last year for my old mig) cost £165 including the bottle deposit. The regulator and pipe cost around £35 and the spool of wire £25.
So even the cheap route will cost around £450 before you get any kind of metal fusion
Good luck with your search and keep us informed!

That`s brilliant for a starter for pasc. Now pasc you can make a start from here. Keep us informed please!

 

[eddie49]

Will be tackling light work, garden arches, gates etc.

For garden and gates, an arc welder would be fine. A modern inverter arc welder, with a fully-variable DC output, will be far better than the stick welder you used ages ago. They are tiny and rather cheap, e.g. the (in)famous "ZX7-200" :

Review - Cheap eBay 200amp single phase inverter MMA

(very) Occasionally I will do a little MMA welding on a job that comes in. Often these jobs are too big for me to get through the workshop doors or it is easier to just not unload them from the trailer they were delivered on, etc. For the past four years I have used my dual voltage 110/240 volt...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

By "light work", do you mean thin sheet metal ( e.g. a rusty old car ) ? In that case, a MIG does come into the story. Some machines will do both:

Review - Uprtime Mig160 IGBT 160 amp Mig welder MMA, Euro Torch.

Hi everybody so i been wanting a more powerful mig now for some time, I have a 25-115amp draper mig not great. And i had seen this on ebay and many others like it, But this was the cheapest £159.99 including postage. Once i had seen it for days this little man in my head said buy it, i couldn't...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

 

[My Old Landy]

By "light work", do you mean thin sheet metal ( e.g. a rusty old car ) ? In that case, a MIG does come into the story. Some machines will do both:

Yep, the MIG-200 comes with a stick welding handle along with the mig gun. I have ordered some rods and will let you know how I get on in my thread about the welder.

 

[Tom Orrow L]

Parweld XTM 161i is one of my favourite little multi process sets. So easy to use, proper reliable and a lays a great weld too.
3 year warranty as standard too.

another nice point is you get a higher quality torch included when compared with the other machines.

 

[My Old Landy]

Parweld XTM 161i is one of my favourite little multi process sets. So easy to use, proper reliable and a lays a great weld too.
3 year warranty as standard too.

another nice point is you get a higher quality torch included when compared with the other machines.

I nearly went with yours Tom, but I have recently quit my job so I back peddled a bit and got the cheap option sorry!

 

[Tom Orrow L]

I nearly went with yours Tom, but I have recently quit my job so I back peddled a bit and got the cheap option sorry!

No worries! Was that the GYS?

 

[My Old Landy]

No worries! Was that the GYS?

No its the Blackline MIG-200 as reviewed by @8ob at £230 using a euro torch I felt it would suit my needs as a hobbyist
Edit: just realised you were asking what I spoke to you about, it was the Parweld 181 but without the kit

 

[8ob]

No its the Blackline MIG-200 as reviewed by @8ob at £230 using a euro torch I felt it would suit my needs as a hobbyist
Edit: just realised you were asking what I spoke to you about, it was the Parweld 181 but without the kit

Have you had a chance to play with that Blackline yet?

Bob

 

[My Old Landy]

Have you had a chance to play with that Blackline yet?

Bob

Yes Bob, I made a thread but I forgot to tag you in it

First attempt with MIG-200

I purchased the Blackline MIG-200 this week. Having spent around 20 minutes setting it up today, I managed to get this result with 0.6 wire, 80/20 Argon mix and not having welded anything for around a year :ashamed: Maybe not the best or prettiest weld but it made me smile! I will cut it later...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

It works really well. I have some rods on order to try that part too.
Thanks for the heads up as it fitted my budget and new circumstances just right

 

[pasc]

Thanks all for the information, I hadn't thought through the bottle, thanks my old landy. Will get my stuff together next week and go for it. :-)

 

[pasc]

Cheers guys, have gone for the Parweld 161i. Would appreciate advice on gas bottle size and where you prefer to get your gas, Hobbycraft reliable?

 

[pasc]

Ahhh.............. gas ...........seen the gas area, seems like a whole new adventure :-)

 

[My Old Landy]

I use Adams Gas rent free just a deposit and refill costs.