First Welder.

[Gareth_T]

Hi all,

The mrs is wanting to buy me my first mig welder,

these are the two i have been looking at:
https://www.weldequip.com/gys-smartmig-162.htm
and
http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/mig-welder-r-tech-i-mig180/

please can you suggest which one you would suggest for a newbie welder or an alternative around the same sort of price.

its for work restoring my spitfire, I have used a gas mig before to fit some sills but it was always pre set up as i have no idea how to set one up properly so a simple set up would be desirable.

cheers for your replies

 

[cumbriasteve]

You won't go wrong with either of those, both excellent machines.

I would personally go for the R-Tech, it has other options for thicker materials if you ever needed that in the future, it has an excellent back up and guarantee so all in all one of the most popular choices at the moment for a lot of members.

The GYS is also owned by some members and they rate it highly.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I looked at both these options before buying and settled on the R-Tech - been very pleased with it and find it easy to use for a beginner [i.e. me]

Have a look at doubleboost's [member on here] YouTube reviews on the R-Tech, that's what swung me.

 

[ms08]

I like my GYS as a newbie but dont really have a lot to compare it with.
You wont go wrong with the R Tech if Doubleboost has recommended it.

 

[Shedendman]

Wish i had a Mrs like that

 

[Chris Stevens]

I looked at both these options before buying and settled on the R-Tech - been very pleased with it and find it easy to use for a beginner [i.e. me]

Have a look at doubleboost's [member on here] YouTube reviews on the R-Tech, that's what swung me.

Wonder whether not those reviewing things on YT have paid for them or not? If they have paid for them, whats the reasoning behind spending do much time and effort doing the reviews?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

^^ No idea, I suppose only db can answer that - but I suspect not.

 

[daleyd]

I'd say either of those would be suitable for home use, the gys potentially more robust (transformer based - that's not to say the rtech would be unreliable, just that there is more in an inverter set to potentially go wrong) while the rtech gives you the option of stick welding as well which could be handy, and is a bit more portable.

Inverters tend to flatter the user somewhat, making it a bit easier to get decent results, especially on stick welding with things like arc force and anti stick etc.

I've got an rtech and have had it for a few years, never had a problem and it's done a fair few jobs. Their customer service is supposedly very good, though I've personally never needed it.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Wonder whether not those reviewing things on YT have paid for them or not? If they have paid for them, whats the reasoning behind spending do much time and effort doing the reviews?

I think doubleboost enjoys sharing his hobby/experience with us, there can also of course be financial benefits both from being heavily subscribed on youtube to companies knowing they can benefit from having their equipment in the videos.

I would be surprised if he did not get the equipment given FOC, cheap advertising for R-Tech and that's fine and all above board as long as any comments are truthful and accurate, hence the value of seeing the equipment being used in a real world environment.

He has made a lot of friends worldwide with his videos and thanks to him we can all learn tips and tricks and of course some new swear words.

 

[daleyd]

I thought it was common knowledge that rtech supplied the equipment that he reviewed, equally I don't think there's anything untoward going on in the reviews either - he hasn't said anything untruthful in anything I've seen, just given a pretty fair appraisal of the machines capabilities.

He also spends a lot of time doing some rather excellent reviews of lathes and machine tools that have long been out of production, im pretty sure he's not getting paid for those ........

 

[Gareth_T]

So from what I gather from above:
GYS is better made as its a transformer type and should last longer,
R-Tech will give me better looking welds when first starting out.

still dont know which to go for :/

The mrs is getting me it for my birthday but to be fair she is getting a nice handbag from me so its pretty tit for tat and neither of us have to feel guilty about spending the cash on ourselves

 

[cumbriasteve]

No MIG will give you better looking welds, some however are easier to learn on, I very much doubt you would notice any difference between those two.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

.....still dont know which to go for :/

Only you [or rather, SWMBO ] can make the final purchase decision.

 

[Gareth_T]

Only you [or rather, SWMBO ] can make the final purchase decision.

The wife just saw this and and saw the "She Who Must Be Obeyed" and laughed

 

[daleyd]

I wouldn't say better made, just a simpler design with a bit less to go wrong. A transformer based machine is just that, ie the power source is a transformer which generally has little to go wrong.

An inverter uses fancy electronics to produce the power required, so has more that could potentially fail. That's not to say they are inherently unreliable, it's now fairly mature technology.

As Steve says an inverter won't magically make your welds great but I've personally found them easier to get to grips with for stick welding than older transformer machines. For mig the differences are less pronounced, as even transformer based migs can produce decent welds in relatively inexperienced hands (it's a slightly easier process to get to grips with in the first place).

 

[Chris Stevens]

I think doubleboost enjoys sharing his hobby/experience with us, there can also of course be financial benefits both from being heavily subscribed on youtube to companies knowing they can benefit from having their equipment in the videos.

I would be surprised if he did not get the equipment given FOC, cheap advertising for R-Tech and that's fine and all above board as long as any comments are truthful and accurate, hence the value of seeing the equipment being used in a real world environment.

He has made a lot of friends worldwide with his videos and thanks to him we can all learn tips and tricks and of course some new swear words.

Not sure if I was given something FOC, with the prospect of more of the same, that any review I came up with would be wholly objective? If John has been provided the R-Tech gear FOC, then maybe it would be a good idea to clarify this clearly on the videos?

 

[ms08]

Not sure if I was given something FOC, with the prospect of more of the same, that any review I came up with would be wholly objective? If John has been provided the R-Tech gear FOC, then maybe it would be a good idea to clarify this clearly on the videos?

From memory he does I believe. I certainly gained that impression from watching his videos.
Mike

 

[Chris Stevens]

I think it was one of his videos on a welder review where he went into some detail (in pt1 iirc) about how it was supplied for the purpose of review and was going back after.

Seems quite clear to me, and it wasn't as if he was being 'paid' by keeping the machine afterwards...

Whats in it for those reviewing the Chinese welding gear then? Not sure I would spend a considerable amount of time and effort, putting together very effective promotional videos for no return at all?

 

[daleyd]

He's also done it for myford lathes, and if I remember correctly they've been out of business for a long time - nothing promotional there.

Just because "I wouldnt do something" doesn't mean that someone else won't. John spends a lot of time making videos on all sorts of subjects.

I'd suggest you check some of them out rather than just critiscising.

 

[pondy]

Hi all,

The mrs is wanting to buy me my first mig welder,

these are the two i have been looking at:
https://www.weldequip.com/gys-smartmig-162.htm
and
http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/mig-welder-r-tech-i-mig180/

please can you suggest which one you would suggest for a newbie welder or an alternative around the same sort of price.

its for work restoring my spitfire, I have used a gas mig before to fit some sills but it was always pre set up as i have no idea how to set one up properly so a simple set up would be desirable.

cheers for your replies

If you was to go second hand I have a portamig for sale. Good quality British built transformer machine?