In praise of the SIP HandyMIG!

[schnappi]

Just thought I'd post a positive comment to balance all the negativity around the SIP range.

I've just finished replacing a full outer sill on a 1990 Mk2 Astra 5 door using my 12 year old SIP HandyMIG running 0.8mm SIP flux-cored wire and it worked like a charm. I'm very pleased with the results and the way the welder performed wasn't bad at all.

Anyone who says you can't weld with these things is being misleading. It's true that it initially required quite a bit of setting up (fitting a steel liner, greasing the spool holder, etc.) but once working it was a pleasure to use.

 

[cumbriasteve]

So you were the buyer that got the one that worked...well done!

 

[shenion]

Seems the newer ones that everyone fusses about. Those with the older ones do not seem to have many complaints.

 

[Mr J Morton]

I have a Cosmo(re-branded SIP) which one of the newer SIPs. Without the mod it was terrible, mostly due to the automatic wire speed adjustment.

With the mod its a pleasure to use, fantastic little welder.

Jonnym

 

[mike os]

12 year old... that sound about right for one of the old ones... they were fine, it's the newer stuff thats

 

[schnappi]

It looks the same as the new ones to me, twiddly knob for wire speed and two switches side by side for the power settings.

I had all sorts of problems before following the advice on here and fitting a steel liner and sorting the spool holder but after that it's been fine.

For bodywork I run it on switch 1 on "high" and switch 2 on "min" with the 0.8 flux-cored (wrong polarity but seems to work well). It cold-starts just a little but by using a backstep technique doing 1/2 inch runs I get really good weld penetration without burning through.

The arc is pretty stable and I don't have any problems with it now to be honest.